3-Way Recording Stop Exception: exempting specific numbers from the recording stop

The plain 3-Way Recording Stop switch is all-or-nothing: enable it and every 3-way stops the recording. Real floors are messier than that. You might want to drop recording for one closer queue but keep it for another. The 3-Way Recording Stop Exception setting gives you that per-number control by flipping the behaviour for a list of phone numbers you define.

How the exception inverts the rule

When this setting is not set to DISABLED, it points at a PHONE_NUMBERS type Settings Container. The numbers in that container behave opposite to whatever the main switch says. If 3-Way Recording Stop is set to N, then Three-way call transfers to a number in the list will have their recording stopped when the 3-way starts. If 3-Way Recording Stop is set to Y, then transfers to a number in the list will not have recording stopped. The default for the exception is DISABLED.

So the list is an exception in the truest sense: it carves out the numbers that should do the reverse of your global Call recording choice for 3-way calls.

The decision logic

flowchart TD
  A[Agent starts a 3-way to a number] --> B{Number in exception list}
  B -->|No| C[Apply main switch as-is]
  B -->|Yes| D[Apply the opposite]
  C --> E{Main switch Y}
  E -->|Yes| F[Recording stops]
  E -->|No| G[Recording continues]
  D --> H{Main switch Y}
  H -->|Yes| I[Recording continues]
  H -->|No| J[Recording stops]

Two ways to use it

1. Keep recording globally on for 3-ways but stop it for a short list of sensitive destinations, by leaving the main switch at N and listing those sensitive numbers.
2. Stop recording globally on 3-ways for compliance, but keep recording for a few trusted internal closers, by setting the main switch to Y and listing those internal numbers.

The formatting gotcha

There is one trap that bites people. The Settings Container for this list must not have any carriage returns, newlines, or blank lines at the bottom of the Container Entry. A stray empty line at the end can stop the feature working properly, and the symptom is maddening because the numbers look correct. Trim the trailing whitespace and re-save before you blame anything else.

Keep your Recording retention policy in mind when you build the list, since you are effectively deciding which transferred legs end up in stored On-demand recording style archives and which do not. Document the list so the next admin understands why a given number is treated as an exception.

Building the container

The container is the heart of this feature, so build it carefully. Create a Settings Container of the PHONE_NUMBERS type and add one destination number per line. These are the 3-way destination numbers, the third leg you dial, not the customer numbers. Once the container exists, select it on the 3-Way Recording Stop Exception menu to switch the feature out of DISABLED.

1. Decide your global rule first by setting the main 3-Way Recording Stop to Y or N.
2. List the destination numbers that should behave the opposite way in the PHONE_NUMBERS container.
3. Strip any trailing blank line, then point the exception setting at that container.
4. Test a 3-way to one listed number and one unlisted number and confirm the Call recording behaves as expected for each.

If you handle this the way you would On-demand recording rules, treating the list as a living document rather than set-and-forget, you will avoid the slow drift where nobody remembers why a Closer queue does or does not get recorded.

Related reading

Start with the base behaviour in 3-way recording stop before configuring the exception, then see the wider handoff context in the VICIdial transfers and closers guide.

If maintaining Settings Containers by hand is not how you want to spend your week, our team configures these on managed dialers. See pricing.