Text Device Control is where a user can set up how they want to receive messages, independent of how a message is set up. For example, a user that wants to receive all messages via e-mail, regardless of whether the messages were configured to go to e-mail, can set this up in the Text Device Control screen. This screen appears in two locations (User Database Manager and Comm. Ctrl), but any changes made in one location will be saved in both locations. To access it, either click on the Comm. Ctrl. button in the upper right corner of the User Directory, or navigate to the User Database Manager from the Other Screens tab.

Each selection has a check box and corresponds to a device or communication method that can be added to a user’s account. To select devices on which to receive all messages, check the box next to the appropriate devices. Some devices, such as pagers (the name is pager, but it can really be any text device, including cell phones), must be checked in order for a user to receive any messages on it, even if a message is configured to send to that text device.

For phones, enter a 1 in the empty box next to the field’s check box. This number may differ depending on the organization’s phone system, but 1 is generally standard. The 1 instructs the system to bypass the voicemail message. This is important because the MessageNet system cannot tell the difference between a person answering the phone and voicemail picking up. If the voicemail picks up and plays its message before allowing a recording, the MessageNet system will have already played all or most of the message prior to the beginning of the recording. Entering a 1 bypasses the voicemail message so that the recording will begin as soon as the message begins playing.

Users can only change their own Text Device Control settings if the User Allow Change box is checked. This box is only in the User Database Manager version of the Text Device Control and the System Administrator must check it prior to the user changing their settings.