Making Audio Calls

Initiating an audio call is as simple as right-clicking a contact, choosing Call, and specifying that it should be a Lync call. Then, the contact receives a pop-up and an audio notification and has the option to answer, decline, or redirect. Answer and decline should be fairly obvious as to what they do. Redirect gives the option to reply through IM or to set one’s status to Do Not Disturb. Accepting the call updates both users’ status to In a Call.

Users can easily escalate an existing IM conversation to audio by clicking the phone icon at the bottom of the conversation window. This pops the conversation out into its own window, similar to what happens when a brand-new call is placed.

When the call connects, a new window displays that looks similar to the IM window. In fact, it is the same window, but now has the audio portion joined.

The call window enables the user to easily mute the device by clicking the phone icon once more, which shows a microphone during an active call. Muting the microphone alters the icon on the client that muted his microphone. A connection signal strength and call timer are displayed in the upper-left corner of the conversation.

Users can access additional call-management options by hovering over the phone icon. After that, the following options are displayed:

• Dial Pad—Used to enter DTMF tones when in a call. Users can also start pressing digits on the keyboard without first using the mouse to expose this menu.

• Mute—Mutes the user’s local microphone. The phone icon changes to indicate that the user is muted and cannot be heard by the other party.

• Hold—Places the call on hold. A notification bar appears with a Resume button to pick up the call again.

• Devices—Allows the user to fine-tune the speaker volume, or switch to another audio device while in a call.

• Transfer—Enables the user to transfer the call to a mobile device, or to someone else. The call can also be parked through this option if the Call Park feature is enabled.

The call can be ended with a click of the red phone icon in the upper-right corner of the conversation window. This ends only the audio portion of the call, and keeps the conversation active if IM or sharing is being used. Clicking the standard Windows close icon would end the entire conversation.

If Conversation History is enabled, the call is logged in the user’s Outlook folder. The call itself is neither recorded nor stored, but the list of participants and the duration of the call are captured.