Feature codes are short numbers used to call a particular telephone line, hunt group, etc, from within the system. For example, you can set "123" to forward to a hunt group of all telephone lines. Feature codes are also used to access features such as voicemail. For example, *1 is often set to allow direct access to voicemail without a password, and *2 asks for a mailbox and password. You may change these assignments; this is useful if your staff are used to the feature codes of a legacy PBX system. Calls to feature codes are not charged. The feature codes that you create affect only users in your own customer, not other customers using the system.

To add a new feature code

  1. Log in to the Enswitch web interface.
  2. If you wish to record calls to this feature code, make a record group.
  3. Go to Features » Feature codes.
  4. Click the "New" button.
  5. Enter the following:
    • The feature code to call.
    • Optionally a description.
    • The owner. This person may edit the feature code even if they are not an administrator.
    • Whether to screen calls. If set to yes, the person answering will be asked if they wish to accept the call.
    • Whether this feature code may be entered in the auto attendant and IVR menus.
    • Optionally force the caller name. This allows users on a SIP telephone to see which feature code the call came from.
    • Optionally hang up the call after a certain number of minutes.
    • The record group if you have any.
    • Optionally a password. If set, you can call the number routing menu and change the temporary routing and announcement message.
    • If you are logged in as a system owner, whether the feature code may be used by all customers on the system.
    • Optionally temporary routing. This overrides the main routing below. If you use the number routing telephone menu, it is the temporary routing that you change.
    • The destination to route calls to this feature code to.
  6. Click the "Save" button.
  7. If you wish to set an announcement message to be played when the number is called, and before the destination is rung, go back into the feature code settings, and upload a .wav file. Alternatively, call the number or feature code (*5 by default) for the number routing menu.

If you wish to route to different destinations for different callers, or at different times of the day or days of the week:

  1. Make the feature code.
  2. If routing by time, make a time group.
  3. Go back into the feature code settings.
  4. Click the "Add a caller route" or "Add a time group" button.
  5. Choose the caller prefix or time group, and the destination.
  6. Click the "Save" button.
  7. Repeat for any other caller prefixes or time groups as desired.

Default feature codes

Some feature codes are defined within the system for you. These are:

  • *1: Voicemail direct access.
  • *2: Voicemail login.
  • *3: Conference login.
  • *4: Auto-attendant.
  • *5: Number routing menu.
  • **: Group pickup.
  • ***<telephone line>: Pickup specific telephone line.

These are not shown in the feature codes web page. If you create feature codes with these numbers, your feature codes override the defaults.