Making Calls
The Browser Softphone
Every in-call control explained, including the two ways to pass a caller to a colleague.
Dashboard → Softphone turns this browser tab into your desk phone. It registers against your extension when the page opens, so calls ring here with nothing to install. The controls below appear under the keypad and light up as soon as a call is connected.
Transfer and Hold & Transfer
There are two ways to pass a caller to a colleague, and the difference is whether you speak to that colleague first. Both accept an extension, a colleague picked from your contact list, or an outside number such as a mobile.
| Button | What happens | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer | The caller is put straight through to your colleague and you leave the call immediately. You do not speak to your colleague first, and you cannot take the caller back. | You know your colleague is there and expecting the call, or the caller has simply reached the wrong person. |
| Hold & Transfer | Your caller is put on hold and hears your hold music while the system rings your colleague. You explain who is waiting, then either complete the transfer or go back to the caller if your colleague cannot take it. | The call needs context — a name, an account number, a warning — or you are not certain your colleague is free. |
On other phone systems these are often called "blind" and "attended" transfer. They are the same two things.
With Hold & Transfer, nothing is handed over until you press Complete transfer. If your colleague does not answer, or cannot help, press Back to caller and the call resumes exactly where it left off — the caller only hears the hold music.
Add call
Add call is Hold & Transfer that ends in three people instead of two. Your caller goes on hold, you ring the third person, and Merge calls puts all three of you into one conversation. Nobody has to hang up and redial, and nobody needs a conference room number.
Choosing who to call
Transfer, Hold & Transfer and Add call all open the same panel: one box where you type a name, an extension or a number. Colleagues matching what you type appear underneath — click one to select them. The keypad is hidden until you press Keypad, so it is out of the way when you are typing a name.
Earpiece and Speaker
Two separate buttons, not one toggle. Earpiece is a quieter, close-to-the-ear level for when other people are nearby; Speaker is a boosted, across-the-desk level for hands-free. The one currently in use is highlighted, and the difference is a genuine change in volume rather than a label.
Recording a call
Press Record to start recording the call you are on. The softphone confirms "Recording started" so you know it took effect. Press it again to stop, and the confirmation tells you the recording was saved and how large the file is — that message only appears once the audio file has been checked on our servers, so it is a genuine confirmation rather than an assumption.
Saved recordings appear in Dashboard → Recordings, usually within a minute of the call ending. If a recording could not be saved, the softphone says so at the time instead of failing silently.
Recording calls carries legal obligations. See the Call Recording article for what you must tell callers and how long recordings are kept.
The other controls
- •Mute — stops your microphone. The caller stays connected and can still be heard by you.
- •Hold — pauses the call and plays your hold music to the caller. Press Resume to return.
- •Park — puts the call in a numbered slot so any colleague in the building can collect it from their own phone.
- •Do not disturb — stops calls ringing this softphone. Callers follow your normal no-answer routing, usually voicemail.
Transfer, Hold & Transfer, Add call, hold, park and recording are separate features on your plan. If a button is greyed out on a live call, the feature is not enabled on your account — Dashboard → Settings shows which are on.