--- title: "Manage a Main Line" slug: "manage-a-main-line" description: "Explore how to manage your main line number for a productive business day. " tags: ["call waiting", "hold queue", "advanced settings", "Edit Call Routing", "mainline ", "Main Line", "Business Hours", "mainline call routing"] updated: 2026-02-21T00:04:08Z published: 2026-02-21T00:04:08Z --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.dialpad.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Manage a Main Line Companies are given a Main Line number when they sign up with Dialpad. This number serves as the go-to number for your entire business —multiple team members (called operators) can place and receive calls from this number. Let's look at how to manage a Main Line in Dialpad. [YouTube video player](https://www.youtube.com/embed/sgqnCCGNp-A?si=Ywz-a4txMeeQ8jYC) ## Main line settings To update your main line information and settings, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**. 1. Navigate to the**Office Settings** 2. Select **Main Line** Here, you'll see the option to rename your main line, and add an abbreviation representing it across Dialpad. Both the main line's name and its abbreviation can be changed at any time. In this section, Dialpad also lists any local, toll-free, and fax numbers associated with the main line. Select **Add A Number**or**Add a Fax Number** to add additional lines to your account. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/Main-line-settings(1).png) ## Assigned operators & phones [Assign users as operators](/v1/docs/assign-operators-to-departments) to make and receive calls on your Main Line. You also have the option to [add a room phone](/v1/docs/manage-a-room-phone) in environments, such as a reception desk, where you want a shared phone to ring. [YouTube video player](https://www.youtube.com/embed/3OVcz4xcuOs?si=4LvAPbk2enwpFiOh) ## Business hours & call routing In the **Business Hours & Call Routing** section, define when your business is open and closed, as well as how calls are handled. It also serves as the area for you to set the main line's time zone. Choose for the main line to take calls 24/7, or set it to receive calls only during [specific (normal or split) business hours](/v1/docs/set-business-hours). From there, it's important to [set call routing rules](/v1/docs/set-call-routing-rules-for-departments). Dialpad also offers the ability to [set unique holiday hours,](/v1/docs/set-holiday-hours-routing-rules) which will override your office's normal business during the designated date(s). [YouTube video player](https://www.youtube.com/embed/n2XRUkxhc8Q?si=lrwOrgU53b_-eAIN) ### SMS auto reply Choose to use an auto response that customers will receive when they send an SMS to your main line. To enable SMS auto reply, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**. 1. Select **Office** > **Main Line** 2. Select **Business Hours & Call Routing** 3. Navigate to **SMS Auto-replies** > **When should auto-replies be sent?**and select one of these options: - **Never** - **Always (24/7)** - **During open hours** - **During closed hours** 4. Enter the auto reply message ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/auto-reply-shared-line.png) > [!NOTE] > Notes > > Standard messaging rates apply for SMS auto-replies. SMS auto-replies work for Departments and Contact Centers too. ## Mainline call routing Ensure calls are routed to the right team every single time. Your routing settings are completely customizable and can be updated at any time, based on your company's needs. To customize your inbound call routing preferences, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**. 1. Select **Office Settings** > **Main Line** 2. Navigate to **Business Hours &****Call Routing** 3. Select **Edit Call Routing** 4. Navigate to **Call Routing** and choose one of these operator routing options: | **Longest Idle** | Agents are rung individually based on whoever has been idle the longest. | | --- | --- | | **Fixed Order** | Agents are rung individually based on the same fixed order. | | **Round Robin** | Agents are run individually on a rotating fixed routing. | | **Simultaneous** | All agents are rung at once. | > [!NOTE] > Note > > Both *Fixed Order* and *Round Robin*ring lists can be configured and updated at any time by selecting **View and Edit Order**. [YouTube video player](https://www.youtube.com/embed/tHOU9nSnN9A?si=6LyFIzjytFsTPyih) > [!TIP] > Tip > > Different call routing rules can be set for when your office is open, and when your office is closed. Simply select **Open Hours Routing** or **Closed Hours Routing** at the top of your call routing section, and the rules will be instantly applied. ### No operator options Select **No operator** if you prefer to route calls to voicemail, a workflow, an AI agent, or another contact center or voicemail. ![View of the Call Routing settings page for the company's main line. The options for when no operators are available are highlighted.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/Mainline No Operator Routing Options.png) No operator options include the following: | **Directly to voicemail** | Agents receive notifications when voicemails are left. | | --- | --- | | **To a message (no voicemail)** | Default or custom message. | | **To another Department or Contact Center** | Choose another department to send calls to. | | **To a team member/room phone/number** | Choose another team member, room, phone, or number (including outside Dialpad; contact our [Support Team](https://dialpad.com/contact-support) first) to send calls to. | | **To an automated response menu**: | Options include dial by name directory (Office), dial by extension directory, dial by name directory (Company), forward to a department/contact center/office, forward to a person or number, leave a voicemail, recorded message, operator, and disabled - If you forward to another department or contact center using an automated response menu, you can choose one that is located in another office within the entire company. - By default, calls will end if the caller doesn't choose an option after hearing the menu twice. To avoid this, set one of the options as the default instead (this also applies if you've set one of the options to ring operators and the operators do not answer). - When using the automated response menu, the recorded Message that plays is uninterruptible, and all DTMF entries will be ignored. When the recorded message is completed, the call will return to the same automated response playing the initial greeting. | | **To a workflow(voice)** | Choose a voice workflow to send calls to. | | **To Google Conversation Agents** | Choose a Google Conversational Agent to send calls to. | | **To an AI agent** | Choose an AI Agent to send calls to. | ## Mainline welcome greeting Set a welcome greeting for callers during open hours. It defaults to no greeting, and upon activating you have the option to record or upload an audio file to use. To customize your welcome greeting, go to your **Dialpad Admin Settings**. 1. Select **Office** > **Main Line** 2. Navigate to **Business Hours & Call Routing** 3. Select **Edit Call Routing** 4. Navigate to **Open Hours Welcome Greeting** 5. Upload or record your new greeting, then select it from the drop-down menu [YouTube video player](https://www.youtube.com/embed/tHOU9nSnN9A?si=v0_ejAZioqHyUagU&start=49) ## Mainline ring duration Set the perfect ring duration for your mainline — keep in mind that every 15 seconds equals about 4 rings. To customize your inbound ring duration, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**. 1. Select **Office** > **Main Line** 2. Navigate to **Business Hours &****Call Routing** 3. Select **Edit Call Routing** 4. Navigate to **Ring Duration** 5. Slide the toggle to the desired number of rings you'd like callers to hear [YouTube video player](https://www.youtube.com/embed/tHOU9nSnN9A?si=v0_ejAZioqHyUagU&start=59) Your new ring duration will be applied instantly and will be reflected in **both** open and closed hours. ## Hold queue settings If all operators are busy on other calls, send callers to a hold queue. To enable your hold queue and customize your queue settings, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**. 1. Select **Office** > **Main Line** 2. Navigate to **Business Hours &****Call Routing** 3. Select **Edit Call Routing** 4. Navigate to **Hold Queue** [YouTube video player](https://www.youtube.com/embed/tHOU9nSnN9A?si=JagfTq-OdO9V1oNl&start=72) Turn on and off the hold queue by ticking the check box **Enable the hold queue** Once enabled, customize the maximum hold queue size, maximum wait time, and even the queue greeting (ie your elevator hold music). Changes made here will be reflected instantaneously in both open and closed hours. ## Fallback options Choose what happens to the calls when no operators are available during business hours. Dialpad offers the following fallback options: | **Directly to voicemail** | Agents receive notifications when voicemails are left. | | --- | --- | | **To a message (no voicemail)** | Default or custom message. | | **To another department, office, Contact Center or geographic router** | Choose another shared line to send calls to. | | **To another team member, room phone or external number** | Choose another team member, room, phone, or number (including outside Dialpad; as before, this will require contacting our support team to enable it first) to send calls to. | | **To an automated response menu** | Options include dial by name directory, dial by extension directory, forward to a Department, forward to a person or number, leave a voicemail, recorded message, and disabled. | | **To a workflow(voice)** | Choose a voice workflow to send callers to. | | **To Google Conversational Agents** | Choose a Google Conversational Agent to send calls to. | | **To an AI agent** | Choose an AI agent to send calls to. | > [!TIP] > When is an operator considered unavailable? > > An operator is considered unavailable if they are in Do Not Disturb (DND) status or if they are not actively logged into Dialpad. To set your fallback options, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**. 1. Select **Office** > **Main Line** 2. Navigate to **Business Hours &****Call Routing** 3. Select **Edit Call Routing** ![View of the fallback options for call routing when an operator isn't available to take the call.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/Call Routing Fallback Options(2).png) 4. Select **Operators** 5. Navigate to **Fallback Options**and choose the desired Fallback Option 6. Select **Save** ## Mainline voicemail Set a voicemail greeting that your clients will hear if your fallback option is **directly to voicemail** or**leave a voicemail** as in an automated response menu. [YouTube video player](https://www.youtube.com/embed/tHOU9nSnN9A?si=ICzLbW6nJ6v5PETD&start=107) To set your mainline voicemail, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**. 1. Select **Office** > **Main Line** 2. Navigate to **Business Hours & Call Routing** 3. Select **Edit Call Routing** 4. Navigate to **Voicemail Greeting** (it's at the bottom) Here, you can use Dialpad's default voicemail greeting, record your own greeting, or upload an audio file. To hear your current voicemail greeting, select the blue play arrow. If you're recording a custom voicemail greeting, it must be 45 seconds or shorter in length. You can always rename or delete a voicemail greeting after listening to it. If you're uploading an MP3 file, it cannot be any larger than 10 MB. ## Hold music Set [hold music](/v1/docs/hold-music-faqs) to play for callers on hold on your main line. Dialpad lets you choose from several different audio clips, or you can upload an audio file to customize the hold music as your own. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/mainline-hold-music(2).png) ## AI Settings Enable [AI Settings](https://www.dialpad.com/ai) on the main line. You can set AI to start automatically, turn on or off at the discretion of operators, and show real-time transcripts when a call or conference begins. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/mainline-ai-settings(1).png) ## Integrations Dialpad offers many different integrations to ensure you get the most out of your time. Enable [Integrations on Dialpad](https://www.dialpad.com/app-marketplace/) for your main line. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/mainline-integrations(1).png) ## Advanced settings Take even more control over your main line with these advanced settings: - [Call Waiting (for Operators)](https://help.dialpad.com/docs/create-manage-a-department#advanced-settings) - [Department Failover Number](/v1/docs/failover-numbers) - [Automatic Call Recording](/v1/docs/enable-office-wide-call-recording) - [Spam Blocking](/v1/docs/security-call-blocking-spam-prevention-call-blocking-spam-prevention) [mainline-advanced-settings](https://app.vidgrid.com/embed/S6DEKsDjjANO) ### Manual Recording Choose manual recording to allow agents to start or stop recording at any point during the call. To enable manual recording, go to Dialpad **Admin Settings**. 1. Navigate to **Office**> **Main Line** 2. Go to **Advanced Settings** and navigate to **Automatic Call Recording and Transcription** 3. Select **Inbound Calls** and/or **Outbound Calls** 4. Select **Manual Recording** ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/mainline-manual-recording.png) ## Frequently asked questions ### What is my main line number? Why did I get two numbers when I signed up? When you sign up for a Dialpad account, [we automatically give you a free local Main Line number](/v1/docs/manage-a-main-line) which cannot be removed. This number is considered your company's phone number that your callers can call to reach out to any operator assigned to your mainline. The second number you receive is your direct Dialpad number, which callers would use to reach out to you directly. Don't like the numbers you were assigned? No problem — in fact, you'll have the option after you finish the sign-up flow to [port in an existing local or toll-free number.](/v1/docs/porting-faqs) ### **How can I change my mainline number?** Reach out to our [Customer Care](https://dialpad.com/contact-support) team, and they’ll help you update your mainline number. ## Related - [Set Call Routing Rules for Departments](/set-call-routing-rules-for-departments.md) - [Assign Operators to Departments](/assign-operators-to-departments.md) - [Set Call Routing Rules for Contact Centers](/set-call-routing-rules-for-contact-centers.md) - [Manage a Department Hold Queue](/manage-a-department-hold-queue.md)