Configuring Chat Room Preferences

What do you want to do?

Introduction

Setting General Preferences

Setting Chat Preferences when Joining a Chat Room

Setting Levels of Access Preferences

Setting Away Preferences

Setting Display Preferences

Managing Sign-in Accounts

Setting Notification Preferences

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Introduction

With Group Chat Preferences, you can customize the appearance and behavior of the Group Chat client to suit your needs. For example, you can edit the display theme for the client so chat rooms show the colors that you prefer. You can also configure notifications on chat rooms to which you belong so that you get an alert each time a specific topic is mentioned in a chat room.

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Setting General Preferences

With General Preferences, you can specify the general behavior of Group Chat. For example, you can configure the startup behavior for Group Chat so that the client automatically starts when you log on to Windows.

To set general preferences

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click General, and then set the options you want as described in the following table.

3. Click OK when done.

General preferences

Option	Description
Automatically start when I log on to Windows	Check if you want Group Chat to start when you log on to Windows.
When closing the main window	Minimize to the notification area – minimizes the client window to an icon in the Windows notifications area. Exit Group Chat – closes the Group Chat window and exits the program.
Display notification for	Select the time, in seconds, that a notification is displayed.
Delete my preferences for chat rooms and contacts after:	Select the number of days you want to wait before deleting preferences set for unused chat rooms and contacts.
Notify me when someone adds me to their Contact List	Specify this option if you want to receive a notification every time that a contact adds you to their Contact List.

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Setting Chat Preferences when Joining a Chat Room

With the Group Chat Preference dialog box, you can specify the default appearance and behavior of newly joined chat rooms. You can also configure notifications that appear when instant messages are sent to you, to a chat room, or to a chat room filter. New Chat Preferences are the settings that are applied, by default, when you join a chat room not currently in your My Chat list, or add a new contact or filter.

Chat room settings can be applied in one of two ways:

• Set default chat room settings. After you set defaults, any chat room you join for the first time uses the default settings. Changing the defaults does not change the settings of which you are already a participant. The chat rooms are separated into three types: group chat rooms, IM conversations, and filters. Defaults can be set for each type.

• Set chat room settings for one chat room. This method overrides the default chat room settings.

Setting New Chat - Chat Room Preferences

You can set chat room preferences for both new and existing chat rooms.

To edit New Chat – Chat Room preferences

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click New Chat Preferences.

3. Click OK.

New Chat – Chat Room preferences

Option	Description
Edit Notification	Click edit to specify the behavior of notifications. For more information about editing notifications, see the Notifications section later in this topic.
Maximum number of messages on screen	Determines the number of messages that are displayed in a chat room message area. The default is 250.
Use friendly names in participants list and message area	When checked, friendly names are shown for contacts. To show users' SIP addresses (for example lola@contoso.com), clear the check box. Also note that the check box labeled Show list of current participants should also be checked.
Notify me when someone joins or leaves a chat room	To receive a system alert when your contact's presence status changes, select the Notify me when this user's presence changes check box. You can specify whether to show messages only when the user signs in or out, or you can receive a system alert whenever the user's presence status changes, such as from Online to Away. This option is available on the IM tab only.
Number of messages to show after joining a chat room	When you join a chat room, this is the number of Chat History messages that are displayed in your chat window.
Show List of current participants	All current participants in a chat room are displayed when this preference is selected.

Setting New Chat - Contact Preferences

When you set New Chat - Contact preferences, you set preferences for all new contacts that you add to your list of contacts.

To edit the New C hat – Contact Preferences

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click New Chat Preferences. Contact Preferences are the same as Chat Room Preferences, as covered in the previous table with the exception of an option, Notify me when this user's status changes.

Setting New Chat – Filter Preferences

With the New Chat – Filter preferences, you can select the options to apply, by default, when you create a new filter.

To edit the New Chat – Filter preferences

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click New Chat Preferences, and then click the Filter tab. For a description of New Chat Filter Preferences, see the table above.

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Setting Levels of Access Preferences

You can set access levels for contacts to control the level of your presence status and information that is visible for those contacts. For example, if you want co-workers to see your work phone number, you can assign them to the Team level. If you want to block a person from sending you messages and seeing your presence status, you can assign them to the Blocked level. Access levels can be set at a user level, or you can use the Permissions dialog box to set access levels for user groups or domains. The table below provides a list of presence status attributes that other users can see. The first column of the table shows the presence status attributes, and the other columns show whether the attribute is available for a given access level.

Note: Because Group Chat and Office Communicator presence information are integrated, changes are reflected in the Office Communicator Contact List.

Levels of access preferences

Presence Information	Block	Public	Company	Team	Personal
Offline presence	X
Presence		X	X	X	X
Display name	X	X	X	X	X
E-mail address	X	X	X	X	X
Work phone*			X	X	X

* If these attributes are defined in Active Directory Domain Services, they are visible to all contacts within your company.

Note: For details about presence information and access levels, see the Microsoft Office Communicator Online Help.

Changing the Access Level for a Contact

You can change the access level for a contact directly from your list of contacts in My Chat.

To change the access level of a user

1. In My Chat, right-click a user.

2. Point to Change Level of Access, and then click the access level you want to assign to the user.

Setting Permissions for Users or Domains

Group Chat enables you to change the access levels for groups, including specific domains. For example, you can change the access level for a specific domain from Public to Company if you want users in that domain to have access to your work phone number.

User and domain types

Name	Definition
People in domains connected with my company	Permission settings apply to all federated users. The default access level for this type is Public.
People in my company	Permission settings apply to your contacts that are currently assigned to the Company access level. The default access level for this type is Company.
People in public domains	Permission settings apply to Public Instant Messaging (IM) Connectivity users.

There may be cases in which the permission settings overlap. In these cases, the more specific permissions override the broader permissions. For example, if the litwareinc.com domain has a permission type of Public and john@litwareinc.com has a permission type of Personal, the user-specific permissions override the domain permissions. Similarly, by default all federated users have an access level of Public. However, if you want to provide a federated organization with a different access level, you can set domain-level permissions for that federated organization. The domain-level permissions override the People in domains connected with my company permissions.

You can set permissions in the Level of Access view of the Preferences dialog box. You can add, delete, or modify permission settings.

To modify access levels for a contact, access management entry, or domain

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click Level of Access.

3. Under Contacts, click the contact, access management entry, or domain you want to change, and then click Modify.

4. Select the Access Level from the Access Level list, and then click OK.

To specify an access level for a specific domain

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click Level of Access, and then click Add.

3. In the Type drop-down list, select Domain.

4. In the Name box, type the domain name. For example: example.com.

5. Select the Access Level from the Access Level list, and then click OK.

To modify or delete a permission setting

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click Level of Access.

3. Select a permission setting in the list, and then click either Modify or Remove.

Blocking Presence Status

To prevent another user from sending you messages and seeing your presence status, you can block the user.

To block presence status

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click Level of Access.

   Note: If the user is not in the user list, click Add. In the New Permission or Domain dialog box, enter the user's URI in the Account Name field.

3. In the Access Level box, click Block.

4. Click OK.

To block presence status when an IM chat room exists with the user

• In My Chat, right-click the user, point to Change Level of Access, and then click Blocked.

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Setting Away Preferences

With Away settings, you can specify whether to automatically set your presence status to Away when your computer is inactive (that is, when there is no mouse or keyboard activity) for a set period of time.

To set Auto Away prefere nces

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click Away.

3. Select the required setting from the options described in the table below, and then click OK

New Chat – chat room preferences

Setting	Description
Set my status to Away when I lock my computer	Check this option if you want your status to appear as Away when you lock your computer or when you leave your computer and it is automatically locked for you.
Set my status to Away when I am inactive for this many minutes	You can specify the number of minutes to transpire when you are inactive (you do not enter keyboard or mouse input) before your status changes to Away.

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Setting Display Preferences

You can customize display preferences by editing colors and font choices.

Modifying the Display Theme

The Group Chat provides a default display theme. When you first sign in to the Group Chat, a default display theme is set. This theme is applied to all chat rooms. You can modify the default theme to suit your preference.

To modify the display theme

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click Display Preferences.

3. In the Name box, type a name for the new theme.

4. To return to default settings, click Use System Colors. The system colors are used for Background, Hyperlink, Chat room link, and Sender link. If you changed these settings, clicking this button restores the default settings.

5. To select a color for the Background, Hyperlink, Chat room link, and Sender link, click the color box next to each item. This opens the color menu. Click the Palette, Web, or System tab to use different formats, click a color selection, and then click OK.

   • Select how messages from others, messages from you, and High Importance messages are displayed.

   • To see how your new theme will look in the message area before you apply it, look at the example text box at the top of the window.

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Managing Sign-in Accounts

Sign-in accounts represent different server configurations. They are used when you sign in to Group Chat. You can view, modify, add, or delete sign-in accounts.

To view or modify sign-in account settings

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click Accounts.

3. Under Accounts, click a sign-in account.

4. In the Accounts view of the Preferences dialog box, select the check box next to the name of the account that you want to make the default account.

5. In the Accounts box, click the sign-in account whose settings you want to modify.

6. To change the name that is displayed in the Account box of the Group Chat Sign In dialog box, type a new name in the Display Name box.

   Note: The display name of the Automatic Configuration sign-in account cannot be changed.

7. To use a single sign on (SSO), select the Use my Windows credentials to log in automatically check box.

8. In the Office Communications Server Settings and Group Chat Functionality Server Settings boxes, enter the values provided by your system administrator. You should not change these settings without the guidance of the system administrator.

To add a sign-in account

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click Accounts.

3. To add a new account to the Accounts box, in the Accounts dialog box, click Add.

4. Specify the settings for the sign-in account, and then click OK. The account is available the next time that you sign in.

To delete a sign-in account

• In the Accounts dialog box, select an account in the Accounts box, and then click Remove.

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Setting Notification Preferences

Notifications are alerts that appear on your desktop based on the criteria that you set to trigger these alerts. For example, you can configure notification settings to appear when someone sends a High Importance message to a chat room. Or, you can configure notification settings for New Chat Preferences. These are applied when a user joins a new chat room. You can configure notification preferences for specific chat rooms through the Preferences dialog box. These preferences are applied to either existing chat rooms or new chat rooms.

To modify the default notification settings

1. On the Connect menu, click Preferences.

2. On the left navigation bar, click New Chat Preferences. The New Chat Preferences selection enables you to define notifications for newly added chat rooms, contacts, or filters.

3. Under Notifications, click Edit.

4. Click the Chat Room, Contact or Filter tab to set the default chat room preferences for that category, and then click Edit Notification. The tables below describe the available options.

Notification options

Option	Description
Open in new window	Select this option to open a message in a new window.
Show alert screen.	Select this option to display a system alert when a new message is received. Select the Show Toast check box.
Flash button on the taskbar	If you want the title bar to flash when a message is received, select the Flash button on the taskbar check box.
Play sound	To play a selected sound when a message is received, select the Play Sound check box. Click a name in the list, or to find other sounds on your computer, click Browse. Click the Play button to hear the sound.

New message notification options

Option	Description
Open in new window	Select this option to open a message in a new window when a High Importance message is sent to a chat room to which you belong.
Show alert	Select this option to display a system alert when a new message is received.
Flash button on the taskbar	Select this option if you want the title bar to flash when a message is received. Select the Flash button on the taskbar check box.
Play sound	To play a selected sound when a message is received, select the Play Sound check box. Click a name in the list, or to find other sounds on your computer, click Browse. Click the Play button to hear the sound.

If you want the unread message count to appear next to the chat room in My Chat, select the Show unread message count check box at the bottom of the Message Notification screen.

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