AT&T Collaborate app for Desktop
The AT&T Collaborate™ service provides the Collaborate app to help you manage calls and conferences on the go. The app provides voice, video, and advanced communications features. It comes in these versions:
- Mobile Audio Only
- Mobile
- Tablet
- Desktop
The Desktop version provides these features:
- Instant messaging and presence
- Voice over IP (VoIP) calling
- Voice calling (desk phone)
- Video calling
- Desktop sharing
- Collaborate service call settings
Get started
Contacts
Presence
Chat
Audio and video calls
Share your application or desktop
My Room
Search
Browse directories
Communications history
Add-In for Microsoft Skype for Business
Add-In for Microsoft Outlook
Accessibility compliance
Preferences
Call settings
Sign out
Multi-device support
Install and remove (uninstall)
System requirements
Frequently asked questions
Keyboard shortcuts
Get started
You can download this app from the Collaborate service.
Install Desktop for Windows
- Go to AT&T Collaborate.
- Double-click the setup file and follow the installation instructions.
- Start Desktop.
Install Desktop for Mac
- Go to Collaborate.
- Double-click the disk image.
- Copy the app into the Applications folder.
- Start Desktop.
Sign in
When you start Collaborate for the first time, you’re prompted to sign in.
- Enter your Collaborate app username and password.
Note: Your app username starts with your 10-digit Collaborate phone number followed by @hcomm.att.net (for example, 555.123.4567@hcomm.att.net).
- Decide if you want the app to remember your password.
- Decide if you want to sign in automatically.
Note: If you sign in automatically, the Main window opens and your Contacts list appears.
- Click Sign In.
You can get help information and set preferences from the Sign In window.
After you sign in the first time, the Username field is automatically filled in. The Password field is automatically filled in only after you check the Save password box. Note that if you change your username in the Sign In window or select another one, you must always enter your password.
After you sign in, emergency call information appears.
Main window
To find people and add them to your Contacts list, click the Directory icon in the Main window. To search for contacts and make calls, use the Search and Dial field. To add contacts manually, click Add.
Main window icons
Icon |
Description |
My Information |
View and update your information, such as your presence, profile photo, and location. |
Contacts |
View your contacts. |
My Room |
Join your personal chat room. |
Communications
History |
View previous chats and calls. |
Directory |
View all contacts in the directory. |
Dial Pad |
Enter phone numbers to call (integrated with the Main window). |
Call Settings |
Get quick access to call settings such as Call Forwarding. |
Chat |
Start an instant message conversation with a selected contact. |
Call |
Make an IP audio call to a selected contact. |
Call from Phone |
Make a click-to-dial call from your desk phone (or secondary device). |
Video Call |
Make a video call to someone who has a video-capable app. |
Menu |
View call settings, set preferences, and access help and support information. |
Add |
Add a contact, group, or conference. |
Tabs show information about contacts and communications options.
My Information
- To update your presence status and enter text, click your profile photo.
- To simply update your presence status, right-click your profile photo.
- To upload a picture or use a right-click menu, double-click your profile photo.
Presence means that your friends can see whether you’re available. You can see the presence of each of your contacts, and your contacts can see your presence in their Contacts list. The Collaborate app can automatically update your presence when you’re:
- Busy – In Call
- Busy – In Meeting (Windows only)
- Available (desk phone)
- Available (mobile)
You can manually set your presence status using these icons
Icon |
What it means |
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The green Presence icon indicates that you’re online and ready to communicate. |
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The yellow Presence icon indicates that you’re online but have been idle or away from your computer for more than 10 minutes. |
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The red Presence icon indicates that you’re busy and don’t want to be disturbed. |
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The gray Presence icon indicates that you’re offline. Others can contact you only by calling or leaving a chat message. |
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The red Phone icon indicates that you’re on a call. This is an automated presence status. |
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The red Meeting icon indicates that you’re in a meeting. This is an automated presence status. The Busy – In Call status overrides the Busy – In Meeting status, so this icon appears only for meetings with no call. |
Icons show your presence status.
For more information about presence, see Presence.
Communications window
After you start communication with 1 or more contacts, the Communications window opens for chat and calls. From this window, you can:
- Change a chat to include audio, video, and desktop sharing
- End an audio or video call
- Open the Dial Pad
- Mute your microphone
- Adjust your speaker volume
- Place a call on hold
- Transfer a call
The Collaborate app limits the number of active communications you can have at a time: up to 10 active communications on Windows® and 20 on OS X®. When the maximum is reached, you receive a message in the Main window’s top section. To open new windows, close some of the existing ones first. If you answer an incoming call while this message is displayed, the app closes the chat session that has been idle the longest.
Start a chat
Do 1 of these things:
- From the Contacts list or search results, double-click a contact.
- From the Contacts list or search results, click 1 or more contacts, and then click Chat.
- From the Contacts list or search results, right-click one or more contacts, and then click Chat.
- From the Communications History list, double-click a chat entry.
- In the Communications window, click Chat.
Send a file
During a 1-to-1 chat, you can transfer files. Do 1 of these things:
- In the Communications window, click Send File.
- Drag a file into the Communications window.
Make an audio or video call
Do 1 of these things:
- From the Contacts list or search results, click 1 or more contacts, and then click Call, Call from Phone, or Video.
- From the Contacts list or search results, right-click 1 or more contacts, and then click Call, Call from Phone, or Video.
- In the Search and Dial field, enter a phone number.
- To start a call, press ENTER.
- Click Call, Call from Phone, or Video.
- Open the Dial Pad, enter a phone number, and then click Call, Call from Phone, or Video.
- From the Communications History list, double-click a call entry.
- In the Communications window, click Call, Call from Phone, or Video.
- From a contact’s profile, click Call, Call from Phone, or Video.
Share your app or desktop
- Do 1 of these things:
- At the bottom of the Communications window, click Start Sharing (if the share panel isn’t already visible).
- In My Room, click Share.
- The Share Selector window opens.
- Select the app you want to share, or select your entire screen.
- Click Start Sharing.
Participants can share if they have the sharing feature turned on.
Active communications
Active communications appear at the top of the Contacts list in the Main window so that you can see the people you’re communicating with. By default, the Call window opens in the Active Communications section in the Main window (where you can fully control the call in the app). You can also open a separate Call window by using the Active Communications menu.
In the Active Communications section of the Main window, you can:
- See who has sent you a chat message (after you accept the chat session). Before you accept the session, you can’t see chat items in Active Communications, but you can see a history badge.
- End a call.
- Mute the microphone.
- Place a call on hold.
- Merge 2 calls or transfer calls by dragging a call onto another call.
- Transfer a call.
- Make conference calls.
- Park and retrieve calls.
You can also add these buttons to the Active Communications section:
- Conference
- Call transfer
- Call park
Use these buttons to quickly access these Collaborate services.
My Room
My Room is an always-available and permanent room where you can chat with anyone who joins.
If you have a conference bridge assigned to your profile in Preferences, you and your attendees can quickly access a conference:
- In My Room, under Credentials, click the Call or Video button. The Collaborate app automatically calls the conference and enters the appropriate entry codes.
Note: If you have Auto-Provisioning turned on, you can’t edit these details. If you have Silent Dialing turned on, you won’t hear any tones when you dial in to My Room. The call is made automatically.
If you don’t specify a conference bridge, you can’t initiate a call in My Room.
Invite others to your room
- Drag names from the Contacts list into the My Room Communications window.
Attendees can join your room in these ways
- Contacts right-click your name in their Contacts list and select Join Room.
- They accept an invitation you sent.
Select audio devices
If you have multiple audio devices available for your microphone or speakers, select your preferred audio device before you start a call.
From your Windows-based computer
- In the Main window title bar, click the Collaborate app image.
- Select Preferences.
- Select Audio.
- Select a playback device (speakers).
- Select a recording device (microphone).
- Click OK.
From your OS X-based computer
- From the main menu, select Collaborate.
- Select Preferences.
- Select Audio.
- Select a playback device (speakers).
- Select a recording device (microphone).
- Click OK.
If you select Use default, the Collaborate app uses the default device set in the operating system preferences. For Windows, if Default Communication Device is defined, it overrides the Default Device. If you use a headset, you can also select a separate device to alert you of incoming calls.
With OS X, we recommend that you turn off Use ambient noise reduction in System Preferences to reduce echo.
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Contacts are the people you communicate with, and, in most cases, you see their presence status and share your presence status with them.
Collaborate has 3 types of contacts:
- Contacts—People you communicate with.
- Conferences—Audio or video conference bridges that you use to communicate with others. (For dialing into the bridge, Silent Dialing (when turned on) also applies to these contacts.)
- Groups—Collections of contacts or conferences.
The number of contacts is unlimited. But as you add contacts, the system uses more memory and processing to find contacts. Finding contacts without searching may get more difficult. You can use live search instead of a very large local Contacts list.
Add contacts
When you sign in the first time, the Contacts list is empty.
Add contacts at any time
- Do 1 of these things:
- From the XXX menu, select Add Contact.
- In the Main window, click Add Contact.
- In the Add Contact window, enter the contact’s information, and then click Add Contact.
By default, your presence information is always shared with a new contact that has a chat address. You can change how to share your presence information later.
You can accept or reject a Buddy request. If you dismiss the Buddy request window, the request is ignored while you’re signed in. The request reappears the next time you sign in.
Add presence information
- Right-click a contact, and then click Subscribe.
Note: To create the presence relationship, the contact must accept your request.
The newly added contact appears in your Contacts list.
Add a conference contact
A conference contact is a special contact used for conference bridges and helps you avoid remembering PIN codes and a conference number, such as for recurring conferences. To join a recurring conference, add a conference bridge number and PIN, and then right-click or select the contact, and then click Call.
- Click Add Contact and from the XXX menu, choose Add Conference.
- To add a new group to the Contacts list, from the XXX menu, choose Add Group.
Edit contacts
- Select the contact you want to edit.
- Right-click anywhere in the selected contact. A menu of options appears. You can view or edit the contact profile.
- In View mode, click Edit.
Note: You may not be able to edit the Contact Card fields, depending on your settings.
- Choose an action:
- Unsubscribe—Removes the presence relationship between you and the contact. You don’t see the contact’s presence information, and your contact doesn’t see yours. To re-establish the presence relationship, select Subscribe. An unsubscribed contact stays on the Contacts list and appears without an icon. Any contact that isn’t set up with presence appears the same way.
- Delete contact—Removes the contact from your Contacts list.
- View Profile—Opens the Contact Information window, where you can add, edit, or remove information. This works for both contacts that are people and conference contacts. For groups, choose Edit from the XXX menu and rename a group.
- Click Save.
Filter your contacts
You can filter contacts in 2 ways:
- To search by contact name, use the Filter field. The system filters the Contacts list as you type.
- To use filter menus, right-click the Contacts icon to display only specific types of contacts, such as online contacts. You can also sort contacts based on first or last name or choose whether to display the contact’s profile photo and availability status in the Contacts list.
Filter your Favorites list
- When you make a contact your favorite, the favorite group appears at the top of the Contacts list. It can’t be hidden.
- If you delete all your favorite contacts, the favorite group isn’t shown.
- When you have at least 1 favorite, the favorite group appears.
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Presence
Presence means that your contacts can see whether you’re available to communicate. For example, “I’m busy” or “I’m available.”
For each contact you’re subscribed to, you can see the contact’s presence status, and your contacts can see your presence in their Contacts list.
Presence icons
Icon |
What it means |
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The green Presence icon indicates that you’re online and ready to communicate. |
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The yellow Presence icon indicates that you’re online but have been idle or away from your computer for more than 10 minutes. |
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The red Presence icon indicates that you’re busy and don’t want to be disturbed. |
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The gray Presence icon indicates that you’re offline. Others can contact you only by calling or leaving a chat message. |
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The Question Mark icon indicates that a subscription is pending and the contact hasn’t yet approved sharing his or her presence. |
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The red Phone icon indicates that you’re busy on a call. This is an automated presence status. |
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The red Meeting icon indicates that you’re busy in a meeting. This is an automated presence status. The Busy – In Call status overrides the Busy – In Meeting status, so this icon appears only if there’s a meeting with no call. |
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The green Desktop Phone icon indicates that you’re available only on a compatible desktop phone, not with Collaborate. |
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The green Desktop Phone icon indicates that you’re available only on a compatible desktop phone, not with Collaborate. |
Presence icons show users’ status.
Profile photos are retrieved when you sign in, when you add a contact, and when the contact comes online. To change a profile photo, double-click it. File Explorer view opens.
If you see the Chat Unavailable message, your connectivity has been lost for Chat and Presence, but you can still make calls. For help, contact your administrator.
If you want the Outlook calendar to automatically change your presence to Busy – In Meeting, turn on this feature in Preferences on the General tab.
The Presence update is triggered by appointments and meetings that you accept or create. All-day meetings don’t trigger a presence change to Busy – In Meeting.
You can’t change the chat address of a contact. To change the chat address of a contact, delete the contact and create a new one.
You can see presence status in search results and in the Communications window for contacts who aren’t Buddies. Note that this presence status is not updated after the search is done or after the communications session is set up.
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Chat
When you initiate a chat, the Chat window opens. You can chat with a contact only when you’re both online. If your contact initiates a chat, a notification appears in the lower-right corner of you screen. If you close the Chat window and open it again, sent chat messages appear in the window as chat history.
When the chat opens, you see the contact’s information at the top of the screen. You can expand or collapse the contact’s information during the chat, and you can leave it open or closed depending on your preference.
In the text field, you can add a smiley emoticon. You can also add smiley emoticons by manually entering the corresponding characters that represent that particular emoticon, such as the 3 characters 🙂 for a simple smiley. To send text, press Enter.
Emojis are also supported and are rendered as ordinary emoticons when received.
To enter a line break in the Text field, press 1 of these key combinations on your keyboard:
- Ctrl+Enter (Windows) Command+Enter (OS X)
- Shift+Enter
- Alt+Enter
To copy text to or from the Chat window, select the text and press Ctrl+C.
To paste text to or from the Chat window, press Ctrl+V.
To access a menu for managing text, right-click the text.
Send and receive files from the Chat window
- To open the File Selection dialog box, click Send File at the side of the text field.
- Select the file to be sent, and then click Open. You can also drag a file into the Chat window.
- To cancel the transfer, click Cancel.
- To accept an incoming file transfer, click Accept. To reject a file transfer, click Decline.
After the file transfer is complete, open or view the files in the File Manager (Windows) or Finder (OS X):
- Click the received file, and then click Show in folder.
Chat with a group
To start a group chat, select participants and then right-click the Main window Contacts list. To add more people to the chat later, drag their names into the chat. Only the owner of the group chat can add more participants.
A group chat works the same way as a 1-to-1 chat. All messages are sent to everyone. To participate in a group chat, contacts need to be online. You can’t invite an offline contact or a contact using a device that doesn’t support group chat.
A group chat history is saved both in My Room and in ad hoc chat rooms. You can view the history by clicking the Messages tab in the Main window.
In the Text field, the contacts’ names appear in different colors so you can easily see who’s writing.
Chat messages that are 1-to-1 are saved locally. When the optional Message History feature is turned on, messages sent from your other devices also appear.
Chat rooms can be moderated by the owner. To remove a participant from your chat room, right-click the participant’s name and choose menu options. You can add the removed participant again later if you want. Removing a participant from a group chat works the same with desktop-sharing sessions. You can’t delete a chat room.
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Audio and video calls
The Communications window has icons that help you manage voice and video calls.
Communications window icons
Icon |
Description |
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Use the Dial Pad to enter numbers at any time during a call (for example, to insert a conference number). You can’t move the Dial Pad. |
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To mute your microphone, click the Mute icon. |
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Click the Volume icon to adjust the volume. The volume bar appears. To adjust the volume, adjust the volume bar. To mute your speakers, drag the bar all the way to the left. |
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Click the Call Options icon to access the Call Options menu with options for managing calls. Your settings determine the options you have. |
Use these icons to manage voice and video calls from the Communications window.
Use the Call Options menu to:
- Transfer a call to a third party.
- Put the call on hold. If you hold the call, the other party can’t take the call off hold. For a video call, this freezes the last frame of the video feed. For both voice and video calls, a message saying that the call is on hold appears in the middle of the screen.
- Hide or show your own video.
- Add participants to the call.
- Record a call.
You can also use available feature access codes to manage calls. For example, to transfer a call directly to voicemail, put the call on hold and then press the feature access code *55.
Make a call
- Do 1 of these things:
- Select the contact you want to call, and then click the Call icon. This calls the contact’s number.
- Right-click the contact you want to call and select the number from the list that appears. The menu can have several phone numbers. The work phone is the default and shown at the top, followed by mobile and other numbers. This also applies to the Transfer and Conference windows, but in certain cases the transfer or conference default number differs from other call options in other menus.
- In the combined Search and Dial field, enter a phone number. After you enter the number, Collaborate searches for contacts in the Contacts list.
- Enter phone numbers on the Dial Pad.
- Choose your video size in Preferences on the Video tab. By default, this selection is used for future video calls. Available sizes shown are based on your camera.
Call from a computer
To make a call from your computer, do 1 of these things:
- From your Contacts list, select a contact, and then click the communication button you want.
- To contact someone not in your Contacts list, in the Search and Dial field at the top of the Collaborate app window, enter a phone number.
Call from a phone
If you have a desk phone with the same phone number as your Desktop app, the Call from Phone button will be available. When you click this button, the desk phone rings and the call is established from your desk phone.
For calls made using the Collaborate app, you also have call settings such as Hold and Resume, Transfer, and Add Participant.
The Automatic Busy – In Call presence works with the Call from Phone feature.
Answer a call
When someone calls you, a notification appears on your screen. You can:
- Answer the call.
- Silence the call, and then open a chat session with the caller.
- Reject the call.
When you reject a call, the caller hears a busy signal, which tells them that you rejected the call.
- Silence the incoming call by closing the notification.
- If you silence the call, your phone doesn’t ring but the caller doesn’t know you’ve silenced the call.
- If you choose the Chat option, you can answer or reject the call after silencing it. Chat is turned on only after you answer or reject the call.
- If you silence a call by closing the incoming call notification, you can’t answer or reject the call.
When you receive a video call, the same notification appears, and you can:
- Answer with video.
- Answer as voice-only. If you answer as voice only, the call becomes voice-only.
- Silence the call and chat.
- Reject the call.
- Silence the call by closing the window.
Look up contact names for incoming calls
When a call comes in, the Desktop app searches local contacts. If the number is the same as one of the contacts on the Collaborate Contacts list, the name appears on the incoming call screen along with the notification. Both the display name and phone number appear (if available).
When you retrieve your call logs or call history, Desktop looks in your Contacts list and adds the name if it finds a matching name.
View a missed call or communication
When you’ve missed any calls or other communications, a notification appears on the left side of the navigation pane in the Main window. To view the missed communication in the Communications History view, click the notification icon.
Use full screen in video call
In a full-size window, an Options menu appears at the top with the same functionality that the menu has in a normal-size view. When you move the cursor, the top bar and lower communication buttons appear on top of the video.
- Click Full Screen or double-click anywhere on the video.
- To exit full-screen mode, press the Esc key or double-click the window. When you exit full-screen mode, the video call goes back to its original state (even if the window was resized earlier before going to full screen).
Use multiparty sessions
You can have many participants on a call, either in My Room or in an ad hoc multiparty call.
To add participants, drag contacts onto the Communications window or select the Conference menu item using the Communications window menu button. Using the menu item, you can also add participants with just a phone number.
Call waiting
You can have 1 active call at a time. If you receive a new incoming call and accept it, the active call is put on hold. You can switch between these 2 calls by pressing the Hold and Unhold buttons.
Call transfer
Call Transfer has 2 forms: Blind Transfer and Attended Transfer. Blind Transfer transfers a call and drops you from the call. Attended Transfer lets you stay on the line and speak to the person you’re transferring the call to. If the person doesn’t want to accept the call, you can speak to the caller.
Blind Transfer is available in the Communications window. To transfer the call, choose the Transfer Call menu item.
Attended call transfer is available in the same window. First, you call another user to check if the user can take the incoming call. You can then transfer the call and drop from the call.
Call Recording
The Call Recording feature allows you to record your incoming and outgoing calls. Your administrator assigns your call recording settings. Depending on your settings, you can start, pause, resume, and end your recordings.
To record a call, open the Communications window, click the Menu button, and then click Record Call.
Voicemail
Depending on your settings, you can have either Visual Voicemail or Message Waiting Indication (MWI) view.
MWI notifies you when you have a voicemail or video message waiting for you. To call your voicemail box number to listen to the message, click the message icon in the Main window. With this view, you only have 2 History tabs: 1 for calls and 1 for chat.
To call voicemail from the dialer, press and hold the 1 in the dialer.
When Visual Voicemail is turned on, a third tab appears showing Visual Voicemails. To listen to messages, click individual messages.
Missed calls are indicated by an icon in the Main window. Missed video and audio calls are indicated with a different icon. Note that the MWI icon appears in the same place as it does when it indicates a new voicemail.
Call Park and Call Retrieve
The Call Park feature is particularly suited for shared environments, where 1 person can answer the call, park it, do something else for a while, and then continue the call from another device or let another user pick up and continue the call. Or, you can park an ongoing call and then retrieve it yourself when needed. You can park an ongoing call on your number, or another number or extension.
The Call Retrieve feature works in the same way as Call Park. You can retrieve the parked call from your number or extension, or from another number or extension.
You can see a parked call on your desktop in the Active Communications area. This makes it easy to retrieve it, but only for the duration of the Call Park announcement. After the announcement is over, the parked call disappears from the Active Communications area. To retrieve a parked call using the Main window menu or feature access code, you must remember the extension where the call has been parked. If you don’t retrieve the call within a certain time, Collaborate calls to remind you.
Call Pull
The Call Pull feature lets you move (pull) an ongoing call from 1 of your devices to another. To use Call Pull in the Main Window, select the Calls menu, and then select Pull Call. You can also use Call Pull with the *11 feature access code.
Headset support
You can control incoming and ongoing calls from a compatible headset. Collaborate supports answer and hang up as well as mute and unmute. The following list shows tested headsets. Other headsets, although untested, will likely also work.
Tested compatible headsets
- Plantronics® Voyager Edge UC
- Plantronics Savi 700 series
- Plantronics Blackwire C3xx, C4xx, C5xx, and C7xx
- Plantronics Calisto 620
- Plantronics Voyager Legend UC
- Logitech® H570e Mono
- Logitech BCC950
- Logitech Conference Cam Connect
- Jabra Biz® 2300/2400
- Jabra Speak™ 510
- Jabra Pro® 930 (wireless)
- Sennheiser® SC 230/260
- Sennheiser SP 20
- Sennheiser MB Pro1 UC
Presence rules and silent alerting
Presence rules let you configure how calls are processed, based on your presence state. Presence rules are associated with presence states. As your presence state changes, the associated calling rules apply. For example, you can associate the Busy presence state with call forwarding so that when your presence shows Busy, calls are forwarded. You can manually set your presence, or have it set automatically.
These presence states can be associated with presence rules:
- Available
- Busy
- Away
- Offline
You can use presence rules with the following call processing services:
- Silent alerting
- Call forwarding to number
- No rules
If you use presence rules, make sure all your app devices have this service turned on. Silent alerting is supported whenever an incoming call has that feature turned on. You can turn on silent alerting by using presence rules in Collaborate. Your administrator can set other rules through Web provisioning.
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Share your app or desktop
You can share your desktop or an individual app.
- In the Communications window, click Start Share. Note that sharing doesn’t start yet.
- Choose to share your entire screen or 1 of your open apps, and then click Start Sharing. The Share widget appears, which lets you control share settings. Preview shows you what participants are seeing, and Pause pauses sharing.
- To stop sharing, click the Stop icon. While sharing, all other communications features, except for file transfer, are also available. Video calling is available while sharing. Participants can’t hide a sharing session without closing the Communications window.
Desktop sharing works the same way in both My Room and ad hoc sessions.
If you’re in a video call and then start sharing, your own video doesn’t appear due to limited space available. You can make the video call visible by using the Main window menu and selecting Show Own Video in the lower-right corner.
If you’re using dual monitors, you can choose which monitor to share.
You can remove desktop sharing participants. Removing them from sharing also removes them from the group chat at the same time. If needed, removed participants can rejoin later.
Depending on your settings, you may be prompted for your password when you share your desktop.
When sharing is turned on, participants can share, but the room owner can prevent sharing at any time.
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My Room
Start My Room by clicking the My Room icon. When you use your permanent chat room, My Room starts automatically. To add participants, drag contacts into the Communications window or the Conference menu. They can also join your room by right-clicking your name in their Contacts list and choosing the Join Room menu option. When people have joined the chat room, they can click the Call button to join the conference. Room owners can also share their desktops.
To use the full functionality of My Room (desktop sharing, conferencing, and chat combined), your administrator must assign you an audio conferencing bridge.
The owner of the room and participants can share their desktops, but only the room owner can add participants to My Room and ad hoc sessions.
To see a Context menu, right-click the My Room icon. You can also access the Context menu from the Communications window.
To copy an invitation link to the clipboard, select Copy My Room Invitation.
The My Room icon tooltip shows your My Room conference bridge details.
For more information about desktop sharing, see Share your app or desktop. Desktop sharing works the same way for both My Room and ad hoc sessions.
My Room uses your permanent chat room, permanent collaboration room, and conference bridge (audio). My Room is the only way to use the permanent rooms. Other multiparty communications, such as selecting multiple contacts and right-clicking for a conference call, or dragging a user for a 1-to-1 chat, is done using ad hoc rooms. Ad hoc rooms are deleted when the session ends.
All My Room sessions start as chats, but you can add calling and sharing while the session is in progress. You cannot transfer files in My Room or ad hoc sessions.
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Search
The Desktop app automatically searches your Contacts list.
In the Search field where you search for both local and presence-enabled contacts, Desktop searches your Contacts list and the company directory.
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Browse directories
You can use the Desktop app to browse an entire directory.
- To view the directory, click Directory.
Note: This feature depends on your configuration, so it may not be visible in all apps.
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Communications history
In the Main window, on the left side of the navigation pane, the Messaging icon shows your messaging history. History view is divided into 1, 2, or 3 tabs. Depending on your settings you may see a Calls tab and a Chat tab.
- To open a chat in a new window, click the Chat tab, and then double-click a conversation.
- To call a number, double-click a call history item.
- To download a message so you can play it, click a Visual Voicemail message.
Collaborate saves a call history of placed, received, and missed calls. The call history makes it easy for you to call a missed call or call a contact you’ve recently spoken with.
Chat history for group chats, both in My Room and in Instant Group Chat, are stored locally with the desktop app, just like a 1-to-1 chat, but only for the time the user is in the session.
To call back directly, double-click a name in the list. This makes the call in the same way as it was done previously. For example, if you were in a video call, double-clicking starts a new video call. To make a call, double-click an incoming call item on the Calls tab.
To clear the missed chat indicator, open the missed chat.
You can clear the Communication History missed communications badges by right-clicking and clicking the Communication History button. The menu provides options to mark all items as viewed.
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Add-in for Microsoft Skype for Business
The Desktop app integrates with Skype® for Business. You can use Collaborate for non-Skype calls, such as calls to mobile devices while presence, chat, and Skype-to-Skype calls still take place through Skype.
You can use existing Skype integration with other apps (for example, Microsoft SharePoint®, Office 365®, and Internet Explorer®) so that calls can be made from those apps.
You can use Collaborate call control features, such as hang up, mute, transfer, conference, and Call Park. You can also access Collaborate call logs and call settings with Skype integration.
Collaborate updates phone presence on the Skype side.
For calling to work smoothly, first start Skype, and then start Collaborate.
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Add-In for Microsoft Outlook
The Microsoft Outlook® add-in for Desktop provides integration between Desktop and Outlook.
With the add-in, you can do these things in Outlook:
- View your Desktop app contact’s presence
- Use Desktop app functions like Chat, Call from Computer, Call from Phone, and Video Call
Presence in Outlook
Use this feature to view the presence of a Desktop contact in Outlook. Presence information is retrieved from Desktop and appears as an icon next to the contact in emails and calendar appointments. A contact’s presence can be Available, Away, Busy, or Offline.
Note: To view a contact’s presence, you must be signed in to Desktop. Also, presence appears only for contacts who have a valid SIP address and appear in your Desktop Contacts list.
Contact actions in Outlook
You can right-click an email in your Inbox and call or chat with the sender using Desktop. You can chat, call from computer, call from phone, or make a video call. You can also access these options from a contact card using the chat and call icons.
Note: Some options may not be available for all contacts. Chat is available only for Desktop contacts. Call options apply to all contacts who have a valid phone number.
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Accessibility compliance
The Desktop app supports accessibility compliance by having all features available in menus at the top of the Main window. The menu items are also available using keyboard shortcuts listed in the Keyboard Shortcuts section.
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Preferences
Preferences provide access to settings available in Desktop.
Access preferences in Windows
- In the Main window title bar, click the Collaborate image.
- Select Preferences.
Access preferences in OS X
- From the main menu, select Collaborate.
- Select Preferences.
General preferences
- Language—English is selected by default.
- Sign in—Turn automatic sign in on or off when you start the Desktop app.
- Confirmations—Typically, you receive a confirmation notification each time you remove a contact or call history record. To turn off notifications, check 1 or all the boxes when you delete information. You can also control whether you receive a notification for publishing your location information. Typically, this appears when you sign in.
Depending on your configuration, you can also use confirmations for the Collaborate Application Programming Interface (API), which is used by third-party apps such as Outlook Add-in or compatible headsets.
You can:
- Allow third-party apps to obtain information from Collaborate in Preferences
- Turn confirmation notifications on or off when third-party apps request information from Collaborate
- Choose to always reject or accept requests from third-party apps
- Allow or reject individual third-party apps.
- Logging—Used for troubleshooting. We may ask you to turn on logging and then send a log file directory to help us provide you with support.
Audio
- Output Device (Speakers)—Choose a headset, PC-integrated speakers, or external speakers for audio output. By default, your external playback device is selected (if you have one connected).
- Voice Recording (Microphone)—Choose a headset microphone, PC-integrated microphone, or external microphone for voice during calls. By default, the Collaborate external recording device is selected (if one is connected). You can also choose to let your microphone sound level be set by automatic gain control, and you can test your recording device.
- Alert Signal—Select the audio device and alert signal that plays when you receive an incoming call. The same signal is used for both voice and video calls. You can also select your own alert signal.
- Sounds—Select which events cause a notification sound. To turn off the sound, uncheck the box. To hear a sound, select a sound event, and then click Play.
Video
- Capture Device—Select a camera that you want to use for video calls. By default, your external webcam is selected (if you have one connected).
- Video Size—Select 1 of the available sizes. Note that higher sizes require more bandwidth and central processing (CPU) resources.
Proxy
- Proxy Settings—Choose how the Collaborate app uses HTTP proxies to connect to the Internet. By default it uses your operating system proxy settings, but you can override the system settings to not use an HTTP proxy or to use the Collaborate proxy settings.
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Call settings
Desktop supports the following service management features, allowing you to manage supplementary services using the native Collaborate Call Settings window:
- Virtual Office
- Call Forwarding
- Do Not Disturb
- Caller ID Blocking
- Simultaneous Ring
You can also use the call settings in the Main window, for features that are enabled for you. This feature lets you manage Virtual Office, Do Not Disturb, and Call Forwarding in the Main window using single or right-clicks.
Virtual Office
Virtual Office simplifies communications when you’re on the go or working remotely by extending the features of a desk phone to another device, regardless of the network or handset manufacturer. Your callers dial a specific number but can reach you on any phone you choose. With Virtual Office, your desk phone, wireless phone, and a device running the Collaborate app can ring simultaneously.
Virtual Office provides voice call continuity. You can move active calls from one device to another without hanging up.
To add locations (numbers) for Virtual Office, click the Add New Location button. To turn on simultaneous ringing, check the Alert all locations simultaneously checkbox.
To prevent calls from going to voicemail, which can be problematic in, such as during conference calls, check the Diversion inhibitor checkbox.
To receive a separate audio prompt when you answer a call from the specified number (location), select Answer Confirmation.
To use Call Transfer and Conferencing for the specified number (location), check the Call Control box.
Call Forwarding
Enter a number where you want your calls to be forwarded. Call Forwarding has several forms, such as Call Forwarding – Always, Call Forwarding – Busy, Call Forwarding – No Answer, and Call Forwarding – Unreachable.
Do Not Disturb
Use the Do Not Disturb feature when you don’t want to be interrupted. When Do Not Disturb is turned all, all calls are typically sent to voicemail. To turn on this feature, check the Enable box.
Caller ID Blocking
You can hide or show your name and phone number (caller ID) when you call or communicate with others. To hide your caller ID, check the Enable box. To show your caller ID, uncheck the Enable box.
Simultaneous Ring
Add up to 10 numbers (in addition to your primary phone number) that you want to ring simultaneously when you receive a call. You can also specify whether you want to require answer confirmations, so you are prompted to enter a single-digit code to accept each Simultaneous Ring call.
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Sign out
When you sign out of the Desktop app, your status changes to Offline and the Sign In page appears.
Sign out of Desktop
Sign out (Windows)
- In the Main window title bar, click the Collaborate image.
- Select Sign Out.
Sign out (OS X)
- From the main menu, select Actions.
- Select Sign Out.
Exit the app
Exit the app (Windows and OS X)
- Close the Sign In window.
Exit the app (Windows)
- In the Main window title bar, select the Collaborate image.
- Click Exit.
Exit the app (OS X)
- From the main menu, select Collaborate.
- Select Quit Collaborate.
Note: When you close the Main window, you don’t exit the app. The app is minimized and you can continue to receive calls and messages without seeing the Contacts list window.
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Multi-device support
Collaborate supports users with multiple devices.
- You can receive chat invitations on all your devices. When you use a particular device to answer a chat invitation, subsequent messages go only to that device.
- You can retrieve your own presence notifications when another app updates your presence. The app stores this information and updates your presence. If the received presence update is automatic, the app notes but doesn’t react to the received update.
- When you accept a sharing presence invitation in one app, another app recognizes it, and both apps start receiving presence updates.
- You can view your last sent and received messages on all devices only when you’re using the optional message history preview feature. To avoid duplicate messages, all devices should use the message history preview feature at the same time.
- When the preview feature is turned on, the system synchronizes your missed chat badges across your devices.
- Changes to presence sharing made on one device are updated all your devices. If the contact blocks the invitation, you see presence notifications on all your apps that indicate that the subscription was ended. If the app receives 2 presence authorization requests from 2 or more devices for the same user, you only see 1 request.
- When you remove a contact from the Contacts list on one device, another app recognizes it, and the contact is removed by the other app as well.
If you have multiple devices, notice that each device has the same status. In addition, your contacts always see the same status with updates that appear in the following priority order:
This means, for example, that if one app publishes a Busy status and another app publishes another status, your contacts see you as Busy. Compatible devices such as desk phones can show presence in the same way.
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Install and remove (uninstall)
If your administrator installed the app for you, you can’t change the Run program when system starts option.
If you turn off startup, for example, in the Task Manager’s Startup list (with Windows 8 and 10) or from msconfig.exe with Windows 7, the change isn’t reflected in Preferences. The checkbox remains checked and gray even though the app doesn’t start automatically when the system starts.
Remove (uninstall)
The uninstallation procedure is different for Windows and OS X.
Remove the app (Windows)
Do 1 of these things:
Using the Start menu, start the Windows uninstaller.
In the Control Panel, click Uninstall a program, then right-click AT&T Collaborate and click Uninstall.
When you remove the app with Windows, you don’t have to select any options. All files are deleted, except these:
- Registry entries
- Account files (deleted only when you explicitly allow them to be deleted)
Remove the app (OS X)
Drag the app folder from the Applications directory to the trash can. You must manually delete account files.
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System requirements
- Operating system: OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), 10.10 (Yosemite), 10.11 (El Capitan), Windows 8, 8.1, and Windows 10 (Classical view only)
- Installation requires approximately 125MB with OS X and 215MB with Windows
- For voice calls, a sound card, speakers, and a microphone or headset are required
- For video calls a webcam is required
Also required:
- A minimum of 2GB RAM
- A minimum 1.5 GHz CPU and at least a dual core CPU for video calls (recommended)
- Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) 1.5 or later (recommended)
- For high definition (HD) video (recommended):
- HD camera
- HD resolution support in display
- Quad Core x86 or equivalent (minimum)
- 2GB RAM
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Frequently asked questions
My contacts are all offline and my app’s status bar says “XMPP unavailable.” What does this mean?
Your connectivity has been lost for Chat and Presence. You can still make calls. For help, contact your administrator.
Why am I offline?
If you selected Offline status, you appear offline to others. Or, you may have lost your Internet connection. In this case, the app doesn’t close; it enters offline mode, where you can view the Contacts list but not communicate.
Why can’t I have more video resolutions available?
You can choose your video resolution from Preferences and the Video tab. By default, what you select is used for future video calls. The available resolutions depend on your camera.
Why can’t I change my username and password?
You can’t change your username and password in the Desktop app. You can change your password from the Collaborate homepage.
Why aren’t all my chat messages available on my other devices?
All 1-on-1 and group chat messages are saved locally, so they may not be available on your other devices. Incoming messages are sent to all devices; messages you send are stored only on the device that you use to send the message.
Why can’t My Room participants share the desktop?
Only the owner of the room can share the desktop. This applies to both My Room and ad hoc sessions.
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Keyboard shortcuts for desktop
The following table lists keyboard shortcuts for the Desktop app. You can use these keyboard shortcuts to quickly perform actions. The shortcuts are also shown in the accessibility menus.
Keyboard shortcuts for the Desktop app
Shortcut for Windows |
Shortcut for OS X |
Action |
Ctrl+Q |
Command+Q |
Exits (quits) the app. |
Ctrl+QF4 |
Command+W |
Closes the selected window (except for a contact card and the About window). |
Ctrl+C |
Command+C |
Copies selected text from Desktop to the clipboard. |
Ctrl+V |
Command+V |
Pastes text from the clipboard to the place where your cursor is located. |
Ctrl+X |
Command+X |
Cuts the selected text and moves it to the clipboard. |
Enter |
Enter |
When in the Communications window, sends a chat message (if the Chat view is visible).
When in the Contacts list, starts a chat with the selected contact.
When in Communications History, opens a communications session with the contact or address related to the selected item. A chat opens if the item was a chat and a call starts if the item was a call.
|
Ctrl+- |
Command+, |
Opens Preferences. |
F1 |
Command+? |
Opens Help. |
Ctrl+A |
Command+A |
Selects all texts in the Chat view. |
– |
Command+H |
Hides Collaborate. |
– |
Alt+Command+H |
Hides windows other than Collaborate. |
Ctrl+N |
Command+N |
Opens the Add Contact window. |
Shift+Ctrl+N |
Shift+Command+N |
Opens the Add Group window. |
Ctrl+1 |
Command+1 |
When you select a contact, opens a chat session with the contact. |
Ctrl+2 |
Command+2 |
When you select a contact, calls the contact using audio. |
Ctrl+3 |
Command+3 |
When you select a contact, calls the contact using the Call from Phone feature. |
Ctrl+4 |
Command+4 |
When you select a contact, calls the contact using video. |
Ctrl+5 |
Command+5 |
When you select a contact, joins the contact’s room. |
Ctrl+6 |
Command+6 |
When you select a contact, opens a Create Email window using the contact’s default email address. |
Ctrl+I |
Command+I |
When you select a contact, opens the contact’s card. |
Shift+Ctrl+F |
Shift+Command+F |
When you select a contact, makes the contact a favorite. |
Ctrl+Delete |
Command+Delete |
Deletes the selected contact. |
Ctrl+Up Arrow |
Command+Down Arrow |
Turns down the volume. |
Ctrl+Down Arrow |
Command+Up Arrow |
Turns up the volume. |
Ctrl+Spacebar |
Ctrl+Spacebar |
Mutes the app (while you’re on a call). |
Ctrl+D |
Command+D |
Turns on the Do Not Disturb feature. |
Ctrl+P |
Command+P |
Pulls an ongoing call from another of your devices to Collaborate. |
Alt+Shift+Ctrl+P |
Alt+Shift+Command+P |
Retrieves a parked call. |
– |
Alt+Command+2 |
Calls your voicemail with audio. |
– |
Alt+Command+3 |
Calls your voicemail with audio using the Call from Phone feature. |
– |
Alt+Command+4 |
Calls your voicemail with video. |
Shift+Ctrl+R |
Shift+Command+R |
Opens My Room. |
Ctrl+M |
Command+M |
Windows- Opens the Team Telephony window.
OS X – Minimizes the active window. |
Ctrl+T |
Command+T |
Turns on the Always on Top setting, which locks Collaborate to the top level of your screen. When you focus on another window, Collaborate stays on top.
To turn off Always on Top, click the Collaborate window again and use the same shortcut (Ctrl+T or Command+T).
|
Shift+Ctrl+M |
Shift+Command+M |
Opens the Main window. |
Shift+Ctrl+C |
Shift+Command+C |
Opens Contact list. |
Shift+Ctrl+F2 |
Shift+Command+F2 |
Opens call history. |
Shift+Ctrl+F1 |
Shift+Command+F1 |
Opens chat history. |
Shift+Ctrl+F3 |
Shift+Command+F3 |
Opens Visual Voicemail.
|
Shift+Ctrl+D |
Shift+Command+D |
Opens the Dial Pad. |
These keyboard shortcuts work with the Desktop app.
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