Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP3, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007
Topic Last Modified: 2007-08-24

After a voice mail message arrives, users can choose either to listen to the voice mail message through their computer speakers or headphones or to use the Play on Phone feature. The Play on Phone feature is included with the Outlook features for Exchange Unified Messaging (UM) in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. This topic discusses how a UM-enabled user can use the Play on Phone feature provided by Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.

What is Play on Phone?

The Play on Phone feature lets UM-enabled users play voice messages over a telephone. If a UM-enabled user sits in an office cubicle, is using a public computer or a computer that is not enabled for multimedia, or is listening to a voice message that is confidential, the user might not want to or be able to listen to a voice message through their computer speakers. Alternatively, they can play back the voice mail message using any telephone, including home, office, or cellular telephones.

The Play on Phone feature is available in Outlook 2007 and also in Exchange 2007 Outlook Web Access.

When the user clicks the Play on Phone toolbar option in the Outlook 2007 voice mail form, the Play on Phone dialog box appears. The Play on Phone dialog box provides the controls for selecting or inputting the telephone number to use to play a voice message, starting and ending the call, and a status message for monitoring the call.

Note:
Only one voice message can be played at the same time. If the user tries to start a second Play on Phone call while a previous call is still in progress, an error message will appear.

Most Recently Used Telephone Number List

Users can see a list of telephone numbers they used most recently in the Play on Phone box. The telephone number specified on the Voice Mail tab is always displayed as the top entry and is automatically selected for the user as the primary number. Users can use the drop-down menu to select other telephone numbers to dial instead of the telephone number that is configured as the primary number. This feature is unavailable in Exchange 2007 Outlook Web Access.

Note:
To enable users who are using the Play on Phone feature to dial an external telephone number without using an outside line access code, for example 425-555-1234 instead of 9-425-555-1234, configure in-country/region dialing rules on a UM dial plan that include the following line: group1, 9xxxxxxxxxx, 91xxxxxxxxxx. After you have configured the in-country/region dialing rules, add this list to the UM mailbox policy.

Play on Phone Buttons

The Play on Phone dialog box gives users the option to Dial and Hang-up. When the Play on Phone dialog box is first opened, the Dial button is enabled and the Hang-up button is disabled. After a call is placed, the Dial button becomes disabled until the call has ended. The call can be ended either by clicking the Hang-up button or by physically hanging up the telephone. Closing the Play on Phone dialog box using the Close button ends the call if one is in progress.

Subject, Sent, and Status Field

The bottom section of the Play on Phone dialog box displays the subject of the voice message, the date and time sent, and a message that displays the current state of the call. Any errors specific to the Play on Phone operation are displayed to the user in this section of the Play on Phone dialog box.

Phone Number Validation

Play on Phone only performs simple validation on your input into the Play on Phone dialog box. Play on Phone does not validate telephone numbers. If a telephone number is not valid, the Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging service returns a meaningful error code to the user.

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