Installing Sametime Integration for Microsoft Office

Integrating IBM® Sametime® with Microsoft Office enables users to collaborate, create meetings, and chat with coworkers directly through Microsoft Office applications. Sametime Office Integration with the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server allows similar collaboration with coworkers who use Office SharePoint Server as their instant messaging application.

About this task

Sametime Office Integration consists of several features:
  • Office Integration: allows users to use Sametime chat features from Microsoft Office products. It is included in the Sametime Connect Client and Sametime Embedded Client for Windows, but you must enable it before users can take advantage of the feature.
  • Meeting Integrator: allows users to schedule Sametime meetings from Microsoft Office products. The Meeting Integrator must be installed and configured.
  • SharePoint Integration: allows users to collaborate with coworkers who use a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server as their instant messaging application. SharePoint Integration must be installed and configured.

Clients can receive updates and patches if you set up an add-on site or give them instructions to install updates manually. You cannot use an update site with the Sametime update site URL policy for Instant Messaging to distribute updates for Office Integration.

Requirements

Sametime Office Integration features require the following applications:

  • Microsoft Office version 2007, 2010, 2013 (including 64-bit)
  • Microsoft Windows version XP, Vista, Microsoft Windows 7 or 8

The local Microsoft Outlook user email address must be resolvable in Sametime for the My Status button to properly display status.

Limitations

  • Office Integration does not support multiple users running Office Integration on a single computer simultaneously. In particular, Citrix environments are not supported.
  • Auto-status and chat history are not supported on Microsoft Office 64-bit.
Known issues
  • If the default email fields read by the Outlook Toolbar are not the appropriate fields for a customer's enterprise, the Toolbar can be redirected to use other fields instead by modifying the plugin_customization.ini before installingSametime Connect Client. For example, add the following property to the \deploy\plugin_customization.ini file.
    com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.oi.property/Message.SentRepresenting.AddressBook=0x00410102.0x39FE001E

    When you install the Sametime Connect Client, the property Message.SentRepresenting.AddressBook name is automatically created.

  • Using automatic hyperlinks in Office documents interferes with the new SmartTag's ability to recognize email addresses. To regain the SmartTag function, use these steps to disable hyperlinks:
    1. Click Tools > Auto-Correct Options.
    2. On the AutoFormat As You Type tab, clear the option Internet and network paths with hyperlinks .

Upgrading the client

Optional features are not automatically upgraded. If you do not upgrade them (by uncommenting them in the installation manifest) or remove them (by uncommenting them and setting action="uninstall" in the installation manifest) then they are carried forward.

Office SharePoint Server integration

Integrating Sametime with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server extends collaboration capabilities by providing awareness and instant messaging among users whose names appear on a SharePoint site. Any Office SharePoint Server user's live name that can be resolved using the standard email address field will be recognized and will display its presence status to a user who is logged into Sametime. Clicking on an active SharePoint user displays a contextual Sametime menu. During a chat, the Sametime user is presented with the complete feature set of Sametime and its third-party plug ins, including emoticons, file sharing, image captures, multi-way chats, audio, video, telephony, screen sharing, and chat history.

Integration with Office SharePoint Server is achieved using documented interfaces from Microsoft Corporation. Deploying this feature requires modifying two template files on the Office SharePoint Server. In addition, Sametime Connect users will need to upgrade their installed client software.

Office SharePoint Requirements

Sametime integration with the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server supports the following applications:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, version 6 or higher
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint Services version 2 or version 3, Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or 2010
  • Sametime 9.0 client with the Sametime Connect Integrator for Microsoft Office
  • Sametime server, release 9.0 or later
  • Optional but not required for use the SharePoint integration, Microsoft Office versions 2007, 2010, 2013 (including 64-bit)

The Office SharePoint feature requires only a Sametime client; other Office Integration features need not be installed at all, or may be present in any combination. Complete the tasks according to the features you wish to install. The client installation files or update site also need to be enabled to include the Office Integration features.

  • Enabling Office Integration
    Using IBM Sametime Office Integration with Microsoft Office allows you to collaborate, create meetings, and chat with co-workers from Microsoft Office.
  • Configuring Microsoft Office integration
    If the Microsoft Office integration does not work properly in your IBM Sametime deployment, you may need to adjust the Sametime server configuration.
  • Installing the Meeting Integrator
    IBM Sametime Meeting Integrator allows you to use the Calendar feature within Microsoft Office even though you do not have the Sametime Client installed.
Parent topic: Integrating Sametime with Microsoft Office