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 |  | make your PC answer the phone |  | | By Jack Lyon | | (2/24/03) |
Answering machines work great for taking messages or screening calls, but any functions beyond the basic get lost with that user’s manual you threw out last spring. Most people only use the Play and Delete buttons, though the machines can often do more. Voicemail makes a nice alternative, with instructions offered by an anonymous mellifluous voice, but then you pay a monthly fee. With the right software, your PC can offer immense flexibility, online help, and no monthly fees. EzVoice turns your PC into a full-fledged call center, offering up all the muscle of your phone company's voicemail system and then some. Caller ID, multiple mailboxes, remote access, and top-notch message management are all available in this powerful package. Even better, with a one-time price tag of $18.50, the software costs less than a single month's worth of regular voicemail.
Configure your phone and modem
Using EzVoice to record incoming phone calls is surprisingly effortless. All you need is a modem with voice capability (which nearly all modems have) and a healthy amount of hard drive space. After installation, you should first confirm that the software has recognized your modem. Go to the Tools menu and select System Setup and then the Modem tab to see your modem setup. Next, click on the System tab from the System Setup menu. Here you'll configure how many times the phone rings before voicemail goes into action and how many seconds of silence are allowed before the software closes the connection.
Make your mailbox messages
The software starts with a single mailbox and an outgoing message that are ready to roll the second you plug your phone cord into your modem. To change your default outgoing message, select the Greeting tab from the System Setup menu and select Record. The software will only accept live recordings, so you'll need a microphone connected to your sound card. Setting up multiple mailboxes is a little trickier. Under the same Greeting tab, locate the Greetings for Mailboxes area. Enter a number for a new mailbox, and select the Record button next to it. This will be the secondary outgoing message callers will hear if they select this mailbox. Then, to actually create the mailbox, you need to call your number, punch in the number of your new mailbox, and leave a message. The new message actually creates your new mailbox. Remember, you'll likely want to update your main outgoing message every time you add a mailbox so callers know how to leave a message in the appropriate mailbox.
Listen up
To see if you have any new messages, select Mailbox under the View menu and click on All Mailboxes. The window that comes up displays every message, new or old, in every mailbox. All new messages are in bold. To listen to a message, simply double-click it and press Play. In this main view, messages can be sorted by mailbox, name, number, or time. To remotely access your messages, you'll first need to create a password by going to the General tab in the System Setup menu. Then dial your phone number and press the pound (#) key when you hear your default outgoing message. After you enter your password, the software will verbally guide you through message retrieval.
Manage your messages
If you're a real voicemail pack rat, EzVoice allows for some serious message organization. Create new folders to hold old messages by right-clicking the top folder in the tree menu and selecting New Folder. Drag any message from any mailbox into your new folder to save it for a rainy day; but keep in mind that once you move a message from its mailbox, it can no longer be remotely accessed. You can also add text notes to a message. Right-click any message, select Properties, and then the Adding Notes tab. Even with all the added organization, after a few months of use, you might find it tricky to locate older messages in the ever-growing voicemail pile. You can search for messages by the caller's name or number, or by any notes you added by clicking the Find icon from the main menu. Finally, if you receive a message that you'd like to save elsewhere or share with others, it can be exported as a WAV file. Right-click any message and select Save As from the pop-up menu.
Jack Lyon, former director of CNET Hardware, splits his time contributing to CNET and building brand-savvy online games as cofounder of AstroManic Studios.
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