Using Office Communicator

Transcription

1 IT guide for staff Using Office Communicator Quick start guide to instant messaging, audio and video conferencing with colleagues. Contents What Office Communicator offers 2 Installing Office Communicator 2 Your privacy 2 Using Office Communicator 3 Help 5 October Information Services

2 2 IT Guide: Office Communicator for staff What Office Communicator offers Office communicator offers more than instant messaging. Staff can use Office Communicator to: participate in instant messaging conversations with each other have group conversations by inviting other users to join your chat session see if colleagues are online and therefore make informed choices about when and how to contact them transfer files to colleagues have voice or video conferences with multiple users decide the best way to reply to s: it integrates with ConnectMail via Microsoft Outlook. Installing Office Communicator Install on a Staff Managed Desktop How to check whether your PC is a Staff Managed Desktop: when you first turn the PC on, the initial login screen will say Staff Managed Desktop. 1. Click the Start button, then select Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs, Add New Programs. 2. Click Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2. 3. Click on Add and follow the process on-screen. Install on any other PC To use Office Communicator, you will need to use a University-owned PC, or to have a PC with a license for either Microsoft Office 2007 Professional Plus, or Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise. To install Office Communicator, you need to be connected to the Kent network. From off campus you can use the VPN service; details are online at: If you have any problems, contact the Helpdesk (details on back page). 1. Click the Start button, then select My Computer. In the address bar at the top of the window, enter the following text: \\ad.kent.ac.uk\dfs\install\microsoft\office Communicator Double-click on Communicator R2.msi to install the program. Access from a web browser You can get basic web access to instant messaging at To login, enter your username in this format: ukc\abc1 (replacing abc1 with your username). Off campus usage You can use Office Communicator from off campus with no need to connect to the Kent network. Your privacy When running, Office Communicator connects to the Kent network securely whenever it can access the internet, and displays your current availability status to all Office Communicator users at Kent (not just those in your contacts list). To avoid sharing your current availability, you can change your status to Appear Offline (for help doing this, see the Change your availability status section on page 4). IT Services website:

3 IT Guide: Office Communicator for staff 3 Using Office Communicator Sign in 1. Click the Start button, then select All Programs and select Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2. 2. Enter the Sign-in Address as the full version of your Kent address, eg. A.B.Charles@kent.ac.uk and click Sign In. Once you have logged in, the Office Communicator icon (shown right) is displayed in the Taskbar (in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, near the time). To open the Office Communicator window at any time, you can double-click on the icon. The colour of the icon changes to show your availability status (see the Change your availability status section on page 4 for more details about your status). Add a contact Type the full Kent username (eg, A.B Charles) of your contact into white box that appears just above the start of your contacts list, and hit Enter/Return on your keyboard. Right-click on the contact in the search result, and select Add To Contact List. Start a conversation Double-click on a user name in your contact list to open a chat window. Type your message in the text box within the chat window that pops up. Press the Enter/Return key on your keyboard to send the message. Close a conversation To close a conversation, click the X in the top right hand corner of the chat window. Invite people into the conversation 1. Double-click on the name of a user to open a chat window. 2. At the top of the window click Invite a Contact Double-click on the user you wish to add to the conversation. Save conversations You can save history of all your conversations in Microsoft Outlook so that you can search them later. To do this, click the toolbar icon (the small icon with the down arrow as shown) to see the menu pop out: Then select click Tools, then Options and tick Save my instant message Conversations. To view your conversation history, click the same icon then select Tools, View Conversation History. Help and support: helpdesk@kent.ac.uk

4 4 IT Guide: Office Communicator for staff Create a group To help manage your contact list, you can create new groups: right-click on the Recent Contacts heading, or any other group name. Select Create New Group. You can then drag users into the new group. Delete a contact Open Office Communicator, then click on the person you wish to delete and press Delete on your keyboard. Share files To share files during a conversation: drag a file from a folder on your computer, and drop it onto the Conversation window. When the transfer is complete, a Transfer of <file name> is complete message appears. Communicator does not support sending a file to a group or multiple contacts. To send files to a contact: drag a file from a folder on your computer, and drop it onto their contact name in the Contact List: a file transfer invitation is then sent to them. If they accept, you see a Transfer of <filename> is complete message; if not, a Transfer of file <filename> has been declined by <user> message appears. Make video calls To make video calls, you will need a plug and play webcam (one that does not require installing software). The Labtec 3300 is tried and tested for use on Staff Managed Desktops (do not install the software provided on CD, it works automatically). You also need headphones with built-in microphone (which may be included). To start a call, right-click on the name of a user in your contacts list, and select Start a Video Call. If you already have a conversation window open with a contact, click the video icon (shown right). Share your desktop Sharing your desktop means that you can allow a contact to see your computer screen. You can even allow the contact to interact with your screen by controlling the mouse. To share your desktop: open Office Communicator, then right-click on the user you wish to share with and select Share Desktop. Change your availability status To manually change your status, open the main Office Communicator window and click on the large circle at the top (it is green when you are available, as shown right), then select one of the availability options. If your Microsoft Outlook calendar contains a meeting, your status will automatically change to In a meeting for the duration of the meeting in your calendar. Exit the program Click the Office Communicator icon (in the taskbar, bottom right corner of your screen; shown right) and click Exit. IT Services website:

5 IT Guide: Office Communicator for staff 5 Help Office Communicator help The Help menu offers links to tutorials and advice about using Office Communicator: Trying out Office Communicator If you would like to try out Communicator with Helpdesk staff before using it for real with colleagues, please contact the Helpdesk via one of the Information Services help points below. Information Services help points Telephone, and online help L L helpdesk@kent.ac.uk; L L Phone: ( ) 4888 L L Online: Canterbury Help & Enquiry Desk, Level 2 Centre, Templeman Library; IT Reception, Cornwallis South Medway and Tonbridge IT Helpdesk, Drill Hall Library Service desk, Tonbridge Library Microsoft online help pages You can take a tour of Office Communicator, or view training and support information on the Microsoft website (scroll down the page to see the training options): Help and support: helpdesk@kent.ac.uk