Chat, SMS, E-Mail

The message system in estos ProCall allows conversations (Chat) between two and up to 30 participants. If individual users are not logged in while the conversation is ongoing, they are shown all conversations after logging in. Participants can be added to or removed from the conversation at any time.

Start chat

There are various ways of initiating a chat.

•   Chat to a single user:
  Everywhere you see another user or contact in estos ProCall you can begin a chat with this user via the context menu or via the ActiveContacts icons. This is possible in any presence state of the contact. In the presence state Do Not Disturb (DND) the message may be delivered later. If the Chat icon is clicked the Chat window opens. At the text field the message can be entered. Once finished the icon Send can be pressed. By pressing the Smiley button, a smiley from the Smilies list and added to the message. The message sent and the message received by remote users will be displayed with contact name and time stamp in the upper text chat message window. If either Audio- or Video-Chat are available, a request to use those chat modes with the contact can be sent using the corresponding green button (see the corresponding information below).
•   SMS text to a single user:
  Everywhere you see a contact in estos ProCall you can send him a SMS text via the context menu or via the ActiveContacts. For this purpose the context menu offers all phone numbers which are to be found in the mobile phone number fields for the contact.
•   Chat with a group
  In Favorites and on the monitor you can start a chat with the user group via the context menu of a group. Only those internal users will be added who are active on the same estos UCServer. If a estos SIP Proxy is used, internal users can also be active on another estos UCServer and thus not be added to a group chat. Alternatively, you can also create a new chat room from the chat with an individual user using the button “Create chat room”, which can be found in the “Further Actions” menu.
•   AudioChat with a single user
  Wherever in the estos ProCall a contact appears an AudioChat (if available) can be established with it using the context menu or using the ActiveContacts icons. If a Chat window is open (see above Chat with single user) an AudioChat can be established with the user by pressing the related green button. The AudioChat can be dropped anytime by pressing the red hang-up button. Further functions of the AudioChat dialog are explained at the chapter Audio/Video conversation window.
•   VideoChat with a single user
  Wherever in the estos ProCall a contact appears a VideoChat (if available) can be established with it using the context menu or using the ActiveContacts icons. If a Chat Window is open (see Chat with Single User above), VideoChat with that user can be requested by pressing the corresponding green button. As long as the other participant has not accepted the VideoChat request, the request can be terminated by clicking the red Hang Up button. Further information about the Audio- or Video-Chat features can be found in the Audio-/Video-Chat Window section.
•  Share screen
  If a Chat window is open your local screen can be shared with a remote contact by pressing the Share screen button. The feature is available only if the related rights are granted by the administrator.
•  Request Screen Sharing
  Would you like to see another user's screen, in the Chat window you can also request to share the screen by clicking Request Screen Sharing. The feature is available only if the related rights are granted by the administrator.

To be able to send a SMS message to a user your user profile at the estos UCServer need the authorisation from the system administrator.

The Audio/VideoChat feature is available only if it has been enabled, if Audio and Video devices are installed and if the system administrator granted the right to use it. How to change the Audio/Video functionality is described in chapter Presence at the bullet point Audio/Video devices. How to configure the Audio/Video devices for the usage with the Audio/VideoChat is described in chapter Audio/Video Wizard.

Chat status

Messages sent by the user always have a status that is indicated with an icon in the status bar of the message or of the message block. The meaning of the icon is given in the tool tip.

The “read” status of a message is not transmitted for participants who are reached via Federation and thus not signaled.

Chat with a group

Every chat participant can add or remove other users to/from the chat room or exit or rejoin the chat room later. The chat room can also be given a descriptive name, for example to be able to find it again later in the journal.

•   Add party
  After clicking the button to add users the search dialog opens in which you can see all internal users. Select one or more users and confirm the dialog to add the participants.
  Chat parties can be added per drag & drop to the Chat window (sending SMS messages for mobile contacts only, a estos UCServer Chat for internal users only).
  The maximum number of participants is limited to 30.
•   Remove participant
  To remove a subscriber from the chat open the subscriber's context menu and select the relevant entry.
• Join chat room
  If you have exited a chat room or were removed from the chat room by another participant, you can rejoin the chat room. You will find this function in the “Further Actions” menu.
• Leave chat room
  If the chat room was created by sending the first chat message, you can exit the chat room at any time. Then you will no longer receive any messages of other participants. You will find this function in the “Further Actions” menu.
• Set or modify chat room names
  You can name or change the name of a chat room at any time, provided you are a participant of the chat. To make changes, click in the Name line of the chat, which you will find above the participant list.

Chat messages

• Delete chat history
  You have the option, both in a chat with a single user and also in a group chat, to delete the entire chat history, by using the "Delete chat history" button which can be found in the "Further actions" menu. The chat history is only deleted from your view, and the action does not affect the chat history of your other chat partners.
• Delete individual chat messages
  If you want to delete specific chat messages, move your mouse over the message you want to delete. This will cause a red X symbol to appear, which you can use to delete your message. The message will only be deleted from your view; and the action does not affect the chat record of your other chat partner.

Please note that no chat rooms can be created with Federation users and no Federation subscribers can be added to a chat room.

Links:

estos ProCall supports the following links in the chat window:

• Phone numbers:
  Phone numbers are highlighted as such and can be selected by clicking them as long as they comply with the rules for the currently selected line's location. (phone:+4912345612, +49 123 456 - 12, 12 etc.)
• E-mail links:
  E-mails are recognised and the default mail program is started by clicking it. (mailto:info@info.de, info@info.de etc.)
• Web links:
  Recognises all Internet links such as. (http:, https:, www:, www2:, file:, ftp:, gopher:, ntp:, prospero:, telnet:, news:, wais:)
• UNC paths:
  Recognises UNC paths. (\\server\directory\file)

	If links contain whitespaces estos ProCall cannot find the beginning and the end of the link itself. If you place these links between < and > brackets the link is correctly recognised. <Link with space(s)>
	To be able to chat with one participant, the Public authorization level must have been granted, at least. This authorization level may also be set administratively for internal users using global settings or group policies (see also Authorizations).