LYNC 2013 STAFF GUIDE
This guide provides a comprehensive introduction to Lync. It covers the
Lync app, instant messaging, video and telephone conferencing as well as
Lync 2013’s integration with Microsoft Outlook.
Updated 21/05/15
Page 1
Contents Section 1: Introduction to Microsoft Lync 2013
1.1. Understanding Lync 2013 ............................................................................ 2
Section 2: Lync App
2.1. Lync App Home (Contacts Tab) ................................................................... 3
2.2. Lync App (Conversations Tab) ..................................................................... 4
2.3. Lync App (Calendar Tab) ............................................................................. 4
2.4. Lync App (Settings Dialogue Box) ................................................................ 6
2.5. Lync App (Availability – Online Presence) .................................................... 7
Section 3: IM, Video and Telephone Calling
3.1. Instant Messaging (IM) screen .................................................................... 8
3.2. Accepting and Initiating Telephone and Video Calls .................................... 9
3.3. Sharing Window ........................................................................................ 11
3.4. Functionality within IM, Calls and Video Calling ........................................ 12
Section 4: Microsoft Outlook and Lync Meetings
4.1. Microsoft Outlook – Conversation History ............................................... 13
4.2. Microsoft Outlook – Online Lync Meeting (For External Participants) ...... 14
Section 5: Lync Etiquette & FAQs
5.1. Lync Best Use ............................................................................................ 15
5.2. FAQs .......................................................................................................... 16
5.3. Glossary .................................................................................................... 18
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S1: Introduction to Microsoft Lync
1.1. Understanding Lync 2013
What is Microsoft Lync?
- A sophisticated communication tool which can be used to instant message, telephone
conference and video conference with other professionals.
- A collaboration tool which can also be used to share and send documents safely and securely as
well as work on them collaboratively in real-time.
- An online presence indicator which uses your Outlook calendar to provide your colleagues with
an instant notification of your current availability.
Lync promotes a healthier, more efficient work style by reducing the time and energy spent on lengthy
commutes, allowing you to focus on the job at hand; which has a positive impact on the environment and
your working day.
What’s new in Lync 2013 compared with Lync 2010?
Tabbed conversations, allowing for better management of communications without the need for
excessive pop-up windows.
Persistent Chat feature – users can enter in and out of chat conversations and still view chat
history whilst they were absent.
Full Audio/Visual capabilities on the Lync Web App. i.e. those attending a Lync Meeting Online
without Lync software installed on their device can now add audio and video feeds to the
meeting.
Video conferencing from a mobile device using mobile data or via a Wi-Fi connection.
Higher resolution support. Lync 2013 now offers up to 1080p support (Up from 720p).
What can Lync offer you?
Follow the link to find out how Lync can benefit you:
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/staff/futureworkplaces/casestudies/
What to do if Lync isn’t working?
First, check our FAQs (on page 16). If you’re still experiencing technical difficulty, contact the SID desk
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S2: Lync App
2.1. Lync App Home (Contacts Tab) After entering your UoE user name and password into the Lync login page, you will see this screen
‘What’s happening today?’ dialogue box is a great way to inform your colleagues of any important
events or times you’re likely to be unavailable. e.g. Project Board Meeting today @ 12pm.
Online Presence Setter
– Allows you to manage
your availability and
control who can make
contact with you. (Page
7 for more info.)
Location Setter –
Inform your contacts
about your current
location.
Contacts tab – From
here you can add,
remove, edit and sort
your contacts according
to various groups. It’s
worth noting that your
Lync contacts are
stored separately to
your email contacts to
avoid confusion.
Settings Cog – From
here you can manage
general settings as well
as configure your audio
and video settings. In
general, if you are
experiencing technical
difficulties, the Settings
Cog is your first point
of call. (See page 6 for
details.)
Add a contact quick
reference button.
Search bar – To search
for people outside your
contacts list.
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2.2. Lync App (Conversations Tab) You can navigate to this page by clicking the icon (conversations tab)
2.3. Lync App (Calendar Tab) You can navigate to this page by clicking the icon (calendar tab)
Conversations tab – from here you can manage previous interactions with colleagues.
Categorised
by Video
calls
(Camera
icon)…
…and IM
chats
(Dialogue
icon)
Date of Interaction
Double-clicking an
interaction will
allow you to
explore the
conversation in
greater depth – i.e.
call times and a
breakdown of what
was said.
A link to the ‘conversation history’ tab within Outlook. All conversations will be
stored here to allow the user to refer to past conversations. (Page 13 for more info)
Current
“Presence” of
contact.
Denotes a group
conversation
…,audio
calls (phone
icon) …
Page 5
Calendar tab – from here you can view your appointments
and calendar events for the day. This is synced with your
Outlook calendar.
Time
Date
Location
Subject
Page 6
2.4. Lync App (Settings Dialogue Box) This is the ‘Settings’ dialogue box. You can get here by clicking the Cog icon on the main Lync app
window.
Click the General tab for general
settings including:
Spellchecking, Font and Lync support
settings.
Click the Personal tab for settings
related to personal contact details
including:
Auto-login, Outlook synchronicity and
privacy settings.
Click the Alerts tab for alert
settings including:
Who can send you alerts and when
as well as who can make contact
with you.
Click the Audio Device or Video
Device tab for Audio and Video
Device settings including:
Configuring new Audio or Video
devices or trouble-shooting
existing ones.
Click the File Saving or Recording
tab for File management (or video
management) settings including:
Configuring where attached files
(File Saving) or Recorded videos
(Recording) will be saved.
Click My Picture Tab >
Edit or Remove
Picture to change or
set your display
picture.
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2.5. Lync App (Availability – Online Presence)
If Presence status is ... Contact is ... How this status gets set
Available online, available to contact. Automatic or user-selected.
Be Right Back away from computer briefly. User-selected.
Away logged on but has been away from computer for specified period.
Automatic based on inactivity or user-selected. Time interval can be adjusted.
Off Work not working, not available. User-selected.
Busy occupied and shouldn’t be interrupted. Automatic (if user is in an Outlook-scheduled conference) or user-selected.
In a call in a Lync call (two-party call) and shouldn’t be interrupted.
Automatic.
In a meeting in a meeting (per Lync or per Outlook) Automatic.
In a conference call in a Lync conference call (Lync meeting with audio) and shouldn’t be interrupted.
Automatic.
Do Not Disturb not to be disturbed; will see IM requests only if sent by Workgroup members.
User-selected.
Presenting giving a presentation and therefore not to be disturbed.
Automatic when user is presenting from Lync-enabled computer. IMs are blocked.
Offline not signed in. Automatic.
Unknown presence can’t be detected. Status may appear to contacts not using Lync IM.
To manage who can contact you and alert others to
your current availability you can manage your
online presence. Below is a table of possible
presence options. Some are set automatically whilst
others require manual set-up by clicking the drop-
down arrow on the Online Presence setter (as
shown on page 3 and in the image to the right.)
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S3: IM, Video and Telephone Calling
3.1. Instant Messaging (IM) screen This is the IM window. From the App Contacts Tab (Page 3) you can open this by double-clicking on a
contact (or multiple contacts for group IM – hold down shift to select more than one contact) that you
wish you to IM or alternatively, right-click their name and select ‘Send an Instant Message’.
IM
conversations
Toggle IM on/off
Add Video. This will
enable the contact to
see you; however, they
need to manually start
their own video feed in
order for you to see
them.
Tabbed conversations for quick access to
all your ongoing conversations – this is a
new feature to Lync 2013.
Sharing icon. From here you
can share a PowerPoint, a
program, your desktop, a
poll, a whiteboard or a Q&A.
Also, you can attach a file
here too via the attach tab.
Pop-out window (if you would like to
have a particularly important
conversation in a window of its own).
High Priority
Message
Toggle
On/Off
Add or manage
recipients.
Manage
recordings
/text size
Add Audio. Audio
can be added to
any Lync to Lync
conversation
through the Lync
Call function.
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3.2. Accepting and Initiating Telephone and Video Calls
If this window appears in the
bottom right of your screen,
someone is trying to call you. You
can denote it’s a telephone call by
the telephone symbol in the top
right of the image.
To Answer the call, click anywhere
on the contacts image.
To decline the call, click Ignore.
To initiate a telephone call with a
Lync contact:
From the contacts menu – right
click the name of the contact you
wish to call, select Call, then Lync
Call.
From an IM with the contact you
wish to call – click the button.
These principles work for more
than one contact too – by holding
down Ctrl you can select multiple
contacts from your contacts menu
or by clicking the button in an
IM group conversation you can
start a telephone conference.
End Call Call Connection Strength Call Duration
See page 12 for more details
on these buttons.
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If this window appears in the
bottom right of your screen,
someone is trying to video call you.
You can denote it’s a video call by
the video symbol in the top right of
the image.
To Answer the call, click anywhere
on the contacts image.
To decline the call, click Ignore.
To initiate a video call with a Lync
contact:
From the contacts menu – right
click the name of the contact you
wish to call, select Start a Video
Call.
From an IM with the contact you
wish to video call – click the
button.
These principles work for more
than one contact too – by holding
down Ctrl you can select multiple
contacts from your contacts menu
or by clicking the button in an
IM group conversation you can
start a video conference.
End Call Call Connection Strength Call Duration
See page 12 for more details on
these buttons.
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3.3. Sharing Window To open this window, you can click the button from an IM/Video Call/Telephone Call window then
select PowerPoint presentation (in this case) or alternatively you can share, other programs, a virtual
whiteboard, a poll or even your desktop.
Hovering over the top right of the
screen gives you a pen (+other
annotation tools) allowing you to
collaboratively work on the stage.
End call Stop Presenting Manage/view participants
Manage current
slide.
View participant’s
current methods of
communication (See Page
12)
IM, Video Call,
Sharing and People
Management tools
(See Page 12)
Recordings
management
Page 12
3.4. Functionality within IM, Calls and Video Calling
What tools are available?
What do I know about my audience?
Whether they are IM’ing
Whether they are
sending audio.
Whether they are
currently sending video.
Whether they
are sharing
content.
Toggle IM stage on/off
Add Video Feed. N.B.
This will enable the
contact to see you;
however, they need to
manually start their
own video feed in order
for you to see them.
Sharing icon. From here you
can share a PowerPoint, a
program, your desktop, a
poll, a whiteboard or a Q&A.
Also, you can attach a file
here too via the attach tab.
Add or manage
recipients.
Add an audio feed
through the ‘Lync
Call’ function.
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S4: Microsoft Outlook + Lync Meetings
4.1. Microsoft Outlook - Conversation History To navigate here open Outlook and click the ‘Conversation History’ Folder.
Conversation History Folder
List of past conversations. N.B. In Lync 2010, press Ctrl + J whilst in the IM screen (See Page
8) to rename the conversation allowing for quicker reference in Conversation History.
See Page 14 for a detailed look at how
to initiate an Online Lync Meeting.
A detailed breakdown of the
conversation including the modes
it took .e.g. IM, video conference,
document attachment etc.
Page 14
4.2. Microsoft Outlook – Online Lync Meeting (For External
Participants) To navigate here follow the instructions below:
To initiate a new Lync meeting,
first click New Items in your
Outlook Home Tab followed by
Online Meeting.
Alternatively, with an email already highlighted, it’s possible
to set up a Lync meeting with all those involved in that email
stream. Click Meeting, then Online Meeting.
Enter the contacts you wish to attend and the subject
of the meeting. Note that you can invite external
contacts to a Lync meeting even if they don’t have
Lync installed on their device – they will be prompted
to open a web version of the Lync App (functionality
may be restricted)
To join the Lync meeting, all participants
will need to click the link.
Lync Meetings are primarily intended for
contacting external participants. For internal
communication, Video/Telephone conferencing is
recommended.
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S5: Lync Etiquette & FAQs
5.1. Lync Best Use
- For internal or federated communications, it is advisable to use IM and video conferencing –
Avoid using Online Lync Meeting (See Page 12) as the process can be more complex and may
restrict some users’ functionality.
- For external communications (i.e. where your contacts aren’t federated with the University or
don’t have access to Lync) - use the Online Lync Meeting facility. Take particular caution here by
ensuring your contacts’ credentials are correct – be certain that the person you are contacting is
who they say they are.
- You should carefully consider what hardware you’re going to use (and get this set up
beforehand to prevent technical difficulties) for any video call. This also applies to Online Lync
meetings; allow time prior to the start of each meeting to ensure everything is functioning as
expected.
- Consider those around you before video conferencing - try to avoid video calling in areas where
it may cause a disruption to other workers; be logical in your choice of location.
- You should take into account lighting – ensure that your audience can see you clearly and won’t
be straining nor have light shining in their eyes.
- Be cautious when sharing files and/or your desktop. Ensure the information contained on your
desktop as well as within any shared documents don’t contain any sensitive data and therefore
adhere to the University of Exeter’s Data Protection policy. For more information on this, please
visit:
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/media/level1/academicserviceswebsite/it/recordsmanagementservice/DP_Poli
cy_v2.0.pdf
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5.2. FAQs
Why use Lync over Skype?
Allows you to strictly control who you want to connect with, and restrict the users that can connect to
you. With a strict federation policy in place, there’s far greater security built into Lync compared to Skype
or similar software. Currently, the University of Exeter is federated with all of its campuses as well as
other universities; networking all the contacts from each establishment together and allowing a simple
means of communication between these communities. Any external person outside of the federated sites
will not be able to contact you, unless you contact them first via Online Lync Meetings. This is a much
safer and efficient way to manage your contacts compared to Skype or equivalent software.
Why not just use email?
Allows you to control your own availability, and keep others notified. With an effective availability
setter, Lync allows you to keep others notified of your current availability. Available, Busy and Away are
just a few of the options available; providing all your contacts with a quick reference as to whether you
are currently contactable, particularly useful for home and remote working. ‘Do Not Disturb’ is used to
restrict communications to only those contacts with Workgroup privacy setting; allowing for periods of
greater focus, without losing availability to important contacts. Lync also works with your Outlook
Calendar, dynamically displaying your availability accordingly.
Reduce email traffic, increase efficiency. With Instant Messaging, the need for emails will be reduced
dramatically. Whilst there are good reasons to use email for more formal communications, Lync provides
a means of more informal communications not too dissimilar from an impromptu discussion in the office
corridor. Whilst more informal than traditional email, Lync still provides the functionality of file
attachment, group conversations as well as a clear conversation history to store conversations more
permanently.
What devices can use Lync?
Compatibility across differing operating systems as well as tablets and mobiles. Lync is available on
most operating systems (via the Lync App or Client). So whether you want to communicate from your
laptop, your mac, your tablet or even your mobile phone, there are plenty of device options to access
Lync. This creates great flexibility and aids remote working; providing its users with the opportunity to
communicate with their colleagues wherever and whenever they need to.
Will Lync sign me in automatically?
Yes, although this feature can be switched off by clicking on the cog icon, clicking the personal tab then
unchecking the box which reads ’automatically start Lync when I log on to Windows’.
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What benefits would Lync have to staff at St Luke’s, Penryn or KSpa?
- Greater flexibility in working practice including more opportunities for home/remote working
- Relieve some of the parking issues at the campuses
- Support and connect staff working off-site e.g. conducting research, attending conferences
- Strengthen communication networks internally and between campuses
- Encourage greater levels of collaboration within workgroups
- Give staff at St Luke’s, Penryn or KSpa the ability to monitor their own availability using Presence
- Reduce travelling expenses
What hardware is recommended for video conferencing using Lync and
how do I set it up?
For optimum use of Lync, it is recommend that you have the following hardware installed and ready-to-go before entering into a video call/online meeting:
- Webcam
- Headset
- Microphone
In general, this is a straightforward ‘plug-in and go’ process (Note: When using hardware for the first
time, configuration may take a few minutes whilst drivers are installed) however, if you encounter any
issues, refer to the cog icon in the top right of your Lync app. Under the ‘Audio Device’ tab you will be
able to troubleshoot both your speakers and your microphone – first ensure you have selected the
correct microphone and that it’s picking up sound (you will see a green bar that moves along as it picks up
sound) and then follow the same procedure with your speakers.
Under the ‘Video Device’ tab you will need to ensure you’re receiving a video feed – If no webcam is
detected ensure the webcam is properly connected.
I don’t have a webcam, what are my options?
- Instant Message
- Telephone conference (requires headset and microphone)
- Use one of the new Lync Hub rooms
- Video Conference or Online Lync Meeting (you can still play an active part through audio and IM
yet have no personal video feed)
I don’t have a webcam or a headset, what are my options?
- Instant message
- Use one of the new Lync Hub rooms
- Video Conference or Online Lync Meeting (you can still play an active part using IM yet have no
personal video or audio feed. You will require speakers, and since audio will be broadcast through
them, you must carefully consider those around you.)
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5.3. Glossary
Key terms:
Client – Software or ‘App’ that is installed on your computer (or device) which allows you to access the
functionality of Lync. When you log onto Lync, the window that pops up is known as the Lync Client.
Contact Groups – It’s possible to manage your contacts list into groups. Group names can be decided
upon by the user to make finding contacts an easier process (i.e. close colleagues, other departments,
etc.). Each group can be given its own group privacy (see below)
Display Picture – This is the image that is linked to your contact details and allows other to quickly
identify contacts. It can be set by clicking the ‘cog’ – settings icon > My Picture Tab > Edit or Remove
Picture.
Federation Policy – Manages which Lync users are configured to be communicable with both internally
and externally to the University.
Group Privacy – Each group in your contacts list can be set to have its own custom group privacy settings.
These settings allow you to manage how groups can contact you and when.
IM – Instant messaging. An easy-to-use, text-based means of communication.
Online presence – Allows you to notify other users to your availability. This includes ‘Available’, ‘Busy’,
‘Away’, ‘Out of Office’, ‘In a call’, ‘In a meeting’, ‘Do not Disturb’. Certain availability statuses can be set to
allow only a subset of your contact list to be able to contact you. i.e. ‘Do not Disturb’ allows only
members of your contact list with ‘Workgroup’ group privacy to contact you.
Video Conference – A meeting between multiple participants using audio and video to interact.