Introduction
Conference bridge extensions are a great way of meeting via telephone with up to 30 participants. This article contains all the information necessary to operate your classic conference audio bridges as a Crexendo Administrator:
- Organizations can have more than one bridge.
- They can optionally be combined with video conferences
- Each bridge can be attached to a 10-digit outside phone number where external participants can call in.
- If a phone number is not assigned, external participants can also be routed to the bridge using auto attendants or just by simply transferring the caller.
- Each bridge can have a “moderator” who can perform administrative duties such as:
- Identify participants via CallerID information
- Mute other participants individually or collectively
- Mute other moderators individually
- "Kick" out or eject other participants or moderators
- "Lock" the entire conference so that no new participants or moderators can enter.
Getting to the Conference Bridge
A conference bridge is assigned to an extension number by your Crexendo Administrator. Internal users can call the extension number while outside callers must dial the outside number if one is assigned. If a moderator is required to start a conference, all participants will be sent to a “waiting room” with hold-music. Once inside the conference, any participant can press zero (0) to mute themselves at any time
For Crexendo Administrators
Configuration
Normally, your organization’s bridges would have already been created by Crexendo at startup. However, Crexendo Administrators can create, edit, and delete conference bridges as needed.
Regardless of the type of bridge, administrators can make changes to the bridge options which include:
- Setting a leader and participant passwords (PIN)
- Require a leader to start conference
- Setting the minimum/maximum number of participants
- Require participants record their name
- Announce participants upon arrival/departure
- Set an outside call-in phone number.
When configuring the parameters of the conference extension, the fields are defined below--all are editable:
| Name | Enter or change the name of the extension by editing this field. The names "Anonymous" and "Unknown" are not allowed. |
| Extension | Enter or edit the extension number. This extension must follow the Configuration Pattern. |
| Owner | Assign or change the owner of the extension (the person to whom the extension is assigned.) |
| Participant Pin | For added security, assign a Participant Pin to the Conference Extension. The maximum pin length is 8 numbers. |
| Moderator Pin | If a moderator is required, then a Moderator Pin must be created. The maximum pin length is 8 numbers. |
| Require Moderator | Check this box to require a moderator to join the conference before any other member can join. A prompt will automatically play until a moderator joins the call. However, a conference will not be terminated when the last moderator leaves. Create a moderator by editing Account Group moderator permissions. |
| Welcome Prompt | This is the prompt played when someone joins the conference. Use text-to-speech, call and record, or upload a .wav file. |
| Hold Music | This is the music played while waiting for other participants to join the conference. Upload a .wav file. If no file is uploaded, the account default hold music is played instead. |
Monitoring Conference Bridges
There are two ways to monitor conference bridges via:
- The Crexendo Portal: In the EXTENSIONS area, an administrator can double-click the Conference bridge and view the ACTIVE MEMBERS table which lists each caller's name, number, and the duration of time (hh:mm:ss) they have been connected to the conference. The table is sortable by column headers in ascending or descending order.
- Crexendo Communicator: A user can have the CONFERENCE widget enabled for any conference bridge. Using this widget, the user can moderate the bridge participants. Refer to our online training course - Crexendo Communicator to learn more.