17 Working with the Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMP)

This chapter describes how to use the features provided through the Instant Messaging and Presence (IMP) service. The IMP service lets you see the presence status of other authenticated application users. Additionally, it provides instant access to interaction options, such as instant messages and mails.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Section 17.1, "What You Should Know About the IMP Service"

• Section 17.2, "Working with IMP Service Features and Task Flows"

Audience

This chapter is intended for WebCenter Spaces users interested in viewing, creating, and managing instant messaging and presence. Much of this information also applies to custom WebCenter applications, though it is written with WebCenter Spaces users in mind. (For information about custom WebCenter applications, see "Integrating the Instant Messaging and Presence Service" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.)

Your application administrator has the authority to expose or hide task flows from a particular service. Tasks discussed in this chapter are not available to you if the relevant service is hidden.

17.1 What You Should Know About the IMP Service

The IMP service enables you to observe the presence status of other authenticated users (online, offline, busy, or away) and provides instant access to interaction options, such as instant messages (IM), mail, and phone conferences. Any WebCenter service that has a user name can integrate with the IMP service; for example, Discussions, Documents, or Mail. Wherever a user is indicated, for example as the author of a document in the document library, you can see an icon (Figure 17-1) depicting the presence state of that user.

Figure 17-1 The Presence Icon for Online Users

If you hover your mouse over the Presence icon, a tooltip displays the current status message for that user, if available. If the user has not provided a status message, or the message cannot be retrieved, then the tooltip displays the presence state of the user (online, offline, busy, or away).

Note:

There is no idle status. In the case of extended user inactivity, the status still displays as online.

Additionally, you can click the Presence icon to invoke a context menu (Figure 17-2).

Figure 17-2 The Presence Icon Context Menu

From the context menu you can:

• Send mail to the user. For more information, see Section 17.2.2, "Sending a Mail Message from the Presence Icon Menu."

• View the user's profile. For more information, see Section 22.2.1.1, "Viewing Profile Details."

• Send an instant message to the user. For more information, see Section 17.2.3, "Sending an Instant Message from the Presence Icon Menu."

• Initiate a phone conference with the user. For more information, see Section 17.2.4, "Initiating a Phone Conference from the Presence Icon Menu."

• Change credentials, which works as an alternative to using an external application. This option is available with Microsoft Office Live Communications Server (LCS).

Note:

The options that display on the context menu depend on what services are available to your WebCenter Spaces application, how those services are configured, and which services are supported by the back-end presence server. For example, the Phone Conference option is supported by Oracle WebLogic Communications Services (OWLCS) only.

17.2 Working with IMP Service Features and Task Flows

Many WebCenter task flows include a presence capability that enables you to make contact with other users from within the context of what you want to contact them about. For example, if you see a post in a discussion topic and want to contact the author of that post, you can do so directly from the Discussions task flow.

This section includes the following subsections:

• Section 17.2.1, "Viewing the Status of Other Users"

• Section 17.2.2, "Sending a Mail Message from the Presence Icon Menu"

• Section 17.2.3, "Sending an Instant Message from the Presence Icon Menu"

• Section 17.2.4, "Initiating a Phone Conference from the Presence Icon Menu"

• Section 17.2.5, "Working with the Buddies List"

17.2.1 Viewing the Status of Other Users

Many task flows support on-the-spot communication with other users. That is, wherever a task flow includes a Presence icon (Figure 17-1), you can start an instant chat or meeting or send a mail to the user associated with the icon.

The way you communicate with another user depends upon their availability. For example, if the user is online, then you could send an instant message to make immediate contact. However, if the user is offline or busy, then sending a mail is probably a better option.

Additionally, users can provide further information about their status by providing status messages. If such a status message exists for a user, hovering over the Presence icon displays that message as a tooltip. The status message enables you to make an even more informed decision about how to make contact. If there is no status message for the user, then the presence state is displayed in the tooltip instead (online, offline, busy, or away).

To view the current presence status or status message of a user, simply hover the mouse over the Presence icon next to the user's name.

Note:

The presence state of the user is held in a cache with a default expiry time of 60 seconds. As a result, the Presence icon may not reflect the actual status of the user if the status has changed between the initial retrieval and the cache expiry time.

Table 17-1 describes the presence state each Presence icon indicates.

Table 17-1 Presence Icon Presence States

Presence Icon	State
	Associated user is online.
	Associated user is online, but busy. Please do not disturb.
	Associated user is still connected but away from the computer.
	Associated user is offline.

17.2.2 Sending a Mail Message from the Presence Icon Menu

Wherever you see a Presence icon, you can send a mail message to its associated user.

To send a mail message:

1. Log in and locate a Presence icon (Figure 17-1) for the person you want to contact.

   For example, you can find Presence icons in the Buddies task flow in the Sidebar (for more information, see Section 17.2.5, "Working with the Buddies List"), associated with documents and discussion topics, and anywhere a task flow is configured to support IMP.

2. Click the Presence icon associated with the user you want to contact.

   For example, in Figure 17-3 the Presence icon is associated with the user monty.

   Figure 17-3 The Presence Icon Associated with the User monty

   
   

3. From the menu, choose Send Mail.

   You may be presented with a login window. If so, then enter your user name and password for your mail application. If your preferences are set up to deliver your login credentials automatically, you can start your message right away. For more information about login credentials and preferences, see Section 3.2, "Setting Personal Preferences."

4. Compose your message and click Send (Figure 17-4).

   Figure 17-4 Sending Mail Using the IMP Service

   
   

17.2.3 Sending an Instant Message from the Presence Icon Menu

Wherever you see a Presence icon, you can send an instant message to its associated user.

Before you can send an instant message, you must install the appropriate chat client (and only that client) on your local computer. The client must be configured to connect to the back-end presence server.

• If the back-end presence server is Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS), then install Microsoft Communicator.

• If the back-end presence server is Oracle WebLogic Communications Server (OWLCS), then install Oracle Communicator.

Contact your administrator if you are not sure which client to install or how to connect to the presence server.

To send an instant message:

1. Log in and locate a Presence icon (Figure 17-1) for the person you want to contact.

   For example, you can find Presence icons in the Buddies task flow in the Sidebar (for more information, see Section 17.2.5, "Working with the Buddies List"), associated with documents and discussion topics, and anywhere a task flow is configured to support IMP.

2. Click the Presence icon associated with the user you want to contact.

   For example, in Figure 17-5 the Presence icon is associated with the user monty.

   Figure 17-5 The Presence Icon Associated with the User monty

   
   

3. From the menu, choose Send Instant Message.

   WebCenter invokes your instant messaging client, and starts a chat session with the selected user.

17.2.4 Initiating a Phone Conference from the Presence Icon Menu

If you are using Oracle WebLogic Communications Server (OWLCS) as the presence server, then wherever you see a Presence icon, you can initiate a phone conference with its associated user.

To initiate a phone conference:

1. Log in and locate a Presence icon (Figure 17-1) for the person you want to contact.

   For example, you can find Presence icons in the Buddies task flow in the Sidebar (for more information, see Section 17.2.5, "Working with the Buddies List"), associated with documents and discussion topics, and anywhere a task flow is configured to support IMP.

2. Click the Presence icon associated with the user you want to contact.

   For example, in Figure 17-6 the Presence icon is associated with the user monty.

   Figure 17-6 The Presence Icon Associated with the User monty

   
   

3. From the menu, choose Start Phone Conference.

   OWLCS places a call to you and then to the target user, using the phone numbers specified in the user profiles.

Tip:

If you encounter an error when initiating a phone conference with other WebCenter users, ensure that user names are lowercase.

17.2.5 Working with the Buddies List

Your Buddies list is useful for determining the online availability of your personal contacts and for connecting with other users through a variety of services.

The Buddies list is available in the WebCenter Spaces Sidebar or as a task flow on a page.

This section includes the following subsections:

• Section 17.2.5.1, "What You Should Know About the Buddies List"

• Section 17.2.5.2, "Sorting Buddies"

• Section 17.2.5.3, "Filtering Buddies"

• Section 17.2.5.4, "Viewing the Status of Contacts"

17.2.5.1 What You Should Know About the Buddies List

Your Buddies list is always personal. You control who is included on the list, and your view of the list is unique to you. For example, in WebCenter Spaces, as you move from your personal space to group spaces, the contacts displayed in the list do not change.

Your Buddies list is a reflection of the contacts you have identified for your local chat application, provided through either Microsoft Live Communication Server (LCS) or Oracle WebLogic Communication Server (OWLCS). WebCenter Spaces exposes your contacts through the Buddies list in the Sidebar to provide a single point of access to all of your collaboration tools, including chat, mail, discussions, and so on.

A connection between Oracle WebCenter and LCS or OWLCS that provides your chat application enables a seamless exchange of information between your chat application and WebCenter. For example, when you add a new contact to your chat application, that contact also is automatically added to your Buddies list. The same holds true when you delete a chat contact.

You can sort your Buddies list into meaningful groups and filter it to locate a particular contact. Context menus, available when you click a contact or the contact's Presence icon, provide options for initiating a chat session, sending a mail, or making some other type of connection with your contact on the spot.

The options that display on the context menu depend on the services your administrator has made available to the application.

Note:

If all your buddies are showing as offline and you do not think this is correct, then there could be an issue with the back-end server. Check your buddies list in your desktop client. If the presence state is correct in your desktop client, but still showing offline in WebCenter Spaces, then contact your administrator to ensure that the IMP connection is set up correctly.

If you click a buddy and the context menu does not appear, then click the Refresh icon next to the Buddies task flow. The context menu will appear. This can be a problem in Internet Explorer 7.0.

17.2.5.2 Sorting Buddies

You can sort your Buddies list either by name or by status.

To sort your Buddies list:

1. Log in to WebCenter and locate your Buddies list either in the WebCenter Spaces Sidebar, or in a Buddies task flow.

2. In the Buddies list, click the Sorting options icon, and choose a sort option (Figure 17-7).

   Figure 17-7 Sorting Options on the Buddies List

   
   

   Choose from:

   • Sort by name—To sort the list alphabetically, from 1 to 9 and a to z

   • Sort by status—To sort by the contact's status: online, busy, away, offline

17.2.5.3 Filtering Buddies

Use filtering to help find a particular contact in your Buddies list.

To filter the buddies list:

1. Log in and locate your Buddies list either in the WebCenter Spaces Sidebar or in a Buddies task flow.

2. In the Buddies list, click the Filter buddies icon.

   A filter field appears in the task flow (Figure 17-8).

   Figure 17-8 The Filter Field for Filtering the Buddies List

   
   

3. Enter a full or partial name in the field, and click the icon to the right of the field to apply the filter.

4. The Buddies list refreshes, displaying only those contacts that match the filter term.

   Note:

   Filtering searches against a listed buddy's user name and mail address. For example, if your filter criterion is "m" and filtering results include "vicki", it means that Vicki's mail address includes an "m", for example, [e-mail].

5. To return the Buddies list to its default display, click the Filter buddies icon again.

17.2.5.4 Viewing the Status of Contacts

You can determine whether a contact is busy, online, offline, or online but away by looking at the Presence icon associated with a particular contact on your Buddies list. For more information, see Section 17.2.1, "Viewing the Status of Other Users."