Auto-Attendant Barge is a feature that allows a caller to interrupt the ‘welcome’ message that RP plays when the Automated Receptionist (Microsoft’s name for the built-in Auto-Attendant) is enabled.  This feature was initially implemented in SP1.  When it was implemented we received many calls from customers who were very happy about this feature, which allowed them to use a longer, more meaningful welcome message.  Since SP2 we’ve received a number of calls from customers who were upset that this feature had been removed.  As a result we really feel that this is a welcom change, and will be well received by RP customers.

The revised software has been ’slipstreamed’ into the standard SP2 download.  This means that it is not available as a separate patch – instead customers should download the entire SP2 solution from Microsoft’s download site, and implement as normal.  If you have not yet implemented SP2, follow the appropriate instructions from your hardware vendor, but remember to use the latest SP2 download, available at the link above.
You’ll need to upgrade both the RP Administrator and the RP Assistant.   We found that the installer for the RP Administrator finished quietly, without giving us any indication that it was complete or successful, so we recommend that you start the RP Administrator and click on the “About” link on the top-right of the application.  The revised software version should be 1.21.5017.0.

Once you’ve upgraded the RP Administrator, you can connect to the base unit.  The software will recognize that the base unit needs to be updated – follow the wizard, taking the default values, and making sure that the system automatically does a backup as part of the upgrade.  At this point everything is running on the new code, but Auto-Attendant barge-in has not yet been enabled.

To enable the feature, click on the “Call Routing” button at the top of the Administrator.  Select “Configure Automated Receptionist Properties” – you’ll see the new feature at the bottom of the box that appears.

You’ll get a warning box about this feature – read it carefully.  This feature isn’t for everyone.

More information can be found on Robert Brown’s Blog.

When the customer calls in, if they press “#” and wait a couple of seconds, they can then speak the name of their destination as normal.

This is certainly less useful than the previous behavious, but it’s better than nothing.

Hope this helps!