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Features in Communicator for Mac 2011

Office for Mac 2011 will reach end of support on October 10, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see these resources.

 

Applies to: Office for Mac 2011

Topic Last Modified: 2012-06-15

Microsoft Communicator for Mac 2011, the communications client for Macintosh computers, includes real-time audio calls, video calls, and new presence statuses to improve the way users find and connect with their coworkers.

Important

The corporate contact list is no longer part of the Messenger application. For Office Communications Server functionality, you need Microsoft Communicator for Mac 2011.

Rich presence

  • Calendar-based presence  Communicator offers new presence statuses to more accurately reflect whether someone can communicate with you at that time. Based on your Exchange calendar, Communicator sets your status automatically. For example, if you are in a meeting, your status automatically changes to Busy (In a Meeting).

  • Presence in other Office for Mac applications  Communicator is integrated with Office for Mac 2011, which allows you to collaborate with your contacts by starting a conversation from these Office applications: Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. For example, while you are working in Outlook, you can rest the pointer on a status icon to see the contact card for your contact. The contact card shows the presence status for the contact in more detail, and gives you several communication options, such as sending an instant message, e-mail message, or meeting request, or starting an audio or video call.

Audio, video, and conferencing

  • Audio or video calls  You can make computer-to-computer audio and video calls. You can also conduct conference calls by inviting multiple contacts to join the conversation. By using the audio and video calling features in Communicator, you can see and hear your contacts. This provides an experience that is similar to meeting in person.

    You can make any of the following types of audio or video calls:

    • Start audio and video conversations from the conversation window with a contact in the corporate network.

    • Call a contact who is using either Communicator for Mac or Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

    • Call from Communicator to a federated network if both networks allow audio and video calls.

    • Call multiple participants. Participants who are invited to join the audio or video conference can leave the session at any time.

    Note

    You cannot make audio and video calls to contacts who use public instant-messaging connectivity (PIC), such as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) or Yahoo! Messenger.

  • Join a virtual meeting  With Communicator, you can join a scheduled virtual meeting with colleagues and clients from down the hall or across the world by clicking conf: URL in an Outlook meeting invite. For virtual meetings with audio or video calls, you can use a webcam, a microphone, and either speakers or headphones. If your computer does not have a built-in webcam and microphone, you can purchase a Mac-compatible device to attach to your computer. Users can set the preference for registering Communicator as the default client for conference URLs from the Preferences dialog box. To learn about how to set up these devices, see Mac Help.

  • Use your computer as a telephone  Communicator allows you to place calls by using a dial pad, and use the dial pad during a call.

    If you use a computer to make or receive calls, you must have a microphone and either speakers or headphones. The computer's built-in microphone or a purchased Mac-compatible microphone works with Communicator for Mac. To learn how to set up these devices, see Mac Help. For a sample list of supported devices, see System requirements for Communicator for Mac 2011.

Desktop Sharing

  • Share your desktop  You can start a desktop-sharing session at any time during a conversation. For example, if you have a document, slide deck, or application that you want to present to others in the conversation, you can start a desktop sharing session. When you start the desktop sharing session, all participants can see the tasks that you perform on your desktop. The Conversation window is available while you’re sharing your desktop, so you can continue an instant-messaging conversation.