Getting Started with the Oracle Social Network Add-In for Outlook

This section describes how to get started with the Oracle Social Network Add-In for Outlook:

What is the Oracle Social Network add-in for Outlook?

The add-in is the Oracle Social Network client that is integrated with your Microsoft Outlook application. Use the add-in to access your Oracle Social Network Conversations, collections, documents, flags, Social Objects, and other features within Outlook.

The add-in supports both 32 and 64 bit versions of Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2010, and 2013.

For more information, see:

How do I download and install the add-in for Outlook?

Close Microsoft Outlook.
Get the .exe installation file from the Downloads page in the full version of Oracle Social Network (in your browser):
1. Log in to Oracle Social Network in your browser.
2. Click the arrow next to your name at the top of the application, then click Downloads.
3. On the Downloads page, click the link under Add-in for Microsoft Outlook to start the download.
Run the .exe installation file.
Follow the instructions in the install wizard.

How do I log-in to the add-in for Outlook?

Important: If you received an email invite to join Oracle Social Network, you must log in through the web client and change your temporary password before you use the add-in for Outlook. Click the link in the invite to open the web client.

After you install the add-in, the first time you open Outlook, you'll be prompted for your Oracle Social Network login information:

If necessary, in the Server field, enter the URL to your Oracle Social Network client.

For example, if your Oracle Social Network URL is acme.social.us1.oraclecloud.com/osn then you would enter acme.social.us1.oraclecloud.com/client.
In the User Name field, enter your Oracle Social Network user name.
In the Password field, enter your Oracle Social Network password.
To log in automatically in future sessions, select Remember password.
To give yourself the option of selecting a different account at login, select Ask for an account at startup.
Click Sign In.

You can pre-configure one or more Oracle Social Network accounts and easily switch between them. For more information, see:

Understanding add-in panel and action icons

In addition to labels, the add-in for Outlook uses many icons to make destinations, object types, and actions easy to discover. For example, the navigation bar at the top of the add-in uses icons to represent the add-in's main destinations. Your add-in instance might show all or a selection of these icons.

This table catalogs the main add-in icons and explains what they're for.

Table 14-1 Icons in the Oracle Social Network Add-In for Outlook

Icon	Name	Description
	Overview	Shows the latest actions of the people you follow, the latest posts in the Conversations and walls you're a member of, and messages that include hashtags you follow (from public Conversations and walls, even those you are not a member of).
	New Conversation Options	On the Overview panel, these icons are available for creating a new Conversation and accessing Overview panel options. Options include creating a new Conversation and filtering your list of messages.
	Flags	Shows a list of flags assigned to you or that you assigned, depending on the filter you apply. For more information, see Using Flags in the Add-In for Outlook.
	Options	The Options menu on the Flags panel has filtering and sorting options for your list of flag assignments.
	Favorites	Shows the items you marked as a favorite. The list can include messages, documents, Conversations, walls, Social Objects, and collections. For more information, see Liking and Adding Favorites in the Add-In for Outlook.
	Options	The Options menu on the Favorites panel has filtering and sorting options for your list of favorites.
	Conversations	Shows the Conversations you're a member of or that are available to you to join (public Conversations), depending on how you filtered and sorted the list. For more information, see Using Conversations in the Add-In for Outlook.
	New Conversation Options	On the Conversations panel, these icons are available for creating a new Conversation and accessing Conversation panel options. Options include creating a new Conversation, and filtering, sorting, and arranging your list of Conversations.
	Collections	Shows the collections you created or are a member of. For more information, see Using Collections in the Add-In for Outlook.
	Create a new Collection Options	On the Collections panel, these icons are available for creating a new collection and accessing Collections panel options. Options include creating a new collection and filtering, sorting, and arranging your list of collections.
	Find documents Add Documents Options	On the Documents panel, these icons are available for searching exclusively for documents, adding documents from your local file system, and accessing Documents panel options. Options include finding, adding, and filtering documents.
	People and Groups	Depending on which tab you select, the People and Groups panel shows your list of contacts; a list of the groups you are a member of; and lists of people who follow you, who you follow, and people recommended to you as contacts. For more information, see Working with People and Groups in the Add-In for Outlook.
	Contacts Groups People You Follow Your Followers	This row of tabs on the People and Groups panel is for navigating to its various lists of people and groups.
	Social Objects	Shows all the Social Objects you are a member of. Click this icon to open a selection list of all types of Social Objects. For more information, see Using Social Objects in the Add-In for Outlook.

At the bottom of the panel, icons are available for opening three menus:

Accounts— The Accounts menu has options for switching your view to additional Oracle Social Network accounts, opening the Manage Accounts dialog to create or delete accounts, and working offline or reconnecting to the server. (For more information, see What are Oracle Social Network accounts? and Working Offline.)
Help— The Help menu has options for opening Oracle Social Network Help Center, contacting Oracle Support, navigating to discussion forums about Oracle Social Network (Community), and accessing the About dialog with its links to the latest versions of the add-in and troubleshooting help (see How can I troubleshoot my accounts?).
Settings— The Settings menu has options for navigating to your wall or your preferences, editing your profile, displaying message fragments or full view, monitoring file transfer progress, or opening the full view of Oracle Social Network. (For more information, see Configuring Your Settings for the Add-In for Outlook.)

What do the icons next to items mean?

When item names appear in selection lists, they are accompanied by small icons that identify the item's type. Here's what they mean.

Table 14-2 Item Type Icons in the Add-In for Outlook

Icon	Item
	Private, members-only, or One-on-One Conversation
	Public Conversation
	Profile or group wall
	Collection
	Social Object (Social Object icons will vary from business to business)
	Outside user (a person outside your company)

How do I increase the add-in's accessibility?

When the default setting Enable Screen Reader is enabled in the add-in for Outlook, messages are accessible (this view is called compact view). In compact view, you can access the full text of any message by navigating to the message, which automatically opens the full message in a tooltip. In compact view, you can also navigate to any message that you posted and press Enter to open the full message in an editor.

Note: To ensure your screen reader delivers the entire message, be sure to set it to its most verbose level.

For more information, see:

How do I enable screen reader mode?

Click at the bottom of the panel, then click Enable Screen Reader Mode.

Messages are now shown in compact view (where no more than two lines of any message are shown), and the add-in for Outlook is switched to accessibility mode.

Alternatively, you can enable screen reader mode in Preferences:

Click at the bottom of the panel, then click Preferences to open the User Profile dialog.
Under Conversation View, select Enable Screen Reader Mode.
Click OK.

What keyboard shortcuts are available for navigating the add-in for Outlook?

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T—Toggle the add-in panel between open and closed
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+O—Switch keyboard focus from Outlook to the add-in panel
Up Arrow/Down Arrow—Move around within a section
Tab—Move down from section to section
Shift+Tab—Move up from section to section
Ctrl+Tab—Move out of any message area to other controls
Select item+Spacebar or select item+Shift+F10—Opens the Options menu on any item, including messages, flags, banners—wherever there is an Options menu

Use your keyboard's Up and Down Arrow keys to navigate menu options.

Note: You can navigate tab bars using your keyboard's left and right arrow keys. For example, you can use your keyboards arrow keys to navigate the tab bar in a Conversation.

Note, however, if you navigate left from the first tab or right from the last, the tab bar loses focus, and you must use your keyboard's Tab (forward) or Shift+Tab (backward) keys to return focus to it.

What keyboard shortcuts are available in Conversations and walls?

Select Conversation+Enter—Opens a detailed view of the selected Conversation
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V—Moves from a Conversation or wall's detailed view to the list view

For example, this shortcut moves from a Conversation's details to the list of Conversations; from a group wall to the list of groups; from a collection's wall to the list of collections; and so on.
Select message+Enter—Opens a dialog for viewing and editing messages you post
Ctrl+Tab—Move from area to area in the Edit Entry dialog

Note: You can navigate tab bars using your keyboard's left and right arrow keys. For example, you can use your keyboards arrow keys to navigate the tab bar in a Conversation.