Joining a Conference

There are 3 ways to join the audio conference once it has gone live.

1. Dial-In: Dial-in access is available to a bridge number when assigned to a conference at the time it was booked.  The bridge number must be made available to all participants.  If Voicemail Pro version 3.0 mappings have been created, internal participants can dial into a conference via that short-code.

   • Participants can join a conference by dialing into a bridge number that was assigned to the conference during the booking process.  

     To join a conference via the dialing in method, do the following

     1. Dial the bridge number or short code (if a short code has been created).

     2. Respond to the following voice prompt: "Please enter your conference ID and press # (hash) to finish." If PIN Checking was not enabled, you are now logged onto the conference.

     3. If PIN Checking was enabled, you will be prompted to enter a PIN number.

     4. Once the correct information is entered, a single beep will sound indicating that you have successfully dialed into the conference.  

     If an incorrect conference ID or PIN is entered, the action taken will depend on the call flow set up by the system administrator.

2. Voice Conference Notification (VCN): Available if VCN was enabled when adding participant details.  Via VCN, participants join a conference by receiving an automated telephone call from the Conferencing Center system inviting them to join.

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     Note: Please be aware that for external participants joining a conference via VCN to get a cohesive greeting, a greeting message must be recorded to the Conf_Prompt24.wav file on VM Pro. Once recorded, the system will play this greeting message prior to the Press 1 to accept prompt.

     If VCN was enabled when the conference was booked, participants scheduled to join a particular conference can do so by accepting a voice notification via the telephone.  You will be asked to:

     • Press 1 to accept.  (If PIN checking was enabled, you will be asked to enter the PIN number after pressing 1.)

     • Press 2 to decline.

     • Press 3 if the participant is not available.

     If a participant's phone line is engaged, VCN dials the line again two additional times, every 3 minutes, and informs the participant of the conference if the line is free.

3. SoftConsole: Participants join a conference by calling the operator and requesting to be connected.  This is a last case scenario because you are relying on the operator to recognize and confirm that the participant phoning in is a valid conference participant.  

   1. IP Office SoftConsole displays active conferences booked via Conferencing Center. From the SoftConsole screen, the operator can then add valid participants into those active conferences by first establishing a call (either incoming or outgoing) to the valid participants.  
   2. This method of joining a conference should only be used as a last resort because it is dependent on the following criteria:
      1. IP Office SoftConsole is available and configured properly.
      2. The SoftConsole operator recognizing you as a valid conference participant.

Once you have joined an audio conference, a tone indication will sound when there is a change in participant log on/off or whisper status .

• 1 beep tone: A participant has joined the conference or rejoined the conference following a whisper session.

• 2 beep tones: A participant has left the conference or joined a whisper session.