Create or Edit a Group
Groups are created under the departments tab and will appear on individual devices once those users have been added to the group. Groups created in the portal will operate as channels if the devices are in channel mode. Add many groups at a time using the bulk template tools. To view instructions about how to add and remove users to a group, click here. To view instructions about how to assign groups to channel numbers, click here.
Personal and Member groups are created on individual devices that have the Feature Key "Allow Group Management" configured. They will appear in the admin portal but are not able to be modified there.
To create a group in the portal that will display on users' channels or groups tab, begin at the groups tab and select "Add." For further descriptions of group types and group presence indicators, click here.
In the resulting popup window, fill out the following fields. For information about group types, click here. After the fields are filled out, select "Submit."
The fields are described below. Option availability may depend on group type; to make more options available, create the group as "custom."
| Field Name | Description |
| Group Name | The name that will display in the portal and on the group member devices. Names must have 32 characters or less and no spaces. |
| Group Description | This information will display on the group or channel settings tab. Long descriptions are permitted but the display space on the device will be limited depending on the size of the device and screen. |
| Group Type | The types of groups offer different options for member behavior and Group types are described here. |
| Group Priority | May be assigned from 0-5. Higher priority groups can interrupt other ongoing PTT calls and pull in members. |
| Caller Option | Determines who has ability to initiate a group call. Leave as default, unless you wish to create a dispatch group based on calling privileges. |
| Cleanup Call | Determines conditions for PTT call end, such as: the initiator ends the call for all users, after a preset idle time, or when there is only one member left in the call. Note: For Emergency PTT groups, choose without initiator. |
| Idle Timeout | Adjustable countdown timer, in seconds, to conclude the call in an idle state. The default timeout is 30 seconds. Lower the idle timeout for operating in scan mode to facilitate quicker switches between channels. Note: this applies to PTT calls only and not External Network call behavior. For assistance with External Networks, please contact Support. |
| Max Talk Burst Duration | In seconds, the maximum talk burst time. |
| Allow Hiding | Determines if the group may be removed from a user's group list while still retaining that user's membership. |
| Searchable | Determines if nonmembers within a department may search the group to call. For use with open group types. |
| Alert on Call Start | Play a tone on call start. |
| Listen Only | Allows members to be created with Listen Only permission. |
| Large Groups | The large group feature is not available in every portal. Large groups permit up to 3000 members. Large groups are not able to use the in-call map, messaging and user call lists features in the way that the standard groups do. This option is currently available for customers with servers 5.xx and newer. Contact Support for further questions and assistance. |
Once the group is created, users may be added to the group. View the group, click on the Members tab, and select "add" from the available users in the pop up window.
Modify an Existing Group
Any existing group may be modified. From the Groups tab, select a group to modify. In this example the group "Drivers" will be modified.
Choose the settings tab and then select "Edit."
In the popup window, any field may be modified. In this case, Large Group capability will be added to this group.
Press Submit after making the modifications. In this case, adding the Large Group capability results in the following popup warning, which must be accepted.
After selecting OK, press submit. In this example, this group has been reconfigured to be a large group, and will now have different in-call behavior. Only the speaker will show on a map, and the in call list will not be visible. Also, messaging is not available for large group in the same way it is for other ESChat groups or channels.