a telephone answering device which includes a means of intelligently organizing voice messages , associated entered codes such as personal ids and home telephone numbers , and information stored in the memory of the tad . these codes or numbers are decoded by means of the caller entering dtmf signals into the telephone which are recognized , recorded and processed by the tad . when processed with codes and personal information previously entered into the device &# 39 ; s memory , the tad displays the identity of the callers for each message , thus providing a menu of choices , i . e ., a list of callers . this enables the user to access messages in a selective manner based on the identity of the caller . the need to listen to the actual voice messages to determine the caller &# 39 ; s identity and the need to listen to the messages sequentially or chronologically is obviated , saving both time and effort . additionally , because the voice message is also linked to pre - stored additional data in the data base , when hearing a message , one also can view relevant associated information , such as a fax number , etc ., that might not have been left in the audio message but might be important . a remote access device is also provided that allows the user to retrieve and display the callers &# 39 ; identities and select a message to be played back from a remote location .