Create call groups and call menus

Build ringing groups and caller menus, then connect them to incoming and no-answer routes.

Use a call group when several extensions should ring for the same call. Use a call menu when a caller should hear a greeting and choose a destination with keypad input. Both are destinations — creating one does not send calls to it until you point an incoming route, a no-answer route, or another menu option at it.

Prerequisites

• Select the intended phone system.
• Create the extensions and media-library audio you plan to use.
• Configure time periods before adding period-specific incoming or no-answer routing.
• Have write access to Call Setup. Managing routing rules from inside a group also requires call-group write access; without it the rules button is disabled with an explanatory tooltip.

Create a call group

1. Open Settings > Call Setup > Call Groups and select Add Call Group.
2. Enter a Name (up to 200 characters) and a Number (up to 10 characters). The number is what someone dials internally to reach the group, so it must not collide with an extension or another call group in the same dialing scope.
3. Select Manage extensions and choose the extensions that should ring. The picker labels inactive extensions so you do not add one that cannot take a call.
4. Set No-Answer Timeout between 5 and 120 seconds. The default is 30.
5. Select Create, then reopen the group with Edit. Voicemail greeting, tags, and no-answer routing only appear once the group exists.
6. Choose a Voicemail Greeting from the media library when the group should have its own mailbox. The picker offers items typed as voicemail greetings, including the shared items Steer Phones curates for every phone system.
7. Configure If Unanswered for each time period, then save.

Every extension you assign rings at the same time — a call group is a simultaneous ring, not a sequence, so the timeout is the total time the group rings before the unanswered route runs.

Choose what an unanswered group call does

If Unanswered offers one action per time period, so a group can drop to its own mailbox during open hours and forward to an answering service after close. The available actions are:

The group you are editing is filtered out of the Call Group and Call Group Voicemail pickers, so an unanswered call cannot be handed straight back to the group that just failed to answer. Send to Remote Phone System only appears when the phone system belongs to a group of related systems.

Create a call menu

1. Open Settings > Call Setup > Call Menus and select Add Call Menu.
2. Enter a Name (up to 200 characters).
3. Choose Greeting Audio from the media library. A greeting is required before a new menu can be created; the picker offers items typed as call menu greetings.
4. Set Max Repeats between 1 and 10 (default 3). This is how many times the menu replays its greeting while waiting for a digit.
5. Choose a No-Input Action — what happens once the repeat limit is reached without a usable digit. The options are Hang up, Forward to external number, Send to extension, Send to call group, Send to another call menu, Send to Call Assistant, Send to extension voicemail, Send to company voicemail, Voicemail management, and Send to remote phone system. Most of them reveal a second field for the destination; Forward to external number asks for a Forward Number in E.164 format, such as +15551234567.
6. Add a button for each digit the caller may press, then select Create.

A menu cannot select itself as a destination — it is filtered out of its own Send to another call menu picker and out of the Call Menu target list on its own buttons.

Build a digit button

Each button pairs one digit with an ordered Action Sequence.

1. Under Digit Buttons, select + Add Button.
2. Choose a Digit. Digits 0 through 9 and * are available, and a digit already used by another button is not offered. Each digit can be defined only once.
3. Add actions with the Add action… picker. A button accepts up to 20 actions.
4. Select Add Button to keep it, then repeat for the remaining digits.

Actions fall into two kinds. Play Audio and Send SMS are non-terminal: they run and the sequence continues, and you can reorder them with the arrow controls. Every other action is terminal — it decides where the call goes, so it must be the last step. Once a terminal action is in the sequence the editor stops offering more actions until you remove it.

Directory reads out up to nine extensions — the ones marked to appear in the directory, in directory-name order — as “To reach name, press 1”, and so on. From the listing the caller can press * to hear the list again or 0 to return to the menu; no input also returns to the menu. Set an extension’s directory name and directory visibility on the extension itself.

Let callers dial an extension directly

Turn on Allow Direct Extension Dial when callers who know an extension should be able to skip the menu. With it on, a caller enters the extension number followed by # while the greeting plays.

Because # becomes the finish key, it is never available as a menu button. Digits 0 through 9 and * remain assignable either way.

Example menu tree

A menu maps each digit to a destination, and a destination can be another menu. Sketching the tree before you build it keeps the digits, nested menus, and no-input fallbacks consistent.

  Greeting: "Thanks for calling. Press a key."
        |
        |-- 1  -->  Sales call group
        |
        |-- 2  -->  Support call menu
        |             |
        |             |-- 1  -->  Billing extension
        |             |-- 2  -->  Technical extension
        |             '-- no input  -->  Support voicemail
        |
        |-- 0  -->  Front desk extension
        '-- no input  -->  Main voicemail

Expected result

A call group rings its selected active extensions at the same time and, after the timeout, runs the no-answer action saved for the current time period. A call menu plays its greeting, accepts the digits you defined, and runs its no-input action once the repeat limit is reached.

Troubleshooting

• The dialing number is already in use: Choose a number that is not assigned to an extension or another call group.
• An extension is missing from the group picker: Confirm that it belongs to the active phone system and is available to your account.
• The menu cannot be created: Add greeting audio, keep Max Repeats between 1 and 10, give every button a terminal action, and fill in every required destination. The editor reports the first problem it finds at the top of the dialog.
• A digit cannot be selected: It is already assigned to another button, or it is # and direct extension dialing reserves it as the finish key.
• The Add action… picker disappeared: The button already has a terminal action, or it has reached the 20-action limit. Remove an action to continue.
• A group or menu cannot be deleted: Repoint every incoming route, no-answer route, routing rule, and menu option that still uses it, then retry.
• Send to Remote Phone System is not offered: The phone system is not part of a group of related systems. Ask Steer Phones support whether your shops should be linked.

Related guidance

• Configure business hours and incoming call routing.
• How an incoming call is routed.
• Route calls with conditional rules.
• Create and manage extensions.
• Create and route a Call Assistant.
• Manage greetings and audio in the media library.
• Review and manage voicemail messages.