Customizing Pager Strings in the Properties File

Properties in \vocera\server\properties.txt allow administrators to configure the strings that the Vocera Voice Server uses to dial pagers and the strings that the pagers display. For example, some environments require trunk access codes to enable a call to an inside pager; other environments may want the pager to display only the extension of the Vocera hunt group or DID number, not the full dialing string. You edit these templates to allow Vocera to support the paging requirements of your environment. In a multi-site installation, these properties apply to all sites.

Note: If you modify the Properties.txt file, you must stop and start the Vocera Voice Server to load the properties into memory.

The following properties format the values passed to pagers.

Table 1. Pager properties
Property Description

TelOutsidePageSetUp

Formats the string passed to a pager outside the Vocera system.

The default value of this property is %N;%V%D.

%N refers to the pager number Vocera will call, based on one of the following values:

  • An outside number specified in the voice command, “Dial a pager number.”

  • The value entered in the Pager Number field of an address book entry

  • The value specified in Pager Number field of a user profile, if the number is not preceded by an X.

%V refers to the Vocera hunt group number (analog integration) or DID number (digital integration).

%D refers to the user’s extension (either the Desk Phone or Extension, Vocera Extension, or dynamic extension, whichever applies).

Administrators will not typically need to modify this default value.

TelInsidePageSetUp

Formats the string passed to a pager inside the Vocera system.

The default value of this property is %N;%V%D.

%N refers to the pager number Vocera will call, based on one of the following values:

  • A number specified in a voice command such as, “Page number 4321.”

  • The value entered in the Pager Number field of an address book entry

  • The value specified in Pager Number field of a the user profile, if the number is 1 to 6 digits long, or 7 digits long and preceded by an X.

%V refers to the Vocera hunt group or DID number.

%D refers to the user’s extension (either the Desk Phone or Extension, Vocera Extension, or dynamic extension, whichever applies).

Administrators may want to modify the default value. Imagine the following scenario:

  • An organization’s telephony system requires a user to dial 64 to get to the trunk.

  • Users want pagers to display only the 4-digit extension of the Vocera hunt number, not the full ten-digit number. For example, if the Vocera hunt number is 408-790-4170, the pager should display 4170.

  • The paging system uses an asterisk to indicate a call-back number.

In this situation, an administrator would provide the following value for this property:

64%N;4170*%D

TelOutsidePageSetUpForDialIn

Formats the string passed to an outside pager by a person calling into the Vocera hunt group.

The default value is %N;%X.

%N refers to the pager number Vocera will call (the value entered in the Pager Number field of the user profile or address book entry).

%X refers to the call-back number the user enters when prompted by the Genie.

Administrators will not typically need to modify this default.

TelInsidePageSetUpForDialIn

Formats the string passed to an inside pager when a person calls into the Vocera hunt group.

The default value is %N;%X.

%N refers to the pager number Vocera will call (the value entered in the Pager Number field of the user profile or address book entry).

%X refers to the call-back number the user enters when prompted by the Genie.

Administrators will not typically need to modify this default value.

TelOutsidePageSetUpForDID

Formats the string passed to an outside pager by a Vocera user placing the page who is assigned a DID in the Vocera system.

The default value is %N;%I.

%N refers to the pager number Vocera will call (the value entered in the Pager Number field of the user profile or address book entry).

%I represents the full DID number that is used as the call-back number.

Administrators will not typically need to modify this default.

TelInsidePageSetUpForDID

Formats the string passed to an inside pager by a Vocera user placing the page who is assigned a DID in the Vocera system.

The default value is %N;%I.

%N refers to the pager number Vocera will call (the value entered in the Pager Number field of the user profile or address book entry).

%I represents the full DID number that is used as the call-back number.

Administrators will not typically need to modify this default.

The following figures show how these properties can be used.

The first figure shows the flow of events that occur when a Vocera user pages someone whose pager number is outside the Vocera system. This example uses the default value of the TelOutsidePageSetUp property.

Figure 1. Paging an outside number

The next figure shows the flow of events that occur when a Vocera user pages someone whose pager number is inside the Vocera system. In this example, the value of TelInsidePageSetUp has been changed to meet the following criteria: