Parking Calls

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1 Title
2 Problem
3 Solution
4 Discussion
5 See Also
6 Metadata

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Title

Parking Calls

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Problem

You want to place a call on hold so that it can be taken off hold from another extension.

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Solution

Add the following to the [general] section in the /etc/asterisk/features.conf file:

parkext => 700			; What extension to dial to park
parkpos => 701-720		; What extensions to park calls on. These needs to be
				; numeric, as Asterisk starts from the start position
				; and increments with one for the next parked call.
parkingtime => 45		; Number of seconds a call can be parked for
				; (default is 45 seconds)

Add the following to a context accessible by your phone in the /etc/asterisk/extensions.conf file:

include => parkedcalls

Execute the following commands on the Asterisk CLI:

features reload
dialplan reload

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Discussion

Call Parking is an Asterisk feature which allows an user to place a call on hold so that it can be taken off hold from another extension.

You can park a call using either an analog or VoIP phone. To use an analog phone, hit the flash button, or quickly press the hook switch, wait for a dial tone, then dial parking extension (parkext) 700. With a VoIP phone, initiate the transfer, dial call parking extension 700, then complete the transfer (such as by pressing send). The method using a VoIP phone will vary depending on the phone.

At this point, the parking number for the caller will be announced. The number it prompts you with is a number from the extension range (parkingpos) specified. This is the number that can be entered to retrieve the call. To retrieve the call, pickup a phone, and dial the parking number that was previously announced. The amount of time that the call remains parked is determined by the number of seconds specified in “parkingtime”. If the call is not retrieved in this time, the call will be redirected to the user that originally parked the call.

You must use the attended transfer function in order to properly park a call. Using a blind transfer function will not provide the parking number to the person parking the call. This makes recovery of the call difficult, except for the fall through timeout.

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