Ability to use DSS keys with BLF keys more flexibly

[nicknomo]

This suggestion comes from the following thread:
http://forum.yealink.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1395

I am using asterisk with the T46G. Asterisk uses many feature codes to perform vital functions, and on many legacy phone systems the function keys would be used with BLF keys. For instance, I'd have a transfer to voicemail button that worked with a BLF key for an extension. Transferring to voicemail was a two key press process. Hit the button, choose the corresponding BLF key/extension, and its done. Yet, I can't do this with the Yealink DSS keys.

From what I can see there is no easy way to chain DSS keys together, so it appears that its very difficult for yealink phones to perform these types of tasks.

For my above scenario, where I wish to transfer a call to directly VM, asterisk requires me to transfer to *<extension number> . So, to transfer to extension 221's voicemail, I have to hit: "Transfer * 221" . "##*221" also works for this task. The problem is that while I can bind a key to "transfer *" or "##*", and a BLF key to "221", I cannot use them in sequence.

It looks to me that the problem is that there is no way to wait for more input. Binding a key to "transfer *" executes it immediately, never giving me an opportunity to hit the BLF and add "221" onto this.

Binding a key to DTMF with the value of "##*" works great, but then when I hit the BLF 221 key it opens a new line and dials 221.

Off the top of my head, I can think of a quick and dirty solution to fixing this. If we were able to enter something into the "value" field that told the phone to wait for more input before executing the parameter, it would be an easy way to chain things together.

For instance, lets say we choose the ampersand ("&") as our special character. I make a DSS key for transfer, and give it a value of "*&". This would initiate a "transfer*", but wait for more input (or optionally just hit the "send" key). For more input, you could then hit a BLF with a value of "221", and then you'd have a combined function of "transfer*221".

You could do this with any of the feature codes, by doing things like binding DTMF values ("##*&") with BLF keys ("221") to combine them to make something like: "##*221".

Without some sort of feature like this, the operator panels aren't quite as useful. We simply aren't able to take advantage of the functions within asterisk that rely on feature codes..