Unified Messaging FAQ

Before I signup I'd like to know...

How can you do this for free?
What's an easy way to get started with live call divert?
Are there any hidden charges?
What kind of numbers are these Unified Messaging accounts on?
What about the Year 2000 number changes?
How big are the the messages?
What software systems can I use it with?0
How do I control it?

I'm already a user can you help me with...

My Login ID is rejected
What other fax formats are available?
How can I send faxes from my email address?
How can I get my voice messages over the phone?
Why do I have to press # to accept a call?
How can I get another fax or voice account?
The Imaging program only prints part of the first page
Can I program my own divert sequence?
How long does a message take to be sent to my email?
What is the difference between my UserID, forwarding email address and system email address?
Can you change my UserID?
I think I received a fax/voice message, how can I check this?
Is it possible to resend old messages?

Answers 

How can you do this for free?

We are a communications company, and like most internet access services providers, we make a little money on the call traffic.

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What's an easy way to get started with live call divert?

Login to your clubhouse, click on a number and select the 'Number Divert' tab. Click on Home, Office, or Mobile to divert your number to that destination.

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Are there any hidden charges?

There are no bills, no contracts, no credit checks, no admin fees, no obligation to purchase a hidden product. When you get the account that's it. The only obligation is that you use the account.

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What kind of numbers are these Unified Messaging accounts on?

Most of the accounts are on numbers prefixed 07xxx, which is the prefix allocated for Mobile Phones and Personal Numbers. 07xxx Numbers are both Unifed Mail Numbers and also very powerful Personal Numbers which can forward calls to UK Landlines and UK Mobile Phones without charge. 07xxx numbers are not premium rate numbers.

Calls to 07050 and 070059 numbers from a BT landline are charged at the BT 'K' rate - which is 12.5, 25, 37.5 p/min incl VAT (weekends, night, day) pence per minute before discount. Calls from other types of phones are approximately the same as calling a mobile phone.

Calls to 07020 070058 and numbers from a BT landline are charged at the BT 'D' rate - which is 9.9, 9.9, 16.7 p/min incl VAT (weekends, night, day) pence per minute before discount. Calls from other types of phones are approximately the same as making a UK national long distance call.

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How big are the the messages?

Voice: We use the Real-Audio format as standard. This is a good balance between quality and compactness. The average short phone message is about 10 secs, and 20 secs is quite a long message. Our system will take messages up to 2 minutes (longer if a special feature is enabled), but that is a very long message. You can also choose to receive files in .mp3 or .wav formats.

You should allow about 2KBytes per second, and this means that on a good line your message will download twice as fast as it takes to play.

Fax: Fax varies with the page contents. There is also the option to have the fax "zipped". If the page has pictures/halftones or comes from a dirty fax machine, or paper that is not white, then the amount of "information" rises. We deliver the fax dot for dot as we receive it. A faxed page of text with a signature at the end would take about 30-40KBytes so that on a good dial up internet connection each page takes about 10 seconds, assuming that it has been "zipped".

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What software systems can I use it with?

Internet Browsers: We have tested the applications on IE4 and Netscape 4.5 onwards.

Email Software: You can use any email software that allows you to receive file attachments to emails. Our recommended email software programs are Outlook Express and Netscape Messenger, which are included in their respective version 4 browsers.

Viewing Faxes: The software used to open your faxes is dependent on the Operating System you use. For more information on this, see 3316 - How do I setup for viewing faxes .

Voice Message Playback: When someone leaves you a voice message it is quickly sent to your email address as RealAudio (*.ra) file attached to an email (or *.mp3 or *.wav, depending on which format you chose). To playback your voice messages you will need;

• A sound card
• Speakers or headphones
• Either RealAudio, RealPlayer, or RealPlayerG2. These software programs can all playback files with a *.ra extension. If you don't have this software, don't worry, after you have signed up you will receive instructions on how to get hold of it. For *.mp3 or *.wav files, you can use Windows Media Player or Winamp.

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How do I control it?

You can control it through a phone line, there are voice "menus" with help buttons 0.

Also there are also WWW controls, so you can see a graphic of how your account is configured.

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My Login ID is rejected

When you first signup for Unified Messaging, our system registers you as a dmClub member, and then creates the Voice and Fax accounts that you requested. Your ID as a member is the email address you entered in the signup form, and is also your Login ID. If you change the email forwarding address for your voice or fax messages, this does not change your Login ID. If you have changed your email forwarding address and forgotten the email address you signed up, i.e. your Login ID, you will need to email your Unified Messaging Provider and ask them to tell you your Login ID. In the email you should say i)your name, ii)your Voice and Fax numbers, iii) your date of birth, iv) your mother's maiden name.

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What other fax to email formats are available?

Faxes are available in 3 formats:

PCX: Popular single page format

DCX: Multi-page format (default setting)

PDF: Adobe Acrobat multi-page format

For more information regarding fax formats, see 3316 - How do I Setup for Viewing Faxes .

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How can I send faxes from my email address?

With Free Unified Messaging there is no facility for sending faxes from your email address. We have a product in development at the moment which will provide this service so keep an eye on the website for product news.

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How can I get my voice messages over the phone?

Dial into your account via the Control Number (see 3328 - Login to my Control Number ) and access the main number control menu. Once you have accessed the main menu, choose option 2, then option 1.

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Why do I have to press # to accept the call?

Requiring you to press # to accept the call is the way our system ensures that the call is connected to a real person, rather than possibly being intercepted by say, a BT network announcement, or your company's voicemail system - which means you have much greater control over what happens to your calls. You can turn it off if you wish by disabling 'Smart Hunt' in your Voice number controls, but we warn you that sometimes you may not get your Voice messages come through to your email address.

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How can I get another Voice or Fax account?

There is a limit to the number of accounts you may have - we want to ensure that there are enough to go around, but given that you are under the limit you may signup for additional Voice and/or Fax numbers. To do so, login to dmClub (using your Login ID email address) and click on the dmUnified logo under the My Links section. You won't have to fill in all your details again, but we'll display them in the signup forms and you can change them if needed or just click Next.

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The Imaging program only prints part of the first page

For tips regarding "Imaging", see 3316 - How do I Setup for Viewing Faxes .

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Can I program my own divert sequence?

At present there is no facility for programming your own divert sequence. What you can do however is reorder your existing presets so that the current Program diverts the way you would like. For example; say you want the system to always try your home number first, and then try your mobile number second. To achieve this simply program your home number into your Mobile setting, and your mobile number into your Home setting. See 3329 - Divert Controls (over the phone) for more details.

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How long does a message take to be sent to my email?

Messages should take no longer than five minutes from receipt of a message via your account number to your email address. Please note however, that the large size of emails can cause forwarding to be delayed with certain ISP's.

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What is the difference between my UserID, forwarding email address and system email address?

See 0053 - Managing your id's, PIN's and e-mails

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Can you change my UserID?

See 0053 - Managing your id's, PIN's and e-mails

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I think I received a fax/voice message, how can I check this?

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Is it possible to resend old messages?

In order to resend any messages that you have received, we need to know specific information regarding the messages you require. Useful information includes the date and time that the message was sent; as well as the number it was sent from. To find this information see above - I think I received a fax/voice message, how can I check this?

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