This article will explain how to use Time Condition and Time Group in your Elastix PBX. Time Condition and Time groups allow you to do things like control which IVR rings when someone calls your phone number, or send calls directly to voicemail during non-business hours.
Step 1. Create a Time Group
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A Time Group is essentially nothing more than a way for you to name specific blocks of time so you can easily reference them later. Multiple groups of times can be defined in your Elastix PBX, so you can have things like office hours, Weekly Staff Meeting, Lunch Time, etc.
· Click on the PABX tab in your Elastix web portal.
· Click PBX Setup.
· Under the Incoming call control on the left, click on Time Groups.
· Enter a description for the group (for example, “Office Hours”).
· Choose a time to start (eg 9:00). * Note time is in GMT
· Choose a time to finish (eg 17:00). * Note time is in GMT
· Choose Week Day Start (eg Monday).
· Choose Week Day End (eg Friday).
· Click Submit
The above settings will create a time group for office hours 9am-5pm MF.
The Day of Departure/Arrival Month and Start/Finish Month can be added if you close during part of the year or as part of a Holiday Hours filter.
Holiday hours would require specific start and stop times for each holiday that need to be checked before hitting your main group. You would go from the most specific to the most general group.
An easier way to implement a vacation time filter would be to create a day/night toggle where the day condition goes into your main Time Condition to be handled properly when it's not a holiday, and set the destination condition night to a voicemail or announcement you set for the holiday. Then you can toggle it to be “Night” before you leave for the holiday, and toggle “Day” back when you get back. Now that we have a saved time group, go to step 2.
Step 2. Time Condition
Time Condition are where you define what to do when you are in or out of your Time Groups. Here you can say things like; if it is during office hours, go to IVR Main, otherwise go to voicemail.
· Click on the Time Condition in the left-right menu above Time Groups.
· Choose a time Condition Name (eg Check if Open).
· Select the Time Group we just created from the dropdown menu.
· Association, you can leave this field blank or you can force day/night if you have toggle set up and want to use the destinations already defined there. (*Note if you are going to use the day/night holiday hours toggle as explained above, leave it as no association).
· Choose destination if time coincides with time set in Time Group (eg main IVR, or day/night control if set (see above)).
· Choose destination if time is hours outside of Time Group (eg Voicemail extension 500 or day/night if control set (see above)).
· Click Submit.
We now have a Time State defined using our Time group. Now we need to change our inbound routes to go to this Weather condition instead of your current destination.
Step 3. Change inbound routes
Finally, use an inbound route to point out who calls the Time Status.
· Click Inbound Routes in the left menu at the top of the Incoming Call Control Section.
· On the right, click on the inbound routes you want the Time Conditions to apply to.
· In the route entry settings, scroll to the end, set the destination to the Weather State we just created.
· Click Submit
Incoming calls should now be correctly routed based on time and destination entered in their Time Conditions. This is just a simple example. You can get as specific with your Time Condition as your business needs.
