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You can send a message to contacts within your corporate network, a Federated  network, or any contact with one of the following IDs: Windows Live ID or AOL.

Do any of the following:

Send an instant message to one person

  1. Sign in to Lync.

  2. On the Contacts tab, do one of the following:

To send a message to

Do this

An existing contact who is online

Double-click the contact.

Available contacts display a green bar  Lync available icon or Available iconicon.

A person who is not in your contact list

On the Contacts tab, in the Find a contact or dial a number box, type the person's e-mail address, and then double-click the contact.

To add this person as a contact, click the person's avatar in the conversation window, and then click  Add contact to instant messenger contact list.

  1. In the lower part of the conversation window, type your message, and then press RETURN .

    Notes: 

    • You can add contacts to a conversation. However, you must start the conversation with a single contact.

    • Each message can be up to 8,000 characters long.

Add more contacts to a conversation

After you start a conversation, you can invite additional contacts to join.

  1. In the conversation window, on the   More Options   pop-up menu, click Invite by Name or Phone Number.

  2. Select the contact who you want to invite, and then click OK.

    Notes: 

    • To invite a person who is not in your contact list, in the search box, type the person's e-mail address or phone number.

    • A total of 100 people, including you, can take part in a conversation.

Receive an instant message invitation

When someone sends you an instant message, an instant message alert appears in the bottom-right corner of your computer screen.

  1. Click Accept in the invitation alert.

  2. In the conversation window, type your response in the message area, and then press RETURN .

Make an audio call in Lync

You can use Lync for Mac to talk to contacts in your network. You can also conduct conference calls by inviting multiple contacts to join the conversation. During an audio call, you can also use Lync to send files and text messages.

To use audio calling, both you and your contact must have a microphone and either speakers or headphones. If your computer doesn't have a built-in microphone, you can purchase a Mac-compatible microphone for your computer. To learn about how to set up these devices, see Mac Help.

  1. Do any of the following:

To

Do this

Call a contact not in your contact list or to call a contact's alternate number

On the Phone tab, in the Dial a phone number box, enter a phone number or an alphanumeric number on the keypad.

Call a contact in your Contact List

On the Contacts tab, select a contact, and on the Contact menu, click Call, and then click the number that you want to call.

  1. After your contact accepts the call, talk into the microphone.

  2. Do any of the following:

To

Do this

To invite other contacts to the audio call

On the  More Options   pop-up menu, click Invite by Name or Phone Number, and then either select the contact you want, or in the search box, enter a phone number or e-mail address.

Add video to the call

Click  Start video.

Adjust the volume

Drag the volume slider  Volume slider.

Put the audio call on hold so that no sound is sent or received

Click   On hold button.

Transfer the call

Click  Transfer call, click Other Person or Number, and then either select the contact you want, or in the search box, enter a phone number or e-mail address.

End the audio part of the call but leave the message window open

Click   End call.

Use the touchtone feature while in a call

Click Communicator Keypad button.

Mute the call

Click Communicator Audio Mute button

Leave the conversation completely

Close the conversation window.

Notes: 

  • If you are in a text conversation with a contact, you can add audio and video to the conversation. In the conversation window, click  Start audio call or Start video.

  • When you save a conversation in Conversation History, only the text portion is saved. Audio and video aren't saved.

Make a video call in Lync

You can use Lync for Mac to make video calls to contacts in your network. You can also conduct video conference calls by inviting multiple contacts to join the conversation. During a video call, you can use Lync to send files and text messages.

To use video calling, both you and your contact must have a webcam, a microphone, and either speakers or headphones. If your computer doesn't have a built-in webcam and microphone, you can purchase a Mac-compatible device to attach to your computer. To learn about how to set up these devices, see Mac Help.

  1. On the Contacts tab, select a contact, and on the Contact menu, click Start a Video Call.

  2. After your contact accepts the call, talk into the microphone.

  3. Do any of the following:

To

Do this

Invite other contacts to join the video call

On the  More Options   pop-up menu, click Invite by Name or Phone Number, and then either select the contact you want, or in the search box, enter a phone number or e-mail address.

End the video and audio parts of the call, but leave the message window open

Click   End call.

Put audio and video on hold or resume a call

Click   On hold button.

Change the video to full-screen mode or back to regular size

Click Full screen button.

Mute or unmute your microphone

Click   Mute button.

Adjust the volume

Drag the volume slider  Volume slider.

Show or hide all participants or yourself during a conversation

Click  Show or hide participant list.

Change to an audio-only call

Click  Start audio call.

Leave the conversation completely

Close the conversation window.

Notes: 

  • If you are in a text conversation with a contact, you can add audio and video to the conversation. In the conversation window, click  Start audio call or Start video.

  • When you save a conversation in Conversation History, only the text portion is saved. Audio and video aren't saved.

See also

Add, delete, or block a contact from Lync

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