Many modern desk phones now include a feature called a navigation key. This technology can be rephrased several different ways including menu driven display, menu key, and navigation cluster. The important part of the navigation key is that it allows you to navigate options on business phones that did not exist even 10 years ago.
The navigation keys are usually combined with a menu button that allow a user or telecom engineer to program some of the phone’s options directly through the handset. This prevents having to use the command line interface or web GUI or the phone system itself.
Navigation keys come in 3 types, mainly. First this is the traditional four way arrows along with a ‘Menu’, ‘Accept’, and ‘Cancel’ buttons. To access the phone’s options with this type of phone, press menu to bring up the first list and okay to go one level deeper in the menu or make a change. Pressing the menu button again will take you out of the menu. This is the most common kind of phone.
Some phones such as Mitel will have an up and down arrow, but no okay or cancel buttons. In this configuration, other buttons such as the asterisk * and pound sign # will stand in for these buttons. This configuration is useful with smaller phones where space is a premium.
Lastly, the oldest style of navigation is found on some Toshiba and Inter-Tel phones. The navigation buttons are generally the soft keys found underneath or alongside the display. You can edit and move through the menu by using these soft keys. Generally, this type of phone has limited editing capabilities.
As you can see, desk phones have a new powerful ability to make and save important changes in their own memory. Take advantage of this ability with the use of the helpful navigation key!
