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Microsoft Lync

Microsoft Lync, a communication tool that integrates with other Microsoft products, is available to faculty and staff through campus-wide licensing. Lync features instant messaging, voice and video calling between individuals or groups, file transfer, and desktop sharing.

Lync users can host and participate in group meetings and communicate directly from Outlook and Sharepoint. Real time user presence shows the availability of contacts, and Lync displays contact photos with detailed directory information. 

Request Lync for secondary UARK accounts by submitting an online support request at askit.uark.edu.

To access university chat rooms, use UARK Jabber.

Getting Started with Lync

Faculty and staff working in departments participating in the Microsoft Campus Agreement can download Lync for Windows or Mac. The Lync desktop application must be downloaded to view user presence in Microsoft applications.

All other faculty and staff can access Lync in Outlook Web App at exchange.uark.edu or use one of the mobile apps available from Microsoft.

Windows

The Lync application for Windows is available to faculty and staff working in departments participating in the Microsoft Campus Agreement. To access Lync features directly in Outlook or other Office applications, you must be logged into Lync.

Minimum Requirements: Windows 7, Vista, XP SP3; Intel Pentium 4, AMB Athlon 64, or equivalent; 2 GB of RAM; 128 MB of video memory

  1. Map a drive to \\gizmo.uark.edu\dfs. See Mapping a Drive for instructions.

  2. Double-click Microsoft Applications and open the Lync 2010 folder to access the installers for either 32 bit or 64 bit.

  3. Double-click the installer. When prompted to run or save, click Run.

  4. If you receive the Internet Explorer Security Warning, click Run. If you receive the User Account Control warning, click Yes.

  5. Click Install. Confirm the Start Lync box is checked and click Close.

  6. Enter your UARK email address when prompted for a User ID.

  7. Log in with your UARK email address and password.

Mac

The Lync application for Mac is available to faculty and staff working in departments participating in the Microsoft Campus Agreement.

Minimum Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later with an Intel-based processor, 1 GB of RAM and 64 GB of video memory

  1. Map a drive to smb://gizmo.uark.edu/macapps$. See Mapping a Drive for instructions.

  2. Open the Lync folder to access the installer.

  3. Double-click the Lync installer and follow the prompts. When prompted, enter your computer's keychain password.

  4. After Lync is installed, click Close.

  5. In Outlook or another Office application, open the Help menu and click Check for Updates to install Microsoft updates before using Lync.

  6. Click the Lync icon in the Dock.

  7. If asked "Do you want to make Lync the default application for telephone calls?" click Don't Change.
    If asked "Do you want to make Lync the default application for conferences?" click Don't Change.

  8. Enter your UARK email address in the Email Address field.

  9. Enter your UARK username in the User ID field.

  10. Enter your UARK password in the Password field. Click Sign-in.

Mobile

Mobile Lync apps for your iPhone, iPad, or Android are available to all Exchange users.

Using Lync

Contacts

Find your contact in the Lync Contacts list or use the search. Double-click your contact to open a chat window and start a conversation. Click Call from the chat window to add audio to your session. Click Video to initiate a video session.

Add more people to a call by dragging and dropping the contacts from the Contacts list into the current chat window.

Start a Conference Call with Multiple Contacts

  1. While holding down the ctrl key, select your contacts from the Lync Contacts list.

  2. Right-click any of the selected contacts, mouse over Start a Conference Call, and click Lync

Invite Guest Users to a Meeting

Guests can use the free Lync 2010 Attendee application for Windows to participate in an audio/video Lync conference. More information is available in the Quick Start: Use Lync 2010 Attendee guide. Instructions are also available by going to the Lync tutorials (below) and viewing the Lync FAQ document.

Send Files to Contacts

Using the Lync desktop application, users can send file attachments up to a 4 GB transfer limit for Windows and 2 GB for Mac.

Tutorials

View Lync tutorial videos by mapping a drive to \\gizmo.uark.edu\dfs\applications\lync in Windows or smb://gizmo.uark.edu/Apps/Lync in Mac.

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