Persona Connect Portal User Guide

Getting Started

Welcome to your new unified communications account! Your account on this system will allow you to make calls, receive voicemails, chat with other users in the organization and much more.

This document is designed to help teach you how to navigate to the Connect Portal, a web interface that allows you to access and control your account.

We will then break down the Connect Portal home page, the application navigation icons, the configuration options for them, and how they change the behavior of the application.

Finally, we will discuss how to use those applications in a real-world use case scenario, so you understand what the applications do, the configuration options that control the behavior of the application, and how to apply your knowledge to configure the application to meet your needs.

The Connect Portal 

Accessing the Connect Portal

To manage your account, you will use the Connect Portal. A web interface that allows you to easily communicate with others and manage your account settings.

URL - https://portal.personacloud.net/portal/

Logging In

On the login page, enter the credentials you were provided or set up via the welcome email. After entering your credentials, you are taken to the homepage of your account.

If you are unsure of your credentials, Click on the Forgot Login Name or Forgot Password under the login button. Enter your email, and if you have an account, we will email you with information on setting up your account.

Homepage Layout

The Homepage icon is the default landing page and shows your recent voicemails, call history, rules, and active phones. In the top right hand corner of the Connect Portal, you will see the link for your name and extension number displayed. Clicking on your name and extension number will display the options to edit your Profile information and log out of the Connect Portal.

Profile

As seen below, the Profile section allows you to change your account options, such as your first or last name and Time Zone.

Below we will cover the different sections of the profile.

Directory Options

Directory options allow you to configure how you are represented in the organization contacts in the Connect Portal and audible company directory.

Announce in Audio Directory

Checking the Announce in Audio Directory will list you in the company directory. Callers can search for your extension when routed to a company directory.

List in Directory

The List in Directory options controls if your extension is listed in the Contacts in the Connect Portal.

Caller ID Information

The Caller ID Information section allows you to edit the area code that will be in your Caller ID and appended when only dialing 7 digits on outbound calls. You cannot edit your Caller ID or 911 Caller ID. If you need that changed, contact your Office Manager.

Change Account Security

The Change Account Security section in the profile windows allows you to manage your accounts' passwords and email settings.

Email Address

In the Email Address field, you configure the email address you would like to receive notification from. You can add multiple email addresses by clicking the green plus sign next to the field.

New Password

The Password field allows you to configure your account with a new Connect Portal password used to log in. Below is the Confirm Password field, which requires you to enter the new password a second time for verification.

Current Password

The Current Password field is required to be filled out with your current password if any changes are made to any of the Change Account Security options.

Change PIN

The Change PIN option allows you to change the numeric password to check voicemail messages over the phone.

Below the Profile link is the Log Out option, which will log you out of the Connect Portal and take you back to the login page.

Single Sign-On & Multi-Factor Authentication

Single Sign-On and MFA are available to set up on your account. This is a great way to enhance the security of your account as well as use credentials that are well-known to you.

Widgets on Homepage

New Voicemail Messages Panel

The New Voicemail Messages panel displays all new voicemails. The voicemails are displayed with the number of the caller that left a voicemail. Their Caller ID name. Followed by the date and time the message was left and the voicemail duration.

You will also see the options to Call to Play, forward the voicemail, download the voicemail locally to your computer, or delete the voicemail message as seen below.

Recent Call History Panel

The Recent Call History panel provides an overview of the last 10 calls. 

• Green Icon - A phone icon with a green arrow represents an outbound call.
• Red Icon - A phone with a red icon means a call was not answered.
• Blue Icon - A phone icon with a blue arrow means an inbound call was answered.
• Blue Circles - 5 blue circles means a call was placed to a conference bridge.

Active Answering Rule Panel

To the right, you will see the Active Answering Rule window, which will display which rule is currently active and provide a summary of how calls are routed when they reach your extension. You can select a different answering rule by clicking the Active Answering Rule drop-down and selecting a different rule.

Active Phones Panel

The Active Phone fields below list the active phones currently registered to your account from which you can send and receive calls. If you do not see a device listed there that should be, that means the device is not configured for your account or the device is currently unregistered.

Navigation Options

On the top of the home page is the application navigation menu. Selecting an option here will take you to the applications management center.

Messages

The Messages icon stores all your voicemails, chat messages, and account settings for voicemail options.

Voicemail Tab

Clicking the Message Center icon will take you to the Messages center voicemail tab. On the top of the tab, you will see a new message indicator showing how many (if any) new voicemails your account has.

Underneath the tab selection you will see a drop down, which allows you to display new voicemails, saved messages, or trashed messages.

On the new page you can see all your new voicemail messages displayed with the caller’s phone number. The Caller ID name, along with the date, time, and duration of the message.

To the right of the message and message information, you will see the voicemail management options.

Call to Play

The phone icon allows you to use the Call to Play options, where the system will call your extension and play the voicemail.

Forward Voicemail

The arrow pointing to the right lets you forward the voicemail to another extension.

Download Voicemail

The Arrow pointing down allows you to download the voicemail to your computer.

Save

The disk icon allows you to save the voicemail in your account Saved section and will appear when selecting the Saved option from the voicemail box options.

Delete

The red X is the delete option; clicking the icon will remove the voicemail. Once a voicemail has been deleted, it will show in your trash section until the end of the day. After that, the message will be permanently deleted.

Chat and SMS

On the Chat and SMS tab, you can see all your conversations. The message is displayed with the contact’s name. The last message received or sent.

Start a New Conversation

To start a new conversation, click the New Conversation button, as seen in the righthand corner, and a new chat window will appear. Start typing the user's name or enter a phone number for SMS. You can message users directly in your contacts widget by clicking the chat box icon next to their name. After clicking one of the options a chat window will appear. Click in the Send a message… field and start typing. Press Enter when you would like to send your message.

Replying to Message

If you would like to reply to a message, simply type in the chat window that displays when receiving a message. You can also click the Reply icon to the right of the message in the message center.

Delete a Message

To delete a message, click the red x that appears next to the reply button when hovering over the message.

Settings Tab

The settings tab is where you can make changes to how your account handles voicemail and is represented in the company audible directory and in the Contacts of the organization.

Enable Voicemail

You can enable or disable the voicemail by clicking the checkbox next to Enable Voicemail option. A check means voicemail is enabled and unchecked means that it has been disabled.

Inbox Options

These options allow you to control your experience when calling into your voicemail box and checking your messages over the phone.

• Sort Voicemail Inbox by Latest First
  • Clicking the box next to Sort voicemail inbox by the latest first will configure your voicemail to play the most recent voicemail message left as the first message you hear. If this option is not enabled, the voicemails will be played in the order they were received.
• Announce Voicemail Received Time
  • Clicking the box next to Announce voicemail received time configure your voicemail account to tell you the time the voicemail was left when checking messages.
• Announce Incoming Caller ID
  • Clicking the box next to Announce incoming Call ID will have your voicemail read the caller ID number to you.

Greetings

Under the voicemail inbox options, you will see the Greetings section, which contains your voicemail greeting and recorded name used in the company directory.

Voicemail Greetings

You can have more than one voicemail greeting, and the drop-down box, allows you to select which greeting callers will hear when reaching your voicemail. To the right of the message select option, you will see three icons for the options to Play the voicemail greeting, Download the greeting, Or Manage Greetings.

Manage Greetings

Clicking the Manage Greetings icon takes you to the Manage Greetings center. Here you can add multiple greetings to be selected from your voicemail greetings drop-down list.

Adding Voicemail Greetings

To add a voicemail greeting, click the Add Greeting at the bottom of the Manage Greeting portal page. You will see the option to upload a new recording from a file on your computer or select Record, which will call you as the number you enter to record a new greeting. After the greeting is created, you will see the message displayed. To the right of the message, you will see options to Download and edit the message, allowing you to re-record or change the greeting. You will also see the option to delete the voicemail greeting message.

Recorded Name

The Recorded Name option allows you to record your name, which will be played when the company directory says your name. If no recording is uploaded, the system will read your name off by each letter. When clicking the Manage icon, the Manage Recorded Name window appears, allowing you to upload a recording from your computer. Or record a new name by clicking the record and having the system call you to record.

Notifications

Under Greetings, you will see the notification options, allowing you to manage your email/SMS notifications when a voicemail is left or if your mailbox becomes full.

Email Notification

The Email Notification options allow you to select the format of email notifications you receive.

• None
  • Selecting none will not email you when a voicemail is left.
• Send w/Hyperlink
  • Email is sent with a link to the message (Links Expire after 7 Days)
• Send w/Brief Hyperlink
  • Email is sent with a link to part of the message (Links Expire after 7 Days)
• Send w/Attachment
  • Email is sent with the WAV file attached to the message
• Send w/Brief Attachment
  • Email is sent with the WAV file attached to part of the message

SMS Notification

The SMS Notification is a premium feature that allows voicemail notifications to be sent via text message. 

Voicemail Reminders

Enable SMS Notification to send repeat reminders on a set interval for all unread messages.

SMS Recipients(s) - Enter a 10-digit phone number that will receive the SMS; for multiple numbers, put a comma between each number and without spaces.

Notification Interval - This is the time between each notification.

Voicemail Transcription

If this feature has been enabled, any voicemail messages received are transcribed to text. This text can be read in most places where you can retrieve your messages, including email, if enabled.

Contacts

The Contacts icon is where all users with “List in Directory” enabled under their profile are listed. If you do not see a user listed in the contacts, that is because “List in Directory” has been disabled.

Add Contact

The Add Contact button in the right hand corner will open the new contact window and allow you to enter a new contact that will be displayed in your account’s contacts.

Import

The import option allows you to import contacts from a CSV file (Outlook, Google, and Apple vCard) that will bulk-create users in your contacts.

To create your own list of contacts without importing from Outlook, Google, or Apple, Simply export the current list in Outlook or Google format and populate the fields shown above. You will be unable to pull all information across, like Birthdays, Websites, etc.

Export

The Export button will allow you to create a CSV file for the contacts group selected in the Contacts to export dropdown. The Export format will export the CSV file into an Outlook, Google, or Apple vCard file format.

Groups

On the Contacts page, you will see a drop-down that will let you filter:

• All
  • Displays all users on the system with List in Directory enabled.
• Favorites
  • Displays contact's you selected as favorites. Which you can add to by clicking the star next to the contact name
• Shared
  • Shared contacts are contacts available to the entire organization added by Office Managers.
• My Contacts
  • You have manually added contacts by clicking the Add Contact button in the top right.
• Coworkers
  • Displays all contacts in organization with List in Directory enabled.
• Departments
  • Breaks users down by the Department entered on their user profile.
• Available Users
  • Displays contacts that are available to be called or chat via the portal.
• Busy Users
  • Displays contacts that are currently on the phone or has their status set to Do No Disturb
• Offline Users
  • Displays users who do not have a registered device and not logged into the portal.

When selecting a contacts group option, the contacts for that group will appear. You can sort them by Name, Status, Department, and Email.
 

Contacts Status Icon

• Green - Contacts displayed with a green dot are available.
• Blue - Contacts displayed with a smaller blue dot in front of the green means that a person can chat in the portal.
• Red - If the contact has a red circle, the user is busy. You can chat with the user by clicking the chat icon to the right. Next to the chat icon, you will see the Edit contact icon.

Chat with Contact

Clicking the chat icon will open a chat window with that user.

Edit a Contact

The Edit icon to the right of the contact will open the Edit Contact window where you can configure the contact with a different:

• First Name
• Last Name
• You cannot change the extension number
• Work number
• Mobile Number
• Home Number
• Fax number
• Email address

Answering Rules

The Answering Rules icon will take you to your answering rules center. Answering Rules is how you control what devices ring and how long those devices ring when receiving a call. It is also where you can configure what to do with a call that goes unanswered.

Here, you will see the rules you have listed for answering. Every account is configured with a Default rule that cannot be deleted.

If you have multiple answering rules configured, the answering rule that is currently in effect will say Active next to the rule.
Every rule is displayed with its name. A description of how the rule will route the call and the options to edit or delete (except the default) the rule.

Ring for ___ Seconds / Ring Timer

When you click on Answering Rules you will see the option to set the Ring for seconds. This is what controls how long a call attempts to ring you.

To set the ring time out, click the drop-down to select how many seconds you would like calls to ring before sending the call to voicemail or the specified destination entered into the When unanswered field in the active answering rule.

If you do not want a ring time out, meaning you want your phone to ring forever, select Unlimited at the bottom of the drop-down.

Allow and Block Phone Numbers

To the right, you will see the Allow and Block button. This allows you to enter certain phone numbers to allow or prevent them from reaching you. Clicking the Allow / Block button will open the Allow / Block window.

Allowed Numbers

On the left is the allowed numbers. This allows you to add numbers blocked by the domain so you can still receive calls from those numbers.

Phone numbers added to allow will also let the call bypass Call Screening. If you have Call Screening enabled in an answering rule but want certain phone numbers not to record their name when calling you, add them to the allowed field. Then, when that number calls you, they will be sent directly to you and not have to record their name first like other callers who are not listed.

To add a phone number to Allow or Block, simply enter the number into the respective field and click the plus sign to add the phone number.

Blocked Numbers

Blocked Numbers allows you to add phone numbers you do not want to be able to reach you. 

Block Anonymous or Unknown

You can block all anonymous or unknown callers simply by clicking the check box next to Block anonymous or unknown.

Import

Have lots of calls to Allow or Block? Select the Import Button, Download the template and populate with the information. From there you can Upload the spreadsheet and build them all at once.

Spam Calls

If enabled on your system, Inbound calls can be checked for spam before reaching you. If the system has found the call as spam, it will still deliver the call to you, but you can choose what to do with it. Our spam detection is using a national database to see if the numbers have been flagged as spam by the carriers.

Using the dropdown select how you want Spam Calls to be handled

Add Rule

The Add Rule button allows you to configure a new Answering Rules for your account. Clicking the Add Rule button will display the Add an Answering Rule form

Answering Rule Time Frame

Time Frames are a set period of time that covers when we want certain events to occur, such as our phone ringing. When configuring a new answering rule, you must first choose when the rule will be in effect by selecting a Time Frame.

If no Time Frame exists for you to use, You must first create the Time Frame. (See Time Frame section below)

Enabled

The enable options lets you easily enable and disable the rule from being in affect. A check in the box means the rules is enabled and will be in affect during the selected time frame.

Do Not Disturb

The Do not Disturb option will prevent calls from reaching your devices and send the call to voicemail if voicemail is enabled or disconnect the call if voicemail is not enabled.

Call Screening

When Call screening is enabled, callers record their name. After they record their name, then your devices will ring. If you answer the call, it will play the users name and allow to press 1 to be connected or hang up the call and have them be sent to voicemail or wherever your Call Forwarding options are configured to send unanswered calls

Call Forwarding

The Call Forwarding options will route calls based on the options selected. When entering a destination, it can be anything you would like, another user or another telephone number that does not have to be associated with your account or even on the system.

• Always
  • Always will forward the call to the destination entered in the Extensions, phone number, or phone field every time your account receives a call.
• On Active
  • Forward calls to the number specified when you have one or more calls active
• When Busy
  • Forward calls only when your extension has used all available call paths
• When Unanswered
  • Forward  calls when the Ring for X Seconds mentioned earlier has been reached
• When Offline
  • Forwards calls when the system shows you as offline. 

Simultaneous Ring

The Simultaneous Ring options, also known as SIM ring for short allows you to configure what devices ring when receiving a call. Clicking the Simultaneous Ring box will allow you to ring more than just your extension and allow you to ring other extensions or phone numbers as well.

Include user’s extension

Enabling this option will make sure your extension rings when sim rings is enabled.

Ring all user’s phones

This option will ring all devices registered to your account.

Answer confirmation for off-net numbers

This option lets the user know the call is forwarded from their phone system and gives them the option to be connected to the user by pressing one or hanging up the call so they are not connected with the forwarded calling party.

Just Ring User’s Extension

This option is only available if Simultaneous ring is not enabled. If Just Ring User’s Extension is enabled, it will ring your default device configured under your account.
 

How to Create New Answering Rule with Simultaneous Ring

We would do the following if we wanted to create a rule to ring our extension for 45 seconds before sending the call to voicemail when receiving an incoming call during business hours.

During those 45 Seconds, I would like my desk phone to ring for 10 seconds by itself, then bring in my cell phone after 10 seconds. Here is what that looks like.

1. On the Answering Rule page, we would adjust the Ring for timeout option to 45 seconds.
2. Create a new rule by clicking Add Rule in the Answering Rules center.
3. On the Add an Answering Rule window select the Time Frame you would like the rule to be in effect.
4. Make sure Enabled has a checked box.
5. Click the Simultaneous ring option under Call Forwarding.
6. Click Include user’s extension to ring our phone or Ring all users's phones if you want them all to ring. In the picture above we are specific about the device we want to ring first by selecting the webphone with no delay. 
7. (Optional) Enable Answer confirmation for offnet numbers so our cell phone voicemail does not take the call if our voicemail answers the call.
8. In the Extension, number, or phone field, enter the cell phone number you would like to ring, then click the Ring Delay option and slide to 10 seconds.
9. Click the plus sign to add more devices to this ring pattern.
10. Once the answering rule is created you will see it appear in the answering rules list. If the time frame you select is in effect, then you will see Active next to the rule.

Sending Calls to Voicemail After Hours

1. To send calls directly to voicemail after hours, click the edit icon for the default answering rules.
2. On the Edit Answering Rule for the default rule, select Always in the Call Forwarding options then enter your extension, select voicemail, and click save.
3. After Saving your answering rules work top down, So Business Hours should be above After Hours and once the time frame for Business Hours is outside of the schedule it will look for the next match which will be After Hours.
   
   Note: Default is an Always Active Time Frame so it should always be below any scheduled Time Frames in order for them to work properly. 
   
   
    

Time Frames

The Time Frames icon will take you to the Time Frames application center. Time Frames are a set period of time that covers when we want certain events to occur, such as our phone ringing.

We create Time Frames with different time and date ranges so we can apply them to answering rules, allowing you to control how calls are routed depending on the time of the call.

NOTE: Hovering the mouse over the information bubble next to the description will bring up the details about the Time Frame without having to open each one.

To view and create your available Time Frames, click on the Time Frame icon in the top navigation menu bar. Here you will see all the time frames available. Time frames with names in black and without the option to edit or delete are time frames created at the domain level that are available to everyone in the domain. You can only edit the time frames with a blue name that you created. If you need domain-level Time Frames changed, contact your Office Manager.

Adding Time Frames

To create a time frame, click on the Add Time Frame button. The Add Timeframe window will appear after clicking the Add Time Frame button.

The Name field allows you to give the Time Frame a name to help identify the time frame. The name cannot be changed once the rule has been created. If you want to change the name, delete the rule and recreate it with the new name. Under the name field, you see three options for when the time frame should be in effect:

Always

This option ensures the time frame is always in effect. 24x7.

Days of the Week and Times

Allows you to select specific days of the week and the hours in the day you want the time frame to take effect. When selecting this option, the days of the week appear with a check box that allows you to select which days you would like the time frame active. Once selecting a day of the week, a blue bar appears, allowing you to slide the ends to when you would like the time frame to stop and start. If would like your time frame to be in effect from 8AM to 5PM, simply click on the edge of the blue bar and slide them over to the desired time.

If you’d like a break in the middle of the time frame, click the plus sign next to the right of that day. You will then see another blue bar appear, representing when the time frame will take effect.

Specific Dates or Ranges

This option will allow you to configure a time frame to be in effect for specific dates and times, useful for Holidays or Days Off. After selecting the Specific date or range option, you will see the to and from dates.

A calendar will appear when clicking in the To or From date fields. Below the calendar are the Hour and Minute options to configure your time frames to start and stop certain hours on the selected dates. Clicking the plus sign will allow you to add more date ranges for the time frame to be in effect.

Edit Time Frame

To edit a Time Frame, click the pencil icon to the right. You can edit the When options, however, not the name. If you would like to rename the Time Frame, delete it and create a new when with the same When options; however, the new desired name.

Delete Time Frame

To delete a Time Frame, click the red x delete icon; once deleted, this cannot be recovered. The Time Frame will have to be rebuilt.

Phones

The phone icon will take you to your phone center, listing all registered devices to your account.
 

A green icon next to the device means the device is registered and can send and receive calls.

A red icon means the device is unregistered. This could be caused because the device is a softphone and is currently turned off. Or the phone system is unable to communicate with the device.

To the right of the status indicator is the name of the device. Followed by device type, the manufacturer and model number of the device, the IP address the device is registered at, and the device's MAC address. Then, the line number of the device has the extension number displayed.

Music on Hold

Music on Hold will take you to your account's music on hold center and will list all the custom music uploaded to your account that is played when you place someone on hold. Music played in a top-to-bottom order or randomized depending on the setup.

Add Music

The Add Music button will allow you to upload an mp3 or WAV file format and name the music on hold file.

Add Messages

The messages section allows options to play an “introductory greeting” or a “message”. 

• Introduction Message
  • Only 1 Introduction message can be added, This message will play first. 
  • You can use Text to Speech, Upload, or Record your own greeting with a device on the system.

• Message
  • Multiple Messages can be added to the system
  • You can use Text to Speech, Upload, or Record your own greeting with a device on the system.
  • Messages can be reordered by grabbing the arrows to the left of the message and dragging it to a new position
  • You can define the times to be played between messages at the top of the message menu

Call History

The Call History icon will take you to the Call History page where you will see the calls made to and from your account for the specified date range.

Call History Filters

You can change the date range by clicking the Filters button. After clicking the filter button, the Call History Filters window will appear. Here you can change the Call History date range.

• Caller Number
  • Allows you to search for calls from a specific phone number by entering the number into the Caller Number field.
• Dialed Number
  • The Dialed Number field will let you filter for a specific number that you dialed.
• Call Type
  • The call type drop down lets you filter based off the type if call. Inbound, Outbound, or Missed Calls.
• Clear Filters
  • Clears any filters you have set in the popup window

Calls Displayed

Clicking the Filter button will display the calls matching the filter criteria.

Calls displayed with a red x are missed calls.

Calls displayed with a green arrow are outbound calls.

Calls displayed with a blue arrow are inbound calls that were answered.

The caller can be added to your contacts by clicking the Add Contact icon. You can add as new or to an existing contact.

If call recording is enabled for your profile or device, or if the call was from a queue configured to record calls, you can download the call by clicking the Download icon.

If you’d like to listen to the call without downloading the call, you can click the Listen icon, which will open a media player right in your browser.

You can set the Call History to display 15, 25, 50, and 100 calls per page.
 

Exporting Call History

The export icon allows you to download the call history into a .csv file that can be opened in any spreadsheet application such as Excel.