Phonebooks
Purpose
Group company contacts into organized phonebooks and control access to each phonebook.
Phonebook Types
PBX-Native Phonebook
Manually created phonebooks for contacts added from PBX or Linkus.
Features:
- Created and managed by administrators
- Contacts added manually or via CSV import
- Fully editable
- Can be deleted if no longer needed
Use Case: Customer list, vendor directory, partner contacts.
Third-Party Phonebook
Automatically synced phonebooks from external systems.
Features:
- Created by integration configuration
- Contacts synced from source system
- Read-only in PBX (edit at source)
- Cannot be deleted while integration is active
- Identified by unique system identifier
Use Case: Active Directory sync, CRM customer list, SQL database contacts.
Creating Phonebooks
Manual Creation
Navigate to Phonebooks
Go to Contacts > Phonebooks and click Add Phonebook.
Configure Settings
Basic Information:
- Phonebook Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "VIP Customers")
- Description: Purpose and contents
- Icon: Optional icon for visual identification
Settings:
- Allow Self-Service: Users can add their own contacts to this phonebook
- Default for New Contacts: New contacts auto-assigned to this phonebook
Save
Click Save to create the phonebook.
Result
Empty phonebook created, ready for contacts.
Managing Phonebook Contents
Add Contacts to Phonebook
Move Contacts Between Phonebooks
Note
One contact can belong to multiple phonebooks.
Remove Contacts from Phonebook
Result
Contact removed from phonebook but remains in system.
Phonebook Permissions
Purpose
Control who can view and manage each phonebook.
Permission Levels
- Phonebook invisible to user
- Cannot view, search, or call contacts
- Phonebook doesn't appear in directory
- See phonebook and all contacts
- Search and filter contacts
- Click-to-dial from Linkus/phone
- Cannot add, edit, or delete contacts
- Full CRUD operations
- Add new contacts
- Edit existing contacts
- Delete contacts
- Export phonebook
- Manage phonebook settings
Assigning Permissions
Navigate to Permissions
Go to Contacts > Phonebooks > Select phonebook, then click Permissions tab.
Add Users or Groups
Click Add User/Group and select users or groups.
Set Permission Levels
Assign View Only or Manage permissions for each user/group.
Save
Click Save to apply permissions.
Result
Users can only access phonebooks according to assigned permissions.
Phonebook Visibility
Default Behavior
All phonebooks are invisible to users unless explicitly granted access.
Use Cases
Sales Team Phonebook:
- View Only: All sales reps
- Manage: Sales managers
- No Access: Other departments
Executive Contacts:
- View Only: Executives and assistants
- Manage: Executive administrators
- No Access: General staff
Vendor Directory:
- View Only: All employees
- Manage: Procurement team
- No Access: None (company-wide)
VIP Customers:
- View Only: Customer-facing staff
- Manage: Account managers
- No Access: Non-customer-facing staff
Organizing Phonebooks
Naming Conventions
Descriptive Names
Good Examples:
- "VIP Customers"
- "Regional Partners - East"
- "Supplier Contacts"
- "Emergency Contacts"
Avoid:
- Generic names ("Phonebook 1")
- Ambiguous names ("Misc")
- Special characters (except hyphens and spaces)
Phonebook Structure
- Customers
- Vendors
- Partners
- Internal Departments
- North America Customers
- Europe Customers
- Asia-Pacific Customers
- Active Accounts
- Inactive Accounts
- Prospects
- Lost Customers
- VIP Tier 1
- VIP Tier 2
- Standard Customers
Phonebook Settings
Advanced Configuration
- Set maximum contacts per phonebook
- Prevent unlimited growth
- Alert when approaching limit
For third-party phonebooks:
- Sync Frequency: Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Manual
- Last Sync Time: View last successful sync
- Sync Status: Success, Failed, In Progress
- Error Logs: Troubleshoot sync issues
- Auto-export on schedule
- Email exported CSV to admins
- Archive exports for compliance
Bulk Operations
Result
All imported contacts added to specified phonebook.
Result
CSV file with all contacts from phonebook.
Result
Contacts moved to new phonebook.
Third-Party Integration Phonebooks
Result
Contacts synced to dedicated read-only phonebook.
Result
Active Directory contacts synced to phonebook.
Result
CRM contacts automatically synced.
Important
Third-party phonebooks cannot be manually edited. All changes must be made in the source system and will sync on next scheduled update.
Deleting Phonebooks
Warning
Deleting a phonebook does not delete contacts - it only removes the phonebook organization.
Select Phonebook
Navigate to Contacts > Phonebooks and select phonebook to delete.
Choose Action for Contacts
Click Delete and choose:
- Move to another phonebook: Select destination
- Leave unassigned: Contacts remain but not in any phonebook
Confirm Deletion
Confirm the deletion.
Result
Phonebook removed. Contacts either moved or unassigned.
Restriction
Cannot delete third-party integration phonebooks while integration is active. Must disconnect integration first.
Best Practices
- Create specific phonebooks for different purposes
- Don't create too many (limit to 10-20 for most organizations)
- Use clear, descriptive names
- Document phonebook purposes
- Grant "Manage" sparingly - only to trusted administrators
- Use "View Only" for most users
- Review permissions quarterly
- Remove access for departed employees immediately
- Regularly clean up unused phonebooks
- Merge similar phonebooks
- Archive historical phonebooks (export and delete)
- Monitor phonebook sizes and contact counts
- Prefer third-party sync over manual entry for large contact sets
- Schedule syncs during low-usage hours
- Monitor sync logs for errors
- Test integrations in staging before production
Configuration Summary
Create Phonebook
Contacts > Phonebooks > Add → Enter name and description → Configure settings → Save
Assign Permissions
Select phonebook → Permissions tab → Add User/Group → Set permission level → Save
Add Contacts
Create contacts and assign to phonebook, or bulk import with target phonebook, or move existing contacts to phonebook.
Result
Organized phonebook with controlled access.