Is it possible to open a new Lync conversation from a webpage?

Question

I would like to open a new conversation in a users Lync client, with a pre-determined message text but with the reciepients of the message to be selected by the user, with this process starting from the user clicking a link on a web site.

Is that possible?

Baron

Answer 1

Part of the problem here is that you can't open a conversation window without knowing who you want to start a conversation with, if that makes sense.

From a web-page, there are various different things you could do to start an IM with someone, for instance, Lync has a shell extension so you could start the process im:<sip:[email protected]> and it will open a new conversation window with that user. However, there's no way to supply a default message text.

I'm assuming that, given you're assuming the Lync Client is available, this is for an internal environment you have some control over? If that's the case, if you can find out the recipient's address ahead of time (see first sentence) then you could write a really small console application which took the SIP address as a parameter, and started a new conversation sending the default message as well. You could then call this from your webpage. You'd have to deal with deployment of your console app etc, but it would get you where you need to be.

This MSDN article is a walk-through of starting a conversation, though you won't need all of it as you won't need to deal with receiving messages.

Pinstripe

Great answer Tom. Where are the Lync shell extensions documented? Is there one to start a call? Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition ... – Consonantal

If you need multiple people, the following format works: sip:<[email protected]><[email protected]> Though lync doesn't seem to like it if your own name is in the list – Frilling

I don't know of any good list I'm afraid. I'm sure I've seen one before, and I think it was on TechNet, but I couldn't find it just now. I believe you can use tel:// to start a call. – Pinstripe