UF Exchange

Using Microsoft Office Communicator Server (OCS)

Features
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.

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.”

Conversation

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 Conference

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.