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Feature Codes

Feature Codes are short dialable numbers that trigger a PBX action instead of placing a call - for example dialing into voicemail, joining a conference, toggling do-not-disturb, or picking up a ringing phone. Each Feature Code is bound to an Action Script that does the work, so Feature Codes are how you expose PBX functionality to users as something they can simply dial. They can be dialed directly from a phone or selected from an IVR/Voice Menu.

Configuration Manager ships with Feature Codes for common PBX functions (voicemail access, conference rooms, call pickup, and more), and you can add your own.

You should freely add Feature Codes as needed. The ability to pair custom Action Scripts with Feature Codes to extend PBX functionality is one of the powerful features of Thirdlane.

How new Tenants get Feature Codes

  • Clone from a prototype — When you create a Tenant using Use existing tenant as a prototype, Feature Codes are copied from that prototype (along with any other objects you choose to clone).
  • No prototype — When a Tenant is created without a clone (UI with no prototype, REST API, or PBX migration), the platform seeds the standard Feature Codes from the system’s initial tenant (lowest tenant id on the system). Typical standards include call-forward codes, voicemail check, company directory, pickup, and intercom.
  • Conflicts — Seeding skips any code that already exists on the new Tenant. Migration tools can therefore import source dial codes (for example from 3CX) first or afterward; matching codes are left as imported, and only missing standards are added.

Create/Edit Feature Code

Feature Code. Code (extension) that when routed to will invoke an associated Action Script. Historically these types of codes start with an * and are called star codes, but this is not a requirement. You have to be careful choosing these codes so that they don’t conflict with User Extensions or Outbound Routes.

Description. Description of this Feature Code.

Run action. Name of an Action Script that will be associated with this Feature Code. Depending on the Action Script selected for handling calls to this Feature Code, you will be able to enter different parameters that are required as per the Action Script definition.

Worked example: a code that pages the warehouse

The warehouse phones should all answer hands-free when anyone dials one short code, so a picker can be called to the desk without ringing each phone in turn. You will pair a code with an Action Script.

  1. Pick a non-conflicting code. Choose *77. First confirm it does not overlap any User Extension or Outbound Route pattern - the * prefix keeps it clear of normal dialing.
  2. Create the Feature Code. Click Add, Feature Code *77, Description “Page warehouse”, Run action tl-page.
  3. Choose the phones. The script asks for Phones to ring; pick the warehouse extensions. Phones already on a call are skipped, so a page never interrupts someone mid-conversation.
  4. Save and dial it. From any phone, dial *77. The selected phones answer automatically on speaker and hear whoever dialed.
  5. Tell people it exists (optional). Add it to a Voice Menu key or a phone side-car key - a feature code is only useful if people know to dial it.

This is the core pattern: any capability expressed as an Action Script (voicemail access, conference, directory, paging, custom logic) becomes something users simply dial by binding it to a code here.

Changing the active Mode is not one of these capabilities. Modes are set from Configuration Manager, the User Portal, or Thirdlane Connect, not by dialing a code. Older systems shipped *280-*283 codes for a three-state Day/Night/Temp switch that Modes replaced; those codes are removed on upgrade.

Best practices

  • Before assigning a code, confirm it does not overlap a User Extension or an Outbound Route pattern - a conflict means one of them will never be reached.
  • Star (*) prefixes are the traditional convention for feature codes and keep them clearly separated from extension and external-number dialing; consider following it for any custom codes you add.
  • Keep a short list of the codes you have defined and share it with users, since feature codes are only useful if people know they exist.