Creating a Chat Room Using the Lync 2013 Client

The second method that can be used to create a chat room is using the Lync 2013 client, which would typically be used by a user who has been assigned creator permissions to one or more categories. To create a chat room using the Lync 2013 client, a user must first be enabled for Persistent Chat via a Persistent Chat policy, in addition to being assigned as a creator.

Following is the procedure for using the Lync 2013 client to create one of the chat rooms shown earlier in Figure 10.9:

1. Log on to the Lync 2013 client using an account that has been enabled for Persistent Chat, and has been assigned as a creator in a Persistent Chat category.

2. If the user has been enabled for Persistent Chat, the Chat Rooms icon automatically appears as the second icon from the left, as shown in Figure 10.12. Click on the Chat Rooms icon to display the Chat Rooms section of the Lync client.

Figure 10.12. Chat Rooms section of the Lync 2013 client.

3. On the right side of the window, click on the plus symbol, and then from the list of options that appears, click Create a Chat Room.

4. At the prompt, enter the credentials of the user with creator rights.

5. The My Rooms page now displays. Click on Create a New Room.

6. The Create a Room page now appears, as shown in Figure 10.13. Begin by entering a name, and optionally a description for the new chat room.

Figure 10.13. Creating a chat room using the Lync 2013 client.

7. Additional properties that can be configured when the chat room is created include the following:

• Privacy—Select Open, Closed, or Secret. Open rooms can be searched and accessed by anyone. Closed rooms can be searched by anyone, but can be accessed only by members. Secret rooms can be searched and accessed only by members of the room.

• Add-in—Use the drop-down menu to associate an add-in with the chat room, which allows URL content to be viewed by members while participating. Add-ins must be previously approved by a Persistent Chat administrator in order to appear in this list.

• Managers—The creator of the chat room is listed by default as the initial chat room manager; however, this can be changed as needed. If a different user will be assigned as the manager, or if additional chat room managers will be assigned, enter one or more names within the Managers box, with multiple names separated by a semicolon. The check mark icon at the right of the Managers box can be used to verify the accuracy of the manager names entered.

• Members—If the chat room privacy setting is configured as Closed or Secret, individual names can be entered within the Members box, with multiple names separated by a semicolon. The check mark icon at the right of the Members box can be used to verify the accuracy of the member names entered.

• Invitations—If the chat room privacy setting is configured as Closed or Secret, the invitations setting can be configured to either inherit the invitation setting from the parent category, or disable invitations for the chat room. Invitations are used to notify users when they have been added as chat room members.

8. When finished, click Create to create the new chat room.