The Partner ACS R7 has just received a feature upgrade. The upgrade is referred to as the “O” release, as is reflected in the release number, which you can verify by pressing FEATURE 59 from any display telephone.

Here is a run down of the new features included in the 91O release.

Hot Dial Pad

The Hot Dial Pad feature allows the you to simply start dialing a number on the key pad and your telephone will automatically select an outside line and dial out the number without having to lift the handset or activate the speaker. To use the feature you must program a button that will toggle the Hot Dial feature on or off. To program the Hot Dial feature do the following:

<-- Programming a Hot Dial Feature Button -->
1. Press FEATURE 00 to enter programming
2. Press a button with a light
3. Dial FEATURE 26 (Display should Read "Hot Dial")
4. Press FEATURE 00 to exit programming

Message Alert Notification

Message Alert Notification allows you to see the message status of extensions on your system other then your own. This is a welcome addition to the Partner ACS R7 feature set. I can’t tell you how often customers have asked if their Partner ACS system could perform this. Message Alert Notification requires you to program an auto dial button for the extension you would like to monitor for messages. The auto dial button will also serves as a means of calling that extension and seeing off-hook status. Once you have the Intercom Auto Dial button programmed, you need to program the Message Alert Notification button. The button when activated will show the message status of all extensions you have programmed on your phone for auto dial, with a red flashing LED.

<-- Programming an Extension Auto Dial button -->
1. Press FEATURE 00 to enter programming
2. Press a button with a light3. Press left INTERCOM button
4. Dial * and extension number
5. Press FEATURE 00 to exit programming 

<-- Programming a Message Alert Notification Button  -->
1. Press FEATURE 00 to enter programming
2. Press a button with a light
3. Press FEATURE 27
4.  FEATURE 00 to exit programming

Network Clock Synchronization

Leave your time change worries behind, the PARTNER ACS R7 will now automatically synchronize your system clock with the time sent from incoming Caller ID information.

Extension Name and Number Display

Displays the programmed extension name and extension number in the upper right of the extensions display.

On many occasions I’ve seen headsets being used with a Partner ACS telephone using a headset amplifier like the Plantronics Vista M22 Base Unit. This setup obviously works but it’s not the recommended way as it requires you to lift the telephone’s handset when answering or making a call and then hanging up the handset when your done. The optimal solution is to use the Partner Headset Base which is specifically designed to operate your headset simply by pushing a button to answer or hangup a call. The Partner Headset Base works with any Plantronics H series headset.

For those of you that want to use a cordless headset, we recommend the Plantronics CT12 Cordless Headset. The CT12 can connect directly to the AUX port on a Partner 18D display telephone. Where as cordless headsets like the Plantronics CS55 and CS70 will not allow you to answer your phone remotely without the addition of an HL10 headset lifter, the CT12 allows you to answer calls that ring to your extension while your away from your desk and also to transfer that call from the ultra-compact dial pad without the need of any additional equipment.

These recommendations will ensure that you get the optimal integration and productivity benefits that adding a headset to your Partner ACS telephone can bring.

Of all the technical support questions we receive, directions on how to re-record the main greeting of the office voice mail system is without a doubt our number one request. Every office usually has a voice mail guru but more often then not when that person leaves the business no one seems to know or have directions on changing the voice mail greeting.

The recording of the company voice mail greeting is always an interesting undertaking. Through the years I have always been amazed at the amount of anxiety and trepidation that this seemingly simple task can cause. I have literally seen people break out in a cold sweat when faced with the knowledge that they will be required to recite what is typically a 30 second spot into the receiver of a telephone.

On one occasion a particularly nervous woman would not allow me to stay in the room while she recorded the voice mail greeting. Now, this would normally not be a big deal if she could nail it on the first take. Well, as you can imagine that wasn’t the case. The entering and leaving of the room was like something out of a comedy sketch as she repeatedly managed to fail in some way to record the greeting. Of course, there’s also the other recording maladies such as the dreaded case of the giggles that will rear its ugly head from time to time or the inexplicable inability to pronounce a simple word over and over again.

Admittedly, it’s somewhat rare now to have someone that is not comfortable with recording a greeting, as almost everyone has had dealings with voice mail whether it be with their cell, office or home telephone. Usually, the reason most people balk at recording a company greeting comes down to the simple fact that they hate the sound of their own voice. I myself always find it uncomfortable to hear my voice in recordings.

Ok, enough of the ordeals of voice mail recording. Here are the instructions for changing the day and night message on the Partner Messaging System:

<--Change Day Greeting on Partner Messaging-->

Dial intercom 777
Enter 0 #
Enter  Password #
Press 9 to get into System Administration mode
Press 3 for Automated Attendant administration
Press 1 Automated Attendant 1
Press 1 for day menu or 2 for night menu
Press 6 to modify menu
Press * #  (to by-pass Selector Code changes)
Press 1 to record your new greeting
Record new greeting when done Press 1 to stop recording.
Press * # to save the change

Use these instructions if you have a Partner PVM PC 4 or 12 mailbox card

<--Change Day Greeting on PVM Messaging Card-->

Dial intercom 777
Enter 0#
Enter Password#
Press 3 for Automated Attendant Prompt
Press 1 to record
Press 1 when done

Losing your phone system programming due to a power problem or outage can be costly and disruptive to your business. All todays phone systems have batteries that will hold your phone system programming in the event of power loss. Usually these batteries work fine and will hold your program settings for days if not months when power is removed from the system.

Manufacturers traditionally have used Lithium or Nicad batteries that are soldered on the main circuit board or processor card. These batteries over time can go bad, and be costly to replace as it requires finding a technician who will take on the daunting task of removing and replacing these batteries.

The Partner ACS has taken on this problem by designing the system to use common AAA batteries. Looking at the controller card you can see at the bottom front of the module a place to install 2 AAA batteries. When these batteries get low, extension 10 will display “ChgBat W/PowerOn” or “ReplaceSysBat W/Power On” notifying you that the batteries need to be replaced.

When and if the time comes to replace these batteries do not remove power from the system, simply remove the battery clip holding the batteries in place and replace with new ones. If the batteries are installed correctly then the change battery warning will no longer appear on the display of extension 10.

Despite having batteries as a first line of defense against program loss, you still can lose your system programming for various reasons. The Partner ACS addresses this with the ability to backup your programming to PC Cards that you can insert into the controller card. There are two different PC Cards that allow you to do this.

The first is the Partner Backup and Restore Card (or green card). This card is specifically designed for backing up your programming. The other card is the Partner Remote Backup and Restore Card (silver card). The silver card allows you to backup system translations and gives you the ability to remotely access the Partner ACS using a modem to administer the system using special software.

Partner ACS R7 also introduced the ability to use internal memory on the processor card to be used for backup, which eliminates the need for the external PC Cards.

For owners of the Partner ACS R7 or either PC Card backup solutions, you should check to see if your system is properly programmed to take advantage of these options. By default Automatic System Backup is not turned on so there is a good chance this feature was not activated when installed.

All system programming must be done at extension 10 or 11 and have a display. Locate either one of these extensions. Press FEATURE 00 and press the left intercom button twice. The display will read SYSTEM PROGRAM. Dial #123 for Backup Programming Automatic. For the Partner ACS R7 press 1 for Internal memory or press 2 if you have a Backup and Restore PC Card installed. Lower revisions of Partner ACS require that you have a PC Card for backup installed in your controller and you need only press 1 to active automatic system backups.

To initiate a manual backup of your system to a PC Card or internal memory use program #124. On the Partner ACS R7 you can press 1 for the internal memory, or 2 for a PC Card. Press the ENTER button (check photo below for location of Enter button). The display will indicate that a backup is in progress and when finished will read that the backup was successful. It’s good practice to use this procedure before you make major changes to the configuration of your phone system, as it will allow you restore your system to its former state in the event you don’t like the changes you’ve made or you really bugger up the system to the point where things are not working correctly.

Now that you have you your system program nicely stored on your PC Card or Internal memory, let us go through the steps on restoring your system settings. Again, all system programming must be done at extension 10 or 11 and have a display. Press feature 00 and the press the left Intercom twice. Display will read “SYSTEM PROG”. Press #125 for Restore Programming.

Now Choose the backup file you want to restore:

• 1 Internal Man.mmddyy, where “mmddyy” represents the date of the manual backup to internal memory of the processor module
• 2 PC Card Man.mmddyy, where “mmddyy” represents the date of the manual backup on the PC Card
• 3 Internal AUTO.mmddyy, where “mmddyy” represents the date of the manual backup to internal memory of the processor module
• 4 PC Card AUTO.mmddyy, where “mmddyy” represents the date of the manual backup on the PC Card

Press Enter button to start the restore (see picture above for location of Enter button). If the system does not detect an error, the restore begins. A successful restore will cause all calls in progress to disconnect and the system resets itself. Keep this in mind before you decide to do a restore during business hours. The only feature that obviously isn’t backed up is system Time and Date, so will need to reset these after a restore. You can find instructions here: Time change on Partner ACS.

Hopefully this tutorial will have you ready for that unfortunate event of losing your phone system settings. The few seconds it takes to backup your system will save you the headache of reprogramming or the money to hire someone, if you can’t.

A feature that had been missing for the longest time in the Partner ACS feature set was the ability to forward calls to a remote number. Release R6.0 finally brought this feature to the Partner ACS.

Check your system version

Let’s go through the steps of setting this up for your extension. The first thing we need to do is make sure that your system is an R6 or higher. System programming is done from extension 10 or 11 with a display, so locate either one of these and press the FEATURE button and dial 59 on the keypad. The display will show you the release number of your phone system. If you see a number that starts with a 6 or greater then your all set.

Enter System Programming

By default all extensions in the system are not enabled for remote call forwarding. To enable this feature for your extension we need to get into system programming. Press FEATURE 00 at extension 10 or 11 and press the left intercom button twice.

Remote Call Forward #322

The display will read SYSTEM PROGRAM. Now press #322 and then enter your extension to enable remote call forwarding and press 1 to assign the feature for your extension.

Entering Centralize Programming

Now we’ll switch to CENTRAL TELEPHONE PROG to program a button on your extension to activate the feature when you want your calls to forward to your cell phone. To enter CENTRAL TELEPHONE PROG press the right intercom button and enter your extension. The display should now read CENTRAL TELEPHONE PROG.

First we need to program a personal speed dial location with your cell number. In this example we will use speed dial number 81 but you can use any available speed dial number from 81 to 99. Press FEATURE 81 and enter your cell number. If you make a mistake just repeat entering FEATURE 81 and dial your cell number.

Next select a button on the phone that has a light. This is the button you will use to activate the feature. Make sure that the display reads BLANK or you will program the feature over a button that already has something programmed. Press FEATURE 11 XX 81 where XX is your extension. What this effectively is doing is programming a Forward button that forwards your calls to the number that is programmed on speed dial bin 81. Press FEATURE 00 to exit programming mode.

The only thing to do now is test it out. Go to the extension and press the button that you programmed to activate the forward feature. The button light should go green and the display should read FORWARD . Now with your cell phone in hand have someone intercom your extension. Within a few seconds your cell phone should start ringing, when answered you should be connected to the person who called your extension.

Feature Considerations

Keep in mind that when using this feature what essentially happens is the system will access a new line to call out to your cell phone. If someone calling into your business is connected to your extension either through your auto attendant or transfered to your extension by another user, two phone lines are being used for one call. Careful consideration is warranted, as you may tie up too many lines when this feature is activated by multiple users.

This is the first in a series of articles on customizing your Partner ACS system. Check back for future tips.

With Daylight Savings Time coming up on Nov 4th, here is a refresher on changing the time on your Partner ACS phone system.

Since 1966, most of the United States has observed Daylight Saving Time from at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of April to 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October. As everyone now knows beginning in 2007, most of the U.S. will begin Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and revert to standard time on the first Sunday in November.Of course, the algorithm in current PARTNER ACS releases was written to reflect the original Daylight Saving Time schedule. With the upcoming change, this is being modified. Software updates will be available for the Partner ACS R7, R6 and Small Office Edition. Avaya has stated that there is no plans to provide software upgrades for any PARTNER ACS older than Release 6.0.

For those of you that have an older release your only solution to problem, other than upgrading your processor, is to deactivate the Automatic Daylight Savings feature.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Log in to the PARTNER ACS system in the System Administration mode
a. From extension 10 or 11, press [ FEATURE ] [ 0 ] [ 0 ]
b. Press the LEFT intercom button twice
2. Dial [ # ] [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 6 ]
3. To deactivate, dial 2
4. Exit from System Administration [ FEATURE ] [ 0 ] [ 0 ]

Manual setting of the time will now be required on the new Daylight Savings dates. Use these directions to set your time manually:

1. Log in to the PARTNER ACS system in the System Administration mode
a. From extension 10 or 11, press [ FEATURE ] [ 0 ] [ 0 ]
b. Press the LEFT intercom button twice
2. Dial [ # ] [ 1 ] [ 0 ] [ 3 ]
3. Enter the new time in 24-hour notation. For example, to set the time to 3:15pm,
press [ 1 ] [5] [ 1 ] [ 5 ]
4. Exit from System Administration [ FEATURE ] [ 0 ] [ 0 ]

The latest PARTNER ACS release have already been modified for the new Daylight Savings schedule. The releases with the enhancement are PARTNER ACS R7.0.91K and PARTNER ACS R6.85T . To determine the release of your PARTNER ACS press [ Feature ] [ 5 ] [ 9 ] at any display telephone. The release number will show on the display.

Built in to these releases is an enhancement called “Network Time Synchronization”. If you subscribe to Incoming Caller ID; the time is sent along with the Caller ID information. PARTNER ACS (with the above releases) reads this information and automatically adjusts the system clock accordingly.

Although this does not deactivate the Automatic Daylight Savings Time feature, it will automatically correct the clock.