IBM Lotus Sametime 8 Essentials: A User’s Guide
Mastering Online Enterprise Communication with this collaborative software
- Collaborate securely with your colleagues and teammates both inside and outside your organization by using Sametime features such as instant messaging and online meetings
- Make your instant messaging communication more interesting with the inclusion of graphics, images, and emoticons to convey more information in fewer words
- Communicate with other instant messaging services and users, such as AOL Instant Messaging, Yahoo Instant Messaging, and Google Talk and know how someone’s online status can help you communicate faster and more efficiently
- Discover how the Sametime Meeting Center can maximize the productivity of teams in your organization with the use of online meetings, training session playback, seamless voice/video integration, and screen sharing
- See how Sametime works in common, every-day, real-world situations with tips, resources, and detailed screenshots
Q: Show some instances where Sametime would be most useful?
A: The following cases highlight a few instances where Sametime is most useful:
- Lisa is waiting on some information from a team member for a project deadline, but she’s away from her desk. However, she has Sametime Mobile installed on her Windows Mobile 6 device and she can connect during her board meeting.
- Juan is on a long distance trip between countries. He doesn’t want to pull his laptop down from the overhead bins, but he does have his Blackberry available to chat with his staff in the home office since he has Sametime Mobile installed. He can set his presence awareness to unavailable once he’s in the air.
- Logan needs some contract information during a lengthy meeting. He can ping his project team for any detail clarification from his Blackberry using Sametime Mobile, without disrupting the meeting.
Q: Which are the supported devices for Sametime Mobile?
A: Sametime Mobile is available for a number of mobile operating systems and devices. Devices include those that support the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system, Research in Motion Blackberry devices, Sony Ericsson cell phones, and Nokia Eseries devices.
As new devices are made available on a continual basis, check both your mobile device website as well as the IBM Sametime support site (http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=477&uid=swg27013765) for updated information about which devices are supported. Research in Motion provides downloads for Sametime for new devices from their website at http://www.blackberry.com.
Windows MobileWindows Mobile 2003 Second Edition Pocket PCWindows Mobile 5 Pocket PCWindows Mobile SmartphoneWindows Mobile 6 StandardWindows Mobile 6 ProfessionalResearch in Motion BlackberryBlackberry 7100Blackberry 8100Blackberry 8300Blackberry 8700Blackberry 8800Blackberry 8900Blackberry 9000Sony EricssonM600iP990iP1iNokiaEseries
Q: How do we Package the Sametime Mobile client for download?
A: As part of the Sametime server installation, files for each of the mobile platforms are included in subdirectories on your organization’s Sametime server. Your Sametime administrator makes these files available to you via configuration options. These files will have specific file extensions based on what type of device you have. For example, the files for Sametime Mobile on the Windows Mobile operating system are packaged as a .cab file, while .cod and .alx files are part of the Blackberry download package. Your Sametime administrator will also provide you with a website that will provide access to the files.
Q: How to download and install Sametime Mobile?
A: To begin using Sametime Mobile, you must first download and install the application to your mobile device. The installation steps will be specific to the type of device you are using. The process first begins with accessing the download website provided to you by your Sametime administrator. Depending on your device you might use Internet Explorer (Windows Mobile), a browser for mobile phones like Opera, or the Blackberry browser specifically designed for the Blackberry. The URL will be similar to the following: http://sametime.topchefs.com/mobile/.When the main download page appears, it will look much like the following screenshot:
You’ll need to select your language and the device type and then select Download. You may be prompted for a user ID and password at this point. Your Sametime administrator should provide you with this information. Our example here shows a login screen for a Windows Mobile device:
If your organization or company uses a Blackberry Enterprise Server, they may have configured the server to deploy the Sametime client “over the air” to your device. This means that the Sametime client application may be pushed to your device without any interaction on your part, because the Blackberry Enterprise Server can push out software updates. You can also download the Sametime client from the Blackberry website at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/server/domino/lotus_software.jsp#tab_tab_sametime. This method uses the Blackberry desktop manager to upload the Sametime client to your Blackberry device using the combination of .cod and .alx files provided in the install packages. Your Sametime administrator will provide you with a user ID and password for use to login to your organization’s Sametime server.
The installation of Sametime Mobile for Windows Mobile includes a couple of extra steps. This installation includes a configuration file that must be downloaded to the device. You should check with your Sametime administrator for additional information if you have questions in this situation.
Q: How to use the Sametime Mobile client?
A: So you’ve downloaded the Sametime Mobile client to your mobile device. Let’s confirm that you have installed the application and that you can login and start the application successfully! On the following pages we’ll use a Blackberry 8900 or a Windows Mobile 6 device as our working models for the Sametime Mobile images. We’re going to cover a number of options and features and they may display somewhat differently depending on the device you use. So as we’re going through these options, try to focus more on the function that’s being shown rather than the specifics of what is being displayed on the screen.
- Microsoft® Windows® Mobile: Choose Start | Programs | Sametime.
- BlackBerry: Open the Instant Messaging folder; choose the Enterprise Messaging or Sametime application.
- Nokia: Open the Installations folder, choose the Sametime application.
- Sony Ericsson: Open the Tools folder, choose the Sametime application.
Your Blackberry device will show an icon that looks similar to the following screenshot:
The Windows Mobile Device Sametime icon will be similar to the following screenshot:
Q: How to log into Sametime Mobile?
A: To login to Sametime, enter the Sametime user ID and password that your Sametime administrator has provided to you. This would be most likely the user ID and password that you use with the Sametime Embedded client or the Sametime Connect client. You have the ability to save the password and will automatically login the next time you open Sametime on your device. Please note, while it is more convenient to have the device remember your password here, make sure to consult the security policies of your organization when saving a password to a mobile device. Always set a device password for your mobile device, so that in the event that the device is stolen or lost, your accounts and data can’t be accessed. The following depicts the login screen for the Sametime client on a Blackberry device:
As we explained earlier, we’re going to show screens from both a Blackberry and a Windows Mobile device. We assume that you are familiar with navigating to menu options as one of those device users.
Q: How to begin a chat?
A: When you login, you’ll see a list of all your active chats, as well as your contact list groups. You can click on any group name in order to expand it to see the names of the people you have in that group.
To begin chatting with a contact, move your device cursor and select their name. A blank chat window will appear with a panel for you to begin typing. Your chat conversation will appear in the chat window.
Within the Sametime Mobile client itself, there are option menus to view your contact list, groups, etc. In this example the Blackberry has a pop-up menu that lets you accomplish a number of tasks such as adding a new contact or sending a message to someone.
Emoticons help to convey emotion and “body language” in text messages that could be misread without any verbal or body language context. In Sametime Mobile you still have that feature available to you.
When you’re chatting with someone, you will see a small smiley icon to the right of your chat input field (if you’re on a Blackberry) or an Insert Emoticon option. Sametime Mobile displays a screen of available emoticons that you can click on to insert into your chat message. (See the Blackberry version in the following screenshot.)
As with the Sametime Embedded or Sametime Connect client, you can invite other contacts to join an ongoing chat. “Invite Other to Chat” or “Invite Others” will display as a menu option depending on your mobile device. This will display a list of your contacts and you can select one or more names to invite to your current chat.
Q: How to Send an announcement?
A: Have you ever wanted to “ping” a number of contacts at one time to let them know of a meeting room change? From the Sametime Mobile client you can send an announcement to all members of a group or choose individual contacts from the group list. This appears on their chat window as an announcement. If you need an easy method to notify a group of users, this is it!
Q: How to enable Multiple chat conversations?
A: Another feature that extends to the Sametime Mobile client is the ability to have multiple chat conversations at one time. Regardless of whether you’re in front of your computer or on your phone, people are not going to wait for you to finish one chat before you answer theirs. With your Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Sony, or Nokia phone, you’ll be able to talk with multiple contacts at the same time.
When you’re participating in one chat and you receive an invitation to participate in another chat, you can choose the Chat List icon. Each new chat displays the Responding icon. Select the new chat you want to participate in and that chat window will display. On the Blackberry client the Chat List displays as a number of chats at the top of your contact list. Using the Chat List icon, you can move between chat windows, toggle between any of the chats included in the list, or choose to close all chat windows.
Q: What are “quick responses”?
A: You have the option to create prepared responses, also known as “quick responses”, which you can store in your mobile device. These are handy when you’re on a call or in a meeting, and can’t respond to a chat. On a Windows Mobile device, this feature looks like the one shown in the following screenshot:
To end a chat, you can select the menu option to “End Chat” or “Close Chat“. Again, this depends on your mobile operating system as to how this will be displayed, but the function remains the same.
