Getting Started with Skype PSTN Calling Placing a call Once Skype PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) calling has been enabled on your account, you will see a new Dialer icon on your Skype for Business client on your PC, in between the history and calendar/meeting icons, as shown (near right). If you utilize the Skype for Business App on your phone, you will see the icon there as well (far right). Calls made from the Skype mobile client will show your FGI number on caller ID instead of your cellular number. Clicking on this icon will bring up a standard telephone dial pad. To place an outbound call, you can either: Use your mouse to click on dial pad numbers to dial Type your number to dial in the search box Type a name to search your Outlook contact list Note: Outlook contacts must have a phone number listed in their contact card in order to be dialed. Once your number has been populated, press Enter, or click on the Call icon in the bottom right of the dial pad.
Skype PSTN Calling Call Controls Once you initiate a call, you will be presented with a call control panel box window. You will notice that some options will be greyed out until the call is connected. This final window is similar to the window created during an internal Skype call, but will present you with additional call controls and a dial pad for interacting with automated phone systems. A Click to expand participants list for current call. B Network quality, and timer for current call. C Add party to current call (internal or external, Skype or another phone number). D Place current call on Hold. E Transfer current call (internal or external, Skype or transfer to cell phone) F Use a different device to handle current call (normally speakerphone/puck vs. headset) G Use dial pad to interact with automated phone systems. H Volume slider for current call. I Place microphone on mute. J End current call. K Additional options for current call.
Skype PSTN Calling - Receiving Calls Similar to internal Skype calls, when you receive a PSTN phone call via Skype, you ll receive a toast notification at the bottom of your screen indicating the incoming call, along with caller ID information. If this caller ID matches any contacts in Outlook, their info/photo will be displayed as well. Clicking anywhere in the blue area above Options/Ignore will connect the call via your default audio device/headset. Clicking Ignore on the notification will send the caller immediately to your voicemail. Clicking on the Options dropdown will provide you with a few additional call handling options: Same as the Ignore button, from the Options dropdown, you can send the caller to voicemail with the Voice Mail option. If your account is configured with a cell phone number, clicking Mobile will forward the call to your cell phone (this will be a standard voice call on your cell phone; any applicable voice minutes will apply). Finally, you can use the Options dropdown to set your presence to Do Not Disturb, which will send the call to voicemail, and send all subsequent calls to voicemail until your status changes to Busy or Available. Once you are connected to your call, the call controls on Page 2 will appear, and the call can be handled as normal. If you miss (or ignore) a call, you will receive an email indicating such. Clicking on the link will allow you to return the call without typing in the number. Additionally, your Skype client (and mobile app) will also indicate missed calls with a notice on the history icon. Clicking on this icon will clear the notification, and show you a list of missed calls. Double-clicking on entry in this list will allow you to return the call if desired.
Skype PSTN Calling - Receiving Calls (continued) Notes regarding incoming calls: Ringing Devices: Calls should ring at any signed-in devices; this includes PCs running Skype for Business Client, the Skype for Business mobile client, or any desktop Skype phones currently signed in under your login. Skype Status and Incoming calls: If your status is set to Do Not Disturb, you are sharing your screen, or your screen is duplicated (on a projector, etc) all calls will go directly to voicemail, and you will not see an indication of incoming calls. Missed calls while in DND/Presentation are cataloged in your Outlook inbox (as shown above). Multiple calls: If you are involved in a call and receive a second call, answering the 2 nd call will automatically place your original call on hold, and open the new incoming call in a new window. After you re done with the 2 nd call, click on Resume Call in the yellow banner on the original call to resume. (continued on next page)
Skype PSTN Calling - Voicemail When your Skype account is enabled for PSTN calling, you will automatically have a personal voicemail box created, with a default greeting that lets callers know your name and to leave a message. By default, all voicemails are available in your Skype client, and a copy of each voicemail is sent to you in Outlook as a sound file. Using Outlook for Voicemail Management Outlook will display the From field as the caller s number; the length of the voicemail in the subject, and the caller s name (if known) in the test preview field. From the contents of the mail, you can click on play, and the voicemail will play on your PC or Laptop speakers, or via your cell phone speaker if you receive your FGI mail on your phone. While the voicemail is playing, you can drag the time bar in the voicemail to rewind/fast forward as desired, and adjust the volume, or stop playback. If you wish to return a call from a voicemail easily, you can click on the number below the voicemail player (bottom right in the example above), which will use Skype to return the call as a normal phone call. If you are finished listening to the voicemail, you can delete it like you would any email. This will remove it from all devices (Skype Client, desktop phone, etc) signed in under your account. Voicemails do count against your Outlook quota, but are much smaller than normal attachments; a 1 minute Voicemail consumes approximately 150-180kb of space. (Mailboxes now have a 50 GB starting quota (50 GB = 50,000,000 kb)) Note: The Play on Phone functionality is not yet enabled on Microsoft s cloud product line yet. This function will fail if attempted. SMS (Text) notifications for voicemails are also not operational in the cloud as of this writing. If you would like to share a voicemail with another person (either inside or outside the company), you can forward the voicemail like any other email. Optionally, you may click the Edit Notes button at the top to add any additional information you d like to pass on along with the voicemail; or you may use the notes for your own personal reference; they will be saved in the same email with the voicemail sound file for future reference in this manner.
Skype PSTN Calling Voicemail (continued) Using the Skype Client for Voicemail Management In addition to, or instead of, using Outlook, you may utilize the Skype client for retrieving voicemail messages. Voicemails are synchronized between all platforms, so deleting a voicemail in Skype will delete it from your Outlook and vice-versa. The Skype client will indicate a waiting voicemail with a Notification indicator on the dialpad icon, which reveals missed calls vs. voicemails when you hover your mouse over it. Clicking to the dialpad section of Skype will reveal any live voicemails at the bottom pane, below the dialer. Clicking on the Phone icon (arrow) to the left of the caller ID will display voicemail options: A. Play back voicemail message (this will play back in your Skype headset, not your speakers) B. Return call C. View contact card (if number is tied to an Outlook contact) D. More options (also accessible by right-clicking on the voicemail) Voicemail Options, Greetings Finally, if you wish to retrieve your voicemail via audio menus (similar to older phone systems), you can either long-hold the 1 button in your dialpad, or click on Call Voice Mail in the voicemail menu. From here, you can listen to all messages consecutively. If you wish to personalize or change your voicemail greeting, click on Change Greetings. You will be connected with your voicemail box, and prompted through recording a personalized outgoing voicemail message. Note: Some features are still unavailable in Microsoft s cloud offering. Currently, all settings under Set Up Voice Mail are not active, and will return errors if you attempt to modify them at this time.
Skype PSTN Calling - Transferring, Conferencing Transferring Calls with Skype Skype will allow you to transfer a call easily to another Skype user, or to another phone number. Also, you can transfer a call to your cell phone in order to continue the call away from your PC. To send a current call to another Skype user or external party, click on the Transfer icon in the active call screen. This will bring up a search window; it will initially be pre-populated with your cell number (if it s in the system), as well as any current IM sessions as potential transfer targets. In the search box (red), you can either type in a telephone number, area code first, or you can search for Skype users, or within your Outlook contacts (only those contacts with phone numbers will display). Right-clicking on a Skype user will provide additional options for transfer, including their cell phone (if applicable), or transferring directly to the user s voicemail so the caller may leave a message. Note: The Park the call option is not available in Microsoft s cloud product at this time. After selecting the transfer target, your call status window will indicate that it is transferring the call, and the destination. After Skype has connected with the target number, your call window will automatically close and end the call. Please note: Skype only supports blind transfers at this time; if you wish to announce an incoming call to another Skype user, IT recommends sending that person an IM announcing the call, or placing the original caller on hold and making a quick call to the intended party first.
Skype PSTN Calling - Transferring, Conferencing (continued) Adding Parties to Calls (Conference Calling) While in a call, you can add additional parties to the call by clicking on the Invite More People icon at the top-right of the active call window. Similar to Transferring calls, clicking on Invite More People will bring up a search box pre-populated with any active IM parties. From the search, you can type in Skype contacts, or Outlook contacts (those with phone numbers), or simply type in the number you wish to bring into your existing call. After the additional party has been added to the call, your active call screen will change to an ad-hoc meeting status screen with all called parties represented; internal Skype users will be indicated by their user photo; outside lines will be represented by a phone icon. Right-clicking on any user in the call will provide options for muting, or removing them from the now-established meeting. You can also add more parties by repeating the Invite More People process multiple times.
Skype PSTN Calling - Advanced Call Flow Settings Farnsworth Group s Skype for Business implementation has a number of call handling options and features: Direct Numbers: Every user with Skype PSTN has a direct number assigned to them; this number can be given to clients or colleagues who you wish to be able to reach you without having to be routed through reception or an auto-attendant. Call Forwarding: You can easily forward all calls to another FGI Skype user, your cell phone, or any other number. Calls that are forwarded will not go into your Skype voicemail; if you forward your Skype to your cell phone for instance, all callers will wind up leaving voicemails on your cell phone, instead of Skype. Alternatively, you can also forward your number directly to Voicemail in situations where you may be unavailable for extended periods of time. Simultaneous Ring: In addition to forwarding, you can have multiple endpoints ring at the same time. Similar to forwarding, these can be your cell phone, another phone number, or another Skype user. This can be used for callcoverage situations as well. To Configure: After PSTN dialing is enabled on your Skype account, you will have a new section at the bottom of your Skype window indicating current call forwarding status. Clicking on the Phone icon to the left of this will all you to configure Call Forwarding and Simultaneous Ring settings. From these dropdowns, you can choose (or add) the number or Skype user you wish to forward to, or ring simultaneously. Finally, the Turn Off Call Forwarding option will disable all currently applied call forwarding or simultaneous ring settings. Previously added numbers will be remembered as shortcuts for future use.