Previous releases

The following features and enhancements were introduced in previous versions of 8x8 Frontdesk. For details on the latest new features, see our list of what's new in the current release.

In this release of 8x8 Frontdesk, we are introducing the following enhancements:

Ability to block external SMS from unknown contacts

Let's say you are receiving spam SMS from an external number that is not in your contact list, and the messages are interrupting your work. You can now block the sender from sending you messages with a simple click.

In this release, you now have the option to block SMS messages (displayed in green) sent by external numbers that are not saved in your contact list. Calls and SMS messages are handled separately; blocking an SMS only blocks the number from reaching out through this particular communication channel.

Note: Only spam SMS received from external numbers that are not in your contact list can be blocked. Messages received from numbers in your company phone system cannot be blocked.

To block an external SMS:

  1. From the navigation menu, click Messages to view your list of chats.
  2. Click the message sender you wish to block.
  3. In the sender row, click for more options.
  4. From the drop-down list that displays:
    • Select Block sender .

      • OR

    • Select Contact info > Block sender.
  1. At the prompt, click Block sender.

Once blocked, the SMS is removed from your list of chats.

Note: You can also block the sender from the chat window by clicking More Options > Block sender .

To unblock an SMS:

Note: To unblock an SMS sender you must remember the number you blocked.

  1. From the navigation menu, select Search and type the number you wish to unblock.
  2. When located, hover over the number and click the message icon. The messages display in the Messages list.
  3. Click for more options.
  4. From the drop-down list that displays:
    • Select Unblock sender .

      • OR

    • Select Contact info > Unblock sender.

Once unblocked, the sender remains visible in the chat list.

Notes:
- You can also unblock the sender from the chat window by clicking More Options > Unblock sender .
- Messages received after blocking an external SMS sender do not display in the chat history once the sender is unblocked.

Improved call card design

In this release, when you receive a call and the Frontdesk tab in the app is not in focus, the banner notification about the incoming call displays at the top right-hand side of the app, to align the 8x8 Frontdesk layout with that of 8x8 Work for Desktop, and 8x8 Work for Web.

In this release of 8x8 Frontdesk, we are introducing the following enhancements:

Ability to park a call for a specific site

8x8 Frontdesk users now have the ability to park calls for a specific site. Once the call is parked for a site, the call can only be retrieved by the receptionists or users from that particular site. As a receptionist, you can select to park a call for your site from the call card, or for a contact’s site from the contact directory.

Let’s say Mel, a receptionist based in the San Jose office, receives a call that should be handled locally. To ensure the call is retrieved by a person based in the San Jose office, Mel can park the call for her site. The call parks for the site registered at the same location as Mel and only users from that site see the option to retrieve the parked call.

To park a call for your site:

  1. Log into 8x8 Frontdesk.
  2. Upon receiving an incoming call, accept the call.
  3. Click to park the call, and from the drop-down list that displays, select For my site.

The call parks for your site, and displays the parked extension along with the total call duration and parking duration.

To park a call for a contact’s site:

  1. Log into 8x8 Frontdesk.
  2. Upon receiving an incoming call, accept the call.
  3. Search for the contact in the directory, hover over the quick actions and click P to park the call. From the drop-down list that displays, select the option to park the call for the contact’s site.

The call parks and displays the parked extension along with the total call duration and parking duration.

Disabled notes icon for non-contacts

Receptionists can now attach notes only to contacts to indicate important details in regards to taking calls. The notes icon has been disabled for non-contacts such as ring groups, queues, auto-attendants, contact center channels, and park extensions. This improvement helps receptionists add notes only where relevant.

Enhanced duration for dual-tone multi-frequency tones

The tone duration for dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) has been extended. The keys play for as long as they are pressed, with a maximum duration of 3 seconds.

In this release we have introduced the following new enhancements:

Ability to transfer calls to 8x8 Contact Center phone channels

Note: 8x8 Contact Center channels are only visible if they are enabled and have a valid phone number

As an 8x8 Frontdesk receptionist, you can now transfer calls to 8x8 Contact Center phone channels with a few simple clicks. Available 8x8 Contact Center channels are listed in your contact directory and can easily be accessed by searching for contacts or by using custom directory filters.

Let’s say you receive a call and from your conversation with the caller you determine that the call should be forwarded to customer support. If the customer support team has an 8x8 Contact Center channel set up, you can quickly search the contact directory for contact center channels and forward the call directly to the channel assigned to the customer support department.

If these types of calls are frequent, you can also add a custom filter dedicated to contact center channels so you can access the list with one click.

Improved distinction between contact alerts and contact notes

In the previous release, we introduced a contact alert to help provide receptionists with useful information before answering a corporate forwarded call. To ensure there is a clear distinction between contact alerts and contact notes, the app now clearly indicates that the Alert field contains the alert message from the internal forwarded call, and the Notes field displays the notes attached to the contact in general.

Contact notes support adding more information compared to contact alerts.

Note: Only contact alerts show up when calls are forwarded to you automatically.

Ability to enable/disable call waiting tone

8x8 Frontdesk now allows you to toggle the call waiting tone on/off.

As a receptionist, you may receive multiple calls at a time. The call waiting tone informs you at regular intervals of incoming calls. If you find this tone distracting and you do not rely on audible incoming call alerts, you can select to toggle off the call waiting tone.

To access this option, click Settings > Audio & Video > Enable call waiting tone.

Enhanced call park experience

As a receptionist, when you park a call for a specific contact, that contact is now notified through a banner notification that there is a call waiting for them on the announced call park extension. The banner notification also displays the caller ID or name.

Notes:
- The notification banner is only visible for contacts using 8x8 Work for Desktop.
- Users using desk phones only will not receive the banner notification.

This means receptionists no longer have to contact the person for which they park a call. This enhancement allows the callee to retrieve the parked call much quicker.

To retrieve the call, the contact must simply click Retrieve on the banner.

Note: Only the contact for which the call is parked can retrieve the call.

In this release of 8x8 Frontdesk, we are introducing the following new features and enhancements:

Ability to quickly switch between accounts

Notes:
- To use this feature you must have 8x8 Frontdesk enabled on your account.
- Existing Switchboard Pro users can also access 8x8 Frontdesk seamlessly via 8x8 Work for Desktop.

Let's say you are occasionally substituting for a frontdesk receptionist while they are on break; it helps to be able to switch between 8x8 Frontdesk and 8x8 Work for Desktop quickly. It is now possible to switch between 8x8 Frontdesk and 8x8 Work for Desktop with just a few clicks. To enable/disable 8x8 Frontdesk, go to Settings > Frontdesk > Enable Frontdesk, and toggle the switch On/Off. The application restarts when switching between accounts.

When disabled, you have the full functionality of a regular 8x8 Work for Desktop app. When enabled, you gain access to your regular 8x8 Frontdesk account.

New contact alert for corporate forwarded calls

You can now see an alert icon for forwarded incoming calls that include an alert message. When corporate calls are forwarded to the reception, the contacts that have an alert message added display an alert icon under the forwarded call. The contact alert can help provide receptionists with useful information before answering a forwarded call.

Enhanced transfer to voicemail for hybrid work environments

To prevent an accidental voicemail transfer from 8x8 Frontdesk when your company is using Microsoft Teams voicemail and most employees are using 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams, having the 8x8 Presence Sync integration enabled renders the Send to voicemail option disabled. All other call handling options are available for the user.

In this release, we have introduced the following new and enhanced capabilities to 8x8 Frontdesk users:

Check out the features and enhancements introduced in 8x8 Work for Desktop.

Ability to support up to ten concurrent calls

With 8x8 Frontdesk, you can now manage up to ten concurrent calls. To increase your flexibility when handling calls, the maximum limit of concurrent calls is increased from six calls in the previous release to ten calls in 8x8 Frontdesk 7.16 release.

Ability to record calls selectively

You now have the ability to record calls selectively. If you are on a call and you are required to record the conversation, you can immediately start recording the call.

To start/stop recording a specific call:

  1. From the active call card, click , and select Record.
  2. To stop recording the call, click , and select Stop Recording.

You can access your recording from the Call Recordings tab.

Note: The caller is notified that the call is recorded, and a recording indicator is visible on the call card.

Ability to exclude contact types via custom directory filters

With 8x8 Frontdesk, you can now create custom directory filters that exclude entries of a selected type. Let’s say you want to create a custom filter that doesn’t include personal contacts. Instead of including every type filter except Personal Contact, simply exclude it from the filter by selecting the Type > isn’t option from the list.

Entry Type filter supports:

  • Contact
  • Personal Contact
  • Imported Contact
  • Ring Group
  • Call Queues
  • Auto Attendant
  • Contact Center Channel
  • Park

New icon to indicate parked calls that have bounced back

When a parked call is bounced back automatically, returning as an incoming call, you can now see that the call has been previously parked. Parked calls that bounce back display the letter P and an arrow next to the caller ID. This feature enables receptionists to make a distinction between new calls and parked calls.

Support for mobile number column in contact directory

With 8x8 Frontdesk, you can now include a mobile number column in your contact directory. Use this feature to view a contact’s phone number from the 8x8 Frontdesk reception panel.

To enable/disable the mobile number column:

  1. From the Frontdesk reception panel, click the Display columns menu. A list of predefined columns opens.
  2. From the list, select Mobile number. The column is now added/removed from the panel.

In this release, we are introducing minor enhancements and bug fixes.

Ability to silence incoming calls

As a receptionist, you may need to juggle multiple tasks at the front desk, receiving and directing calls, attending to guests in person, and more. It helps if you can silence an incoming call and minimize the noise, while you are busy attending to another task. In this release, we are introducing the ability to silence incoming calls.

Learn about scenarios warranting you to silence calls and how to silence calls.

Pin advanced custom directory filters for quick access

Create custom filters and access contacts in your directory quickly and easily. Whether you are filtering ring groups, call queues, individual contacts, or accessing contacts by department, create a custom filter with a few clicks. You can filter by department, site, job title, and contact type such as call queue, ring group. Once you create a filter, pin to access these filtered contacts for quick access. Learn how to create a custom filter and how to delete or edit a filter.

Features

  • 8x8 Frontdesk users can create up to six advanced custom directory filters.
  • Directory is always the first (left-to-right) tab and can’t be deleted.
  • An advanced custom filter can combine multiple filter chips for: Site, Department, Job title, entry Type & Favorites fields.
  • Entry Type filter supports: Contact, Ring Group, Call Queues, Auto Attendant, Park.
  • Once created each pinned filter can be navigated with one click.

Enhanced Favorites

Mark contacts you frequently consult as favorites and access them in the pinned filter for Favorites. You can modify the definition of the Favorites filter or delete it completely.

To mark a contact as a favorite:

  1. Go to Directory and right click a contact.
  2. From the context menu, click . The contact is marked as a favorite.
  3. Go to Favorites to view your favorite contacts.

To modify the Favorites filter:

  1. Go to Favorites.
  2. Click to edit the filter definition. Click Save.

Manual site filter and auto-filter enhancements

In this release, we have removed the ability to manually filter contacts by site. Receptionists who need to focus on a specific site will need to create a custom filter for that site.

To create a custom filter by site:

  1. Click to add a new filter.
  2. Enter a suitable name for the filter. For example, New York
  3. Add the search criteria to filter. Add single or multiple criteria to filter. For example, select contacts in the New York office. <Site is New York>
  4. Click Save to save the search filter. The contacts matching the search filter get pinned under the new tab.

When receptionists receive calls directed to a phone number that has been set up for auto-site filtering, the directory automatically filters contacts for the specific site. In this release, auto site filtering temporarily creates a new pinned filter (positioned next to the Directory) that is automatically selected when auto filtering triggers. The tab is named 'Auto-filter on <site_name>'. Example: Auto-filter on New York

Note: The pinned filter tab disappears as soon as the call is terminated by the receptionist.

Display custom status in the contact notes

When contacts set their custom status, it is not obvious to the receptionist that the contact is busy in a meeting, at lunch, on a break, etc. They would have to click the contact and check if a custom status is set. In this release, we have introduced a mechanism that detects the custom status set by a contact and updates or adds a note to the contact, alerting the receptionist. Click to check the custom status message.

Improved experience while setting ‘Away from desk’ status

While setting 'Away from desk', if your company has a long list of entries for auto attendants, ring groups, and call queues, finding and selecting the right entry can be challenging. To mitigate this issue, we now allow you to search and filter by name, displaying the matching entries.

There could be items with the same name, as different sites could use the same name for work groups, say Tier 1 Support ring group in New York and San Francisco. The entries are prefixed with the site name to minimize confusion by identifying names associated with the site name.

Ability to promote a call to a meeting

8x8 Frontdesk users can use the in-app (not global) keyboard shortcut to promote an active call to a meeting.

  • Windows: Ctrl + Shift + P
  • Mac: Cmd + Shift + P

  • Private parking
  • Park for a specific contact
  • Park on reserved extensions
  • Ability to share notes

Call parking enhancements

in this release, we are introducing the ability to park for self, park for a specific contact, and park on a reserved extension.

Private call parking

With private call parking, you can park a call for self to be retrieved later. Let’s say, as a receptionist, you have multiple incoming calls; simply accept a call, park it for private access, and retrieve it at your earliest convenience. Placing a call on hold limits your ability to process multiple calls simultaneously.

To park a call privately:

  1. Log into 8x8 Frontdesk.
  2. Upon receiving an incoming call, accept the call.

  3. Click to park the call, and from the drop-down list that displays, select For me.

  4. The call parks and displays the parked extension along with the total call duration and parking duration.
  5. Click to retrieve the parked call at any time before it automatically bounces back to the extension that parked the call initially.

Note: Parked calls bounce back automatically after a pre-configured time (default is five minutes).

Note: Parked calls bounced back display the letter P and an arrow next to the caller ID.

 

Park a call for a specific contact

Let’s say you have received a call for a specific contact, Melisa, who is currently busy. Instead of placing the call on hold and transferring later, park the call for Melisa, copy the parking information, and share it with the contact. Melisa can simply click the parking extension link in her chat to retrieve the call.

Note: Calls parked for a specific contact cannot be retrieved by anyone other than the contact.

To park a call for a specific contact that uses:

  1. Upon receiving an incoming call, accept the call.

  2. Search for the desired contact in the directory, hover over the quick actions and click P to park the call for the contact.

  1. Notify the contact about the parked call:
  • In the notification that flashes, click Copy extension message to copy the callee information along with the parking extension info and share it with the contact via chat. For example: You have a call from John Smith +12029720622 on Extension tel:461.

    - OR-

  • In the monitoring window, hover over the parking duration info and click to copy and share it with the contact via chat.

Note: Parked calls bounce back automatically after a pre-configured time (default is five minutes).

Retrieve a parked call from chat with the receptionist

As the contact for whom the call is parked, you can retrieve the parked call with a simple click.

To retrieve a parked call:

  1. As an 8x8 Work user logged into the 8x8 Work for Desktop app, simply click the parking extension information shared via chat.
  2. It dials the parking extension number to connect you to the call.

Park a call on a reserved extension

Let’s say your company has reserved call park extensions for specific departments such as Sales or Support. As a receptionist, You can now park an active call on the reserved extension using 8x8 Frontdesk. If the reserved call park extension is assigned to a BLF (Busy lamp field) key on a hard phone, users monitoring this extension see the BLF key light up indicating a parked call. They can simply press the key on the shared device to retrieve the parked call. This way, they do not need to fetch the parking extension number for every call parked.

To park a call on a reserved call park extension:

  1. Accept an incoming call in 8x8 Frontdesk.
  2. Search and find the reserved extension by name, number, or function.
  3. Hover over the quick actions and click P to park the call on the reserved extension.
    A notification displays the call parking information.

  4. If the call park extension is assigned to a BLF key, the key blinks indicating the parked call. As a call park extension user, simply press the BLF key to retrieve the call.

Note: Parked calls bounce back automatically after a pre-configured time (default is five minutes).

Ability to share notes

Let’s say you have attached notes to specific contacts such as ‘Busy with a demo till noon’ alerting about their availability. When you receive a call for them, you can inform the caller about their availability and direct them to voicemail or ask them to call back. You can now share these notes with other receptionists in your company as well as access notes attached to contacts by other receptionists.

Check out the features and enhancements introduced in 8x8 Work for Desktop.

Park calls

Call Parking allows you to park the call in its very own automatically-numbered parking space temporarily until retrieved. As a receptionist, you may need to receive and transfer multiple calls at a time. With the ability to park calls, you can now simply accept a call and park them to be retrieved by the desired party. Copy the parking information such as the parking extension number and share them with the desired party via chat or paging service. This helps in smooth handling of calls and offers better calling experience. Parked calls appear in the held calls list.

You can park calls as follows:

  • Public parking
  • Private parking
  • Park for a specific contact
  • Park on a reserved extension

Public call parking

To park an incoming call:

  1. Log into 8x8 Frontdesk.
  2. Upon receiving an incoming call, accept the call.
  3. Click to park the call. A notification with the parking extension number displays along with a link to copy this information.

  4. Click Copy extension message to copy the caller information along with the parking extension info. For example: You have a call from John Smith +12029720622 on Extension tel:461

    Note: You can also copy the extension message by hovering over the parked call and clicking .

  5. Find the desired contact from the directory, paste the parked call information via chat.

Note: Parked calls bounce back automatically after a pre-configured time (default is five minutes).

To retrieve a parked call:

  1. As an 8x8 Work user logged into 8x8 Work for Desktop app, simply click the parking extension link shared via chat.
  2. It dials the parking extension number to connect you to the call.

Enhanced ability to transfer calls to external numbers

When a contact has additional numbers (e.g. mobile) listed in the contact details, hovering over those numbers allows cold or warm transfer similar to the quick actions for the user's extension. Let’s say John is out of the office and wishes to be reached only on his mobile phone, as a receptionist, you can now transfer John’s calls to his mobile phone with a simple click. No more copying and pasting the number and initiating the call from the dialpad. Simply hover over the choices for blind or warm transfer.

Ability to merge two inbound calls

Having two inbound calls, one active and the other held, it's now possible to merge the calls by dragging the held call onto the active call. This allows transferring the active call to the held call. Simply drag and drop the held call onto the active call and then click to transfer the call.