Managing Zoom Phone dial-by-name directory


A dial-by-name directory allows callers to search a site's phone users by entering a first or last name. After performing a search, the caller can route to the phone user. You must route to the dial-by-name directory from an IVR system. The dial-by-name directory only supports British and American English.

This article covers:

Prerequisites for managing a dial-by-name directory

How to manage Dial by Name Directory settings at the account level

If you don't have multiple sites, you can create or edit a dial-by-name directory at the account level. You can route to this directory from any auto-receptionist in the account.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Phone System Management then Company Info.
  3. At the top, click Account Settings.
  4. Click the Settings tab.
  5. Under the Directory section, click Manage Directory.
  6. Under Included Sites, click + Site to add a site or click an existing site.
  7. Click Add searchable users to add your users.
    A pop-up window will appear.
  8. In the window, click Select All and Save to add all users of the account, or click Save to add the users you added individually.
  9. (Optional) On the directory page, exclude users from the directory:
    • Exclude an individual user:
      1. Select an individual user.
      2. Click Exclude from the directory.
        A confirmation window will appear.
      3. In the window, click Confirm.
        The user will be moved to the Excluded tab (excluded from the directory) and cannot be searched.
    • Exclude all users:
      1. In the top-right corner of the Directory tab, click Exclude all from the directory.
        A confirmation window will appear.
      2. In the window, click Confirm.
        All users will be moved to the Excluded tab (excluded from the directory) and cannot be searched.

Create a private directory at the account level

As an admin, you can create a private directory to prevent all users from searching for specific users:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Phone System Management then Company Info.
  3. At the top, click Account Settings.
  4. Click the Settings tab.
  5. Under the Directory section, to the right of Private Directory, click Manage.
    You will be directed to the Private Directory page.
  6. At the top of the page, click Add.
    A window will appear.
  7. In the window, under Add Member, select one of the following extension types to add to the private directory:
    • Extension Type (All): Add all extensions from the site.
    • User, Zoom Room, Common Area, Auto Receptionist, Call Queue, or Shared Line Group: Add one of those specific users. 
    • Enter the name of the user you are searching for.
  8. Under Searchable on Zoom client by, 
    • Nobody: This is selected by default and cannot be unselected.
  9. Under Searchable on Zoom web portal by, select one of the following to add those users to the private directory:
    • Everybody: To allow everyone to access the private directory. 
    • Admins only: To allow only admins to access the private directory. 
    • Nobody: To prevent anyone from accessing the private directory.
  10. Click Save.
    You will return to the Private Directory page.
  11. (Optional) To the right of a directory you want to manage, click the ellipsis , then click one of the following actions:
    • Edit: Make changes to the private directory.
    • Delete: Delete the directory.

How to access Dial by Name Directory settings at the site level

If you have multiple sites, you can create or edit a dial-by-name directory at the site level. This means that you can only route to this directory from an auto-receptionist on the same site.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Phone System Management then Company Info.
  3. Click a site name, then click the Settings tab.
  4. Under the Directory section, click the Dial by Name Directory toggle to enable it. After enabling it, do the following actions:
    • Create Directory: Click the dropdown menu and select from the following options, then click Save:
      • Maintain Site's Own Directory: Create and maintain an independent dial-by-name directory at the site level.
      • Inherit from account directory: Apply the dial-by-name directory maintained at the account level. This directory is read-only to sites. 
    • Keypad search by: Specify whether callers can search for phone users' first name or last name. Callers must enter at least 2 characters to perform a name search.
  5. Complete the following actions based on your directory selection from step 4:
    • If you selected Maintain Site's Own Directory:
      1. Click Manage Directory.
      2. Click Add searchable users to add your users.
        A pop-up window will appear.
      3. In the window, click Select All and Save to add all users from the site, or click Save to add the users you added individually.
      4. (Optional) To exclude users from the directory:
        • Exclude an individual user:
          1. Select an individual user.
          2. Click Exclude from the directory.
            A confirmation window will appear.
          3. In the window, click Confirm.
            The user will be moved to the Excluded tab and become unsearchable.
        • Exclude all users:
          1. In the top-right corner of the directory, click Exclude all from the directory.
            A confirmation window will appear.
          2. In the window, click Confirm.
            All users will be moved to the Excluded tab and become unsearchable.
    • If you selected Inherit from account directory:
      1. Click View Directory.
      2. View or search through the directory.

Create a private directory at the site level

As an admin, you can create a private directory to prevent all users from searching for specific users:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Phone System Management then Company Info.
  3. Click a site name, then click the Settings tab.
  4. Under the Directory section, to the right of Private Directory, click Manage.
    You will be directed to the Private Directory page.
  5. Click Add.
    A pop-up window will appear.
  6. In the window, under Add Member, select one of the following extension types to add to the private directory:
    • Extension Type (All): Add all extensions from the site.
    • User, Zoom Room, Common Area, Auto Receptionist, Call Queue, or Shared Line Group: Add one of those specific users. 
    • Enter the name of the user you are searching for.
  7. Under Searchable on Zoom client by, 
    • Nobody: This is selected by default and cannot be unselected.
  8. Under Searchable on Zoom web portal by, select one of the following to add those users to the private directory:
    • Everybody: To allow everyone to access the private directory. 
    • Admins only: To allow only admins to access the private directory. 
    • Nobody: To prevent anyone from accessing the private directory.
  9. Click Save.
    You will return to the Private Directory page.
  10. (Optional) To the right of a directory you want to manage, click the ellipsis , then click one of the following actions:
    • Edit: Make changes to the private directory.
    • Delete: Delete the directory.

How to route to a dial-by-name directory

After enabling the dial-by-name directory, you can route callers to it by assigning it to an IVR system.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Phone System Management then Auto Receptionists.
  3. Click an auto receptionist that has an IVR menu.
    Note: If you have sites, make sure the auto receptionist is in the same site that you enabled the dial-by-name directory for.
  4. Click the Profile tab.
  5. In the IVR Menu section, click Edit.
    You will be directed to the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) page.
  6. To the right of a Key, click Edit.
    A pop-up window will appear.
  7. In the window, click the Action dropdown menu and select Dial by Name.
  8. Click Save.