Set up Contact Visibility

Out of the box, no user can see or edit the company contacts stored in Cloud Voice. Access is granted explicitly: you create visibility rules that tie a set of extensions to the phonebooks they are allowed to work with and the level of access they get. This page walks through creating those rules.

Note

“Company contacts” live in shared phonebooks managed on the PBX (Private Branch Exchange, the phone system itself). They are separate from a user’s personal contacts. A visibility rule controls who can reach a phonebook and whether they can only read it or also change it.

Create a contact visibility rule

1. Sign in to the PBX web portal and open Extension and Trunk > Client Permission > Contact Visibility.

2. Click Add rule.

3. Fill in the rule using the drop-down lists.

   

   • Extension/Extension Group/Organization: Click the edit icon () and choose the extensions, extension groups, or departments the rule applies to. These are the users who will receive the permission.

     Tip

     Point the rule at an extension group or a department (organization) rather than picking users one at a time. Anyone added to that group later inherits the permission automatically, so you do not have to revisit this rule.

   • Permission Type: Choose the level of access to grant:

     • Allow view: Users can view the phonebooks listed under Objects.
     • Allow manage: Users can view, add, edit, and delete the phonebooks listed under Objects.

     Caution

     Allow manage includes the power to edit and delete entries, and the company phonebooks are shared. A change or deletion made by one authorized user affects that phonebook for everyone who can see it. Grant Allow view to most users and reserve Allow manage for the people who actually maintain the directory.

   • Objects: Click the edit icon () and select the phonebooks the chosen users may view or manage. The permission type you picked applies only to the phonebooks you select here.

4. Click Save.

What the users see

Once a rule is saved, the effect depends on how a user connects:

• In the Cloud Voice App, authorized users can view or manage the company contacts, according to the permission you granted.
• On auto-provisioned IP (Internet Protocol) phones, authorized users can view the company contacts but cannot manage them, even when the rule grants Allow manage. Auto-provisioning means the PBX pushes the configuration to the phone for you. For the provisioning steps, see Allow Users to Query Contacts on IP Phones.

Note

IP phones support viewing company contacts only. If a user needs to add, edit, or delete contacts, they must do it from the Cloud Voice App.