How to Change the Matched Name Selection Method on a Unified Messaging Auto Attendant

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

This topic explains how to use the Exchange Management Console and the Exchange Management Shell to change the matched name selection method on your existing Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging auto attendants.

You can configure the matched name selection method setting on the auto attendant's Features tab, or you can leave the default setting on the auto attendant and then configure this setting on the dial plan that is associated with the auto attendant. Select one of the following methods to provide the caller with more information to help them find the correct user in the organization:

  • Title   The auto attendant will include each user's title when it lists matches.

  • Department    The auto attendant will include each user's department when it lists matches.

  • Location   The auto attendant will include each user's location when it lists matches.

  • None   The auto attendant will not include any additional information when it lists matches.

  • Prompt For Alias   The auto attendant will prompt the caller for the user's alias.

  • Inherit from dial plan   The auto attendant will use the default setting from the dial plan that is associated with the auto attendant.

Note

For the matched name selection method to work correctly, you must populate the title, department, and location boxes on the recipients in your Microsoft Exchange organization.

The matched name selection method is used when two or more users who have the same name exist in the Active Directory directory service. The matched name selection method is also referred to as a disambiguation field. By default, the auto attendant is set to inherit the matched name selection method from the dial plan. However, by default, the auto attendant is unable to disambiguate between two or more users who have the same name because the default setting for the matched name selection method on the dial plan is set to None.

You can configure each auto attendant with a different matched name selection method than is configured on the dial plan. For more information about how to configure the matched name selection method on a UM dial plan, see How to Configure the Matched Name Selection Method on a Unified Messaging Dial Plan.

Before You Begin

To perform the following procedures, the account you use must be delegated the Exchange Organization Administrators role.

For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Exchange 2007, see Permission Considerations.

Also, before you perform these procedures, confirm the following:

  • A UM dial plan has been created.

  • A UM auto attendant has been created.

Procedure

To use the Exchange Management Console to change the matched name selection method on a Unified Messaging auto attendant

  1. In the console tree of the Exchange Management Console, expand the Organization Configuration node, and then click the Unified Messaging node.

  2. On the UM Auto Attendants tab, select the UM auto attendant that you want to manage, and then click Properties in the action pane.

  3. On the dial plan Properties page, on the Features tab, under Matched name selection method, select one of the following values:

    • Title

    • Department

    • Location

    • None

    • Prompt For Alias

    • Inherit from dial plan

  4. Click OK to save your changes.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to change the matched name selection method on a Unified Messaging auto attendant

  • Run the following command:

    Set-UMAutoAttendant -Identity MyUMAutoAttendant -MatchedNameSelectionMethod <value>
    

    Where value is set to one of the following:

    • Title

    • Department

    • Location

    • None

    • PromptForAlias

    • InheritFromDialPlan

For more information about syntax and parameters, see Set-UMAutoAttendant.

For More Information

For more information about Unified Messaging auto attendants, see the following topics: