UF Exchange
Using Microsoft Office Communicator Server (OCS)
- Installation & Setup
- Installation of UFAD SSL Certificate
- Features & Training
- Signing On
- Changing Your Status
- Adding Contacts
- Conversations
- Desktop Sharing
- Video Conferencing
1. The Office Communicator (OCS) files are located in the folder \\ad.ufl.edu\ufad\Software\OC You must be connected to the UF network (UFAD), either directly or via VPN, to access the files using this link. For information about UF VPNs, see http://net-services.ufl.edu/provided_services/vpn/
2. Download the files to your local machine before installation. Install, in sequence:
| File Name | Software |
| Communicator_3.5.6907.37.msi | Office Communicator 2007 R2 |
| Communicator_3.5.6907.206.msp | Office Communicator patch |
| LMSetup_August-2010.exe | Office Live Meeting 2007 |
| *ConfAddins_Setup_August-2010 32bit.exe | Conferencing Add-in for Office Outlook |
*For 64-bit machines, you will need to use the file ConfAddins_Setup_August-2010 64bit.exe in place of ConfAddins_Setup_August-2010 32bit.exe.
You'll need to shutdown and restart Outlook twice for the Conferencing Add-in to install and be available in Outlook.
3. Start Communicator for the first time from the "Start" button. Enter your username to be *your* @ufl.edu GatorLink e-mail address, such as alligator@ufl.edu, then click the "Sign In" button. It may take more than a few seconds for the sign in process to complete. If the sign in process fails due to certificate error, which will happen if your machine isn't defined to UFAD, you'll need to install the certificate manually, see the separate section below. More information about using Office Communications Services is at: http://www.mail.ufl.edu/realtime.shtml
4. To get started, click the small "Show menu" pull-down button just to the right of the blue icon in the upper left corner of the Office Communicator title Bar. The Tools option is where you add contacts; one easy way to find people is by doing a search with the first few letters of the last name in the last name field.
Installation of UFAD SSL Certificate
(required if computer is not defined to UFAD)
The following steps describe the installation process for the UF Active Directory (UFAD) secure socket layer (SSL) security certificate.
1. Copy the certificate file, UFAD-CA-Certificate-Chain.p7b, from the same location as the software in the site listed above to your desktop or other known folder location. You must be connected to the UF AD network, either directly or via VPN, to be able to access the files.
2. Click Start -> Run -> certmgr.msc to run the certificate manager.
3. In the left pane, click the “+” beside the Trusted Root Certification Authority to show the Certificates folder.
4. Right-click the Certificates folder icon to show the context menu. Mouse-over “All Tasks”, then the small triangle icon to the right to click on “Import…” to start the Certificate Import Wizard.
5. In the Certificate Import Wizard, click “Next >”, then “Browse…” for the for the certificate file.
6. Select the Desktop or other folder where you copied the certificate file. Click the “Files of type:” pull-down to select PKCS #7 files, having an extension of “.p7b”.
7. Click the UFAD-CA-Certificate-Chain.p7b file, to select, then click “Open”
8. Click “Next >” for the Certificate Store page to Place all certificates in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store:
9. Then click Finish:
10. You may have to click “Yes” to approve installation of the certificates up to two times, until you get the message that the import was successful.
Features & Training
Microsoft Office Communicator provides a communications experience that offers easy connectivity for users no matter which feature they choose. Office Communicator allows software powered voice capabilities, instant messaging, audio, and video sharing. In addition, Office Communicator is authenticated using your GatorLink username and password. Online training for Office Communicator and Live Meeting is available at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/default.aspx
Signing On
To use Microsoft Office Communicator, sign on with your email address (Ex: at-svc-helpdesk@ufl.edu). Once you have entered this Click the “sign-on button”.
You will then be prompted to enter your GatorLink username and password. Your username must be in the format UFAD\username (Ex: UFAD\at-svc-helpdesk) and your password must be entered using the correct case. Once completed, click the “Sign In” button to complete the logon process.
If you would like to change your status before you log on you can click “Sign in as” and change your status before you sign on (Ex: Available, Busy, Do Not, Disturb, Be Right Back, Away)
Changing your status once logged on
In order to change your status you can click on the arrow next to the green “Jelly Bean” and select different status options from the drop down menu. (Ex: Available, Busy, Do Not Disturb, Be Right Back, Away)
You can also update your communicator status for all to see by clicking on the area next to the status icons. (Ex: working from my office today.)
You can update your current location so that it will be reflected in your status. You can choose from: Home, Office, Create Custom Location, or Do Not Show a Location.
Adding Contacts
To add contacts in Microsoft Office Communicator, go to the drop down arrow in the upper left hand corner. Select Tools and Add a Contact…
You will then be given the option of how to find for your contact. You can search by email address or by name. In selecting either option, you will need to click “Next” to proceed
To search by name, input at least one character in one of the fields to search for a contact (First Name, Last Name, Company, E-mail address). When finished click “Next.”
The search results will be based on the amount of information provided in the previous screen. Select your contact from the list presented (Ex: Gator, Albert) and click “Next.” If you do not see your desired contact, you will need to click “Back” and enter more information.
Once the contact has been added successfully you can specify the contact group to which the person belongs. Once this is completed, click “Finish” to complete the process of adding a contact by name.
Adding Contacts by E-mail
To add a contact by email (if you are sure of the email address), select “use an e-mail address or sign-in address” from the main Add a Contact option. Click “Next” to proceed.
Enter the e-mail address and click “Next.”
If added correctly you will be able to add your new contact to your selected list. Once this is completed you can click “Finish.”
Conversations
To initiate a conversation in Office Communicator, double-click on the person’s name you would like to chat with in the “All Contacts” menu. A Conversation window will open and you can enter your conversation in the text box.
Changing Conversation Subject
In Microsoft Office Communicator, you have the ability to change the conversation subject so that it can be saved for easier retrieval.
To change the conversation subject, click the arrow in the upper left and side of your conversation window. Then go to “Actions” and “Change Conversation Subject.”
Once selected, you can input the conversation subject heading of your choice and click “OK” (Ex: Work Related).
Once successfully changed, your new conversation subject will appear at the top of your communicator window.
Storing Conversations in Microsoft Outlook
In Microsoft Office Communicator you have the ability to save your communicator chat sessions for future reference.
In the main Microsoft Office Communicator window, select the arrow in the upper left hand corner: Go to Tools and then Options.
Once in the options window, you can check the option “Save my instant message conversations in the Outlook Conversation History folder.”
To verify, you can sign into Outlook and look for the “Conversation History” folder under your mailbox.
Desktop Sharing
In Microsoft Office Communicator you are able to share your desktop so that others may see what is on your screen.
Within an open communicator window, click on the monitor icon and select Share Desktop.
Once the invitation has been sent, your monitor will be outlined in green and it will say “Connecting” in the center.
Once connected, you have the option to give control to other contacts who may be viewing your desktop. You can do this by clicking the down arrow on the connection tab and selecting “Share Control with All Participants.
Before control is given to other contacts, Microsoft Office Communicator will verify that you wish to allow other contacts to see the desktop. Note: when using shared desktop only one person maybe in control of the desktop at a given time.
Once you have agreed to this, you can select who you would like to have control of your desktop/computer by clicking on the down arrow and selecting the contact from the list.
Video Conferencing
To setup a video conference in Microsoft Office Communicator ensure that both parties have an installed webcam. From a conversation window click on the webcam icon
Office Communicator will call the other contact and begin to establish a connection
Once the connection has been established, both webcam images will appear. The caller will be in the bottom right and the contact will be aligned to the left.
To end the video conference, simply press the red “X” in the upper portion of the video.
Use with videoconferencing bridges
UF maintains two production Codian videoconferencing bridges, which allow bridging between multiple OC clients and legacy H.323 end points. To use these, add each bridge individually as an OC "Contact". Their "last names" are AT-CDMCU-1 ("+ Video Portal 1") and AT-CDMCU-2 ("+ Video Portal 2"). Connecting to a scheduled videoconference then is by using "Start a Video Call" to the appropriate bridge, and using the "Dial Pad" control to select the conference number. The videoconferencing events schedule is shown at http://video.ufl.edu/main/conferencing.php. The conference ID for production conferences begins with 783, and the fourth digit indicates which bridge will be used, either 1 or 2 for bridge 1 or 2. The 783-prefix isn't used with OC, only the last four digits are used. For example, a conference with ID of 7831020 would be joined by calling "+ Video Portal 1" and using the dial pad to enter "1020#" (the pound sign, "#", is used like pressing "Enter" for a typed command). Likewise, a conference with ID 7832090 would be called by connecting to "+ Video Portal 2" and using the dial pad to enter "2090#". The dial pad must be used to enter the numbers, they can't be typed using the client keyboard. Conferences may be made private by adding a PIN, which must be added as a second step.
Use with H.323 (Polycom) end points
H.323 video units, like those from Polycom, can be added as "Contacts" in OC clients just as other users are added, then called using the "Start a Video Call" feature. Before they can be used, they must be defined to UF Active Directory and enabled for use in OC. Your unit technical support for Active Directory is responsible for coordinating this; contact him/her for names of end points to be added as Contacts. Current limitations in the Tandberg software restrict OC use to clients directly connected to the UF network, either on campus or using a VPN .
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