ShoreTel and Third-Party Paging

I recently ran into an issue when I was installing a new ShoreTel Phone System. The customer failed to mention that they were expecting the ShoreTel System to be tied into their existing Valcom paging system (that's always awesome...). Here is what we did to get it working:

1. Log into ShoreWare Director in "Support Mode"
1. Hold down ctrl+shift and click on User Name. You will see "Support Entry" in red underneath the login area.
2. Create an Analog Loop-start Trunk and name it Paging. Although no fields are actually needed, it will require you to enter an access code and local area code in order to save it.
1. In my case, the Valcom Paging System was assigned an extension of 451 (unfortunately, getting this to work will require you to get some information from the customer. In other words, the extension number used by the paging system). We need to duplicate this extension number as an Off System Extension (451-451) at the bottom of the page.
2. Add the string ;1G;1I to the custom string field. The first three characters tell the system to wait 1 second after going off hook and presume a connection even if a dial tone is not heard. The second three characters tell the system not to outpulse the off system extension after the trunk is seized.
3. In director, navigate to the switch that has an open analog port on it that you will connect to the paging system. Set the type as trunk, and then add the Paging trunk that you created.

That's really it. For each user, I created a custom speed dial button that calls 451. Once they hit the custom button, they can then hit any number to send DTMF and it will beep, allowing the page to be made.