How to modify a Music On Hold entry

Once a Music on hold entry exists, the modify screen is where you actually shape what a waiting caller hears. This is where you reorder clips, decide whether they shuffle, turn the whole entry on or off, and drop files you no longer want. It is the screen you will return to far more often than the short add form.

Get to the modify screen

From the Show MOH Entries list, click the MODIFY link next to any entry. The list shows the ID, name, active status, random-order flag, and admin group, so you can spot the right one before you open it. Inside, you get the full set of options that the add form left out.

The fields you can change

• Music On Hold Name — the descriptive label that shows as a comment in the generated config. The numeric ID itself stays fixed.
• Active — set the entry to active or inactive. Inactive removes it from the config files entirely, so the dialer stops offering it.
• Random Order — set to Y to shuffle the clips, or N to play them in the rank order you defined.
• Admin User Group — restricts who can view the record. Leave it at the default --ALL-- unless you are scoping admin access.

Reorder and remove audio files

The Audio Files section lists every clip in the entry. Each row has a Rank pulldown that sets play order and a DELETE link that removes just that file from the entry. To add a new clip, it has to be in the audio store already, then you pick it from the Add An Audio File selector and submit. If you need a refresher on getting files onto the box, see our note on what the VICIdial audio store is.

Here is how a save flows through to what the dialer plays for a caller parked in an Ingroup queue:

flowchart TD
  A[Open MODIFY for entry] --> B[Edit name or flags]
  B --> C{Active set to Y?}
  C -->|No| D[Removed from conf files]
  C -->|Yes| E[Stays in conf files]
  E --> F[Adjust ranks]
  F --> G[Delete unwanted files]
  G --> H[Submit changes]
  H --> I[Update runs once a minute]
  I --> J[Caller hears new order]

If a swapped-in clip plays distorted or not at all, the cause is almost always format rather than the entry. Confirm it is PCM mono 16-bit 8k WAV or 8-bit 8k GSM — our piece on converting audio for VICIdial walks through fixing the Recording format (WAV/MP3) before you upload.

Test before you trust it

Modifying an entry is low-risk, but it is easy to assume an edit took effect when it has not. After you submit, wait the full minute for the config to regenerate, then place a test call and let it sit on hold long enough to hear the loop come around. If you reordered clips, you want to confirm the new sequence, and if you toggled random order you want to hear that the playback actually varies. A thirty-second test now saves a confused agent reporting dead air later.

Keep the entry tidy as you go. Each clip you add stays attached until you remove it with the DELETE link, so an entry that has been edited a few times can collect leftover files you no longer want. Prune the ones you are not using rather than leaving them at a low rank — it keeps the play order predictable and makes the next edit easier to reason about.

Hold music is one piece of the wider audio layer, alongside greetings and TTS (text to speech) prompts. The audio prompts and voicemail guide shows how it all connects on an Asterisk box. Want it preconfigured? VICIfast hands you a ready dialer — see pricing.