Skype for Business has been available in the faculty for a number of years. If you do not have Skype for Business on your computer, refer to Using Skype for Business for instructions on how to download, install and login.
With the move to Skype for Business telephone lines, faculty and staff need to become familiar with using software to make and receive telephone calls. The use of computer speakers, microphone and software for telephone service is often referred to as a softphone.
How to set up your devices
To set up your devices in Skype for Business, click on the gear/cog icon (circled in red below) or the little triangle beside the gear to expand a pulldown menu where you can choose Tools - Audio Device Setting (see below)
On the resulting Audio Tools settings menu (see below) you can choose which device(s) you want to use for your microphone and speakers.
Note: If you use a headset, you can use this menu to set the ringer to also ring the speakers on your computer so that you can hear the ringtone of an incoming call when you are not wearing your headset.
Making a test call
Before making the first call of the day, it's a good practice to do a test call to make sure everything is working as expected. You can do this before any important call by calling the Audio Test Service account.
The easiest way to do this is to search for the "Audio Test Service" contact in the search area (below the row of icons) and call it either by right-clicking on the contact entry and selecting the "Call - Skype Call" option (see below) or double-clicking on the entry and then clicking the phone icon to start the call.
Alternatively, you can use the "Check Call Quality" on the Audio Device Settings menu (click on the gear/cog icon) or expand the menu using the small triangle and navigate to Tools - Audio Device Settings (see below).
On the resulting Audio Device Settings menu, select the "Check Call Quality" button to make a test call (record a message and verify the playback).
Change your voicemail greeting
To change your voicemail in Skype for Business, click on the Dialpad icon on the main screen and then the small tape icon at the bottom right of the dialpad area. Select/click on the option to "Change greetings" (see below).
This will call your voicemail account and you can then navigate the menus using the call controls to change/record your greetings. To access the call controls (dialpad) while on a call, click on the Call Controls icon (telephone) at the bottom-right of the call window (see below).
Retrieving voicemail
There are multiple ways for you to get messages left on your voicemail:
- An audio file will be sent (as an attachment) to your email account along with a transcription of the message where possible. NOTE: if you delete this email message, it will also delete the voicemail message.
- The voicemail recording will appear in the list of voicemails under the dialpad in Skype for Business. To play the audio file on your computer you can hover over the message icon (phone) and select the play icon (see below) or right click on the message and select Play from the availble options.
- You can call your voicemail by clicking on the tape icon on the dialpad and choosing the "Call Voicemail" option (see below). Then use the Call Controls to press 1 to play back your voicemail messages.
Calling somone else at UW
To call someone who works at the University of Waterloo, start typing their name in the search window and a list of entries will be retrieved from the directory. You can confirm that you have the correct person by hovering your mouse over their picture or initials and then selecting the Contact Card icon (see below)
To call the person you can click on the phone icon or right-click on the entry and select the Call option. The call option will display a number of alternatives you should select the "Work" option with the 5 digit extension.
If you know the extension, you can always use the dialpad option or enter the 5 digit extension in the search area.
Calling an external number
- To call a local external number, enter the 10 digit number - the area code and 7-digit number. You do not need to preface the number with a 6 as with older on-campus phones. (AreaCode-Number)
- For long distance or toll-free numbers, preface the 10 digit number with a 1 (1-AreaCode-Number)
- For international long distance calls, enter 011 followed by the country code and the number (011-CountryCode-Phone Number).
Inviting additional people to your current call
Once you are in a call, it is possible to add or conference in other people to the call. While in the call, click on the "Invite More People" button in the upper-right corner of the call window (see below)
You will then get a popup window that allows you to invite people by name (using the directory/contacts) or telephone number (see below).
Enter the name or number of the person that you want to add to the call and then click okay.
Using contact groups (and making a conference call)
There is a default contact group called "Favorites" that you use have your frequently contacted people readily available. You can also create your own groups to organize your contacts. If you have a group of people that you call as a group frequently, you can create a contact group that group and then call them all with one click as opposed to adding them individually to an existing call.
To add a contact to your favourites group, search for them in the directory or find them in your history (the clock icon) and right-click on their entry and choose the "Add to Favorites" option (see below)
To create a new contact group, select Contacts (the head icon) in Skype for Business and click on the Add Contact/Group icon just below the search icon (see below).
Select the "Create a New Group" option and the group will be added to the bottom of your Contacts list. You can provide a name for the new group and Right-click on the group name to rename it or move it up and down in your Contacts.
Adding members to a group is the same process to add a person to the Favorites group but you select the group name from the Groups option as opposed to choosing "Add to Favorites" (see below).
To call a contact group (i.e. a conference call), right click on the group name and select the "Start a Conference Call" option followed by the "Skype Call" option (see below).