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Oracle® Communicator User's Guide 10g Release 3 (10.1.3) Part Number E12748-01 |
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# 2 Setting Up Oracle Communicator

This chapter describes installation and set-up of Oracle Communicator. Topics include:

- Install Oracle Communicator

- Get Started

- Settings

## Install Oracle Communicator

In order to install Oracle Communicator, you must run the installation program. Your service provider will point you to the installation program.Start the installation program, and follow the on-screen instructions.

## Get Started

After you install and start the application, accomplish these tasks:

1. Adjust Audio Settings using the Audio Setup Wizard

2. Create a New Account and register; you may need to provide a username and a password for authentication.

### Adjust Audio Settings

To use your computer for voice and video communications, you must verify (and possibly adjust) your audio settings. Use the Audio Setup Wizard that appears the first time you start the application.

Figure 2-1 Audio Setup Wizard

Description of "Figure 2-1 Audio Setup Wizard"

#### Audio Setup Wizard

Use the Audio Setup Wizard to verify and adjust settings for your audio equipment. The Audio Setup Wizard appears automatically after you install Oracle Communicator.

You can also start the Audio Setup Wizard at any time from the Audio tab in the Preferences dialog (Settings > Preferences > Audio).

Follow the instructions in the Audio Setup Wizard to choose the sound devices you want to use for voice and video communications, and to adjust settings.

### Create a New Account

Before you can start using Oracle Communicator, you must create an account. The account will contain information about you and your contact information. You may create multiple accounts (in the same way as you can have several email accounts).

When you start Oracle Communicator for the first time, you do not have any accounts. The Create Account Wizard dialog is launched automatically.

#### Create Account Wizard

On the first page of the Create Account Wizard dialog, enter a name for your account. Enter an account name that you can remember, such as your name or Work or similar, and click Next.

Figure 2-2 Create Account Wizard

Description of "Figure 2-2 Create Account Wizard"

The second page of the wizard requires you to enter a SIP address. Enter you SIP address and click Next.

Your SIP address usually looks very similar to an e-mail address. It is possible that your SIP address is in fact the same as your e-mail address. Contact your service provider or network administrator if you don't know your SIP address.

On the third and last page of the Create Account Wizard dialog, in the Full name text box, enter the name you want others to see when you communicate with them. This name will be included in the communication dialog when you send messages or call someone. Click the Finish button.

### Select an Account

When you start Oracle Communicator, you will see the Select Account dialog.

Figure 2-3 Select Account dialog

Description of "Figure 2-3 Select Account dialog"

#### Select Account Dialog

Select the account you want to use in the Account drop-down list box and click OK. The selected account will be used. If you click Cancel, the application will close.

If you want the application to automatically select this Account, select the checkbox Automatically sign in with this account. You will not see this dialog the next time you start the application since the account will be selected automatically. If you have signed in with an account automatically, but would like to use another account, you can sign out from the current account.

You can also create a new account by clicking the Create New Account button. If there is no account available, which is the case the first time the application runs, you must create an account before you see the Select Account dialog. The Create Account wizard is displayed automatically when starting the application the first time.

### Authenticate

Authentication secures your information when using Oracle Communicator. You authenticate by providing your username and your password. Your username is usually your SIP address but might also be another name (provided by your service provider).

#### Authentication Dialog

If you enter an incorrect combination of username and password, authentication fails and you cannot access Oracle Communicator. You will then be asked again to authenticate.

Figure 2-4 Authentication dialog

Description of "Figure 2-4 Authentication dialog"

By clicking Cancel in the Authentication dialog, you give up the authentication attempt and the action you tried to perform will fail.

By checking the Save password checkbox in the Authentication dialog, you can save your username and password. Then you don't need to authenticate yourself again when you open Oracle Communicator. The username and password are saved locally on your computer.

Note:

If you save your password, anyone using the same computer can log in as you. For security purposes, you should not save your password on a shared computer

If you save your password, you can unsave it in the future from the Preferences dialog.

### Register to a Server

Registering to a server means starting Oracle Communicator and logging in. When registered to a server, you become available for communication and can see the presence of your Contacts. Your own presence will be updated to show that you are now available on the SIP service on which you registered (such as a PC).

You authenticate yourself when logging on; this protects your SIP address from unauthorized use.

### Menus

Most commands and actions can be reached through the menu bar; note that the buttons look different depending on the theme you have chosen.

Figure 2-5 Main menu bar

Description of "Figure 2-5 Main menu bar"

- Settings menu contains Preferences among some other menu items

- History enables you to control the History settings

- Create New Group menu is used to create new groups

- Contacts Menus include icons that enable you to Add, Search, and Hide Contacts

### New Application Versions

When your service provider makes a new application version available, you may automatically be notified when you start Oracle Communicator. The message will appear in a message dialog telling you where you can find the new version. Click on the button in the message dialog to go to the web page where you can download the new version. Follow the instructions given there to download and install the new version. The update can be required or recommended.

Required upgrades prevent you from running Oracle Communicator until you upgrade. It is important that you update because new versions include fixes of earlier errors, and can contain new functionality.

Figure 2-6 New Version dialog

Description of "Figure 2-6 New Version dialog"

If a version is Recommended, you have a choice to install or defer the upgrade. When you see a new version message, you can take one of the following actions:

- Click the More Information button to be taken to an upgrade page that gives you information and instructions.

- Click Close to ignore the upgrade alert until the next time you start Oracle Communicator.

- Click the Don't remind me of this upgrade again checkbox to discontinue being reminded of this particular upgrade. When another upgrade is available, you will be notified.

### Terminology

Here are some common terms used in Oracle Communicator:

- Administrator—An administrator is a person who sets up your Oracle Communicator environment for you. The Administrator provides the functionality you can use (such as network connectivity and calling features). The Administrator also provides the information you need to log on to and use Oracle Communicator, and answers your questions.

- Contact—A Contact is someone you add to your Contact List. By adding them, you subscribe to their presence information.

- Contact List—Your personal list of Contacts.

- Echo cancellation—When in a voice call (using, for example, the PC speakers and microphone) the voice quality can be affected by the echo from your surroundings and the voice sound from the speakers back to the microphone. Echo cancellation is a function to remove this echo.

- Echo suppression—When in a voice call (using, for example, the PC speakers and microphone) the voice quality can be affected by the echo from your surroundings and the voice sound from the speakers back to the microphone. Echo suppression is a function to reduce this echo.

- Group—A group of Contacts in the Contact List.

- Instant Message—A text message that you can send to a Contact, or receive from a Contact.

- Presence Information—The presence status (presence icons) and presence message.

- Presence Message—Your optional presence message can be used to further describe your availability.

- Presence Server—The place to which you register; provided by your service provider.

- Presence Status—Your presence status (presence icons) indicates your availability to others.

- Register—In order to use the functionality in Oracle Communicator, you must first register (create an account and password).

- Service Provider—A Service Provider is a person, department, or outside company that provides the underlying connectivity (Internet, audio, video) that you use when using Oracle Communicator.

- SIP Address—An address that works for many different kinds of communication. The address is SIP service-independent and looks like an e-mail address (for example: your.name@example.com).

- Sound Effect—A sound effect is a sound that can be played during a call. Both you and the other party will hear the sound.

- User ID or User Identity—The User ID is unique and identifies your account to your service provider. The User ID, together with your Password, will be used for authentication when you register or try to access a service. For convenience you can choose to save the User ID and Password in your client, but this lessens security.

- Video Call—A video call includes both audio and video.

- Voice Mail Notification—If you have a voice mail inbox, you can get notifications from this inbox when you receive a voice mail.

- Voice Message—A recorded sound message that is sent or received as an instant messages. Normal instant messages are text.

## Settings

You decide how your Oracle Communicator looks and behaves. These attributes are controlled through Settings, which you control.

### Preferences

In the Preferences dialog in the Settings menu, you can change your settings for how Oracle Communicator should look and behave on your PC. You can set the following preferences:

- Account Preferences

- Presence Preferences

- Appearance Preferences

- Security Preferences

- Network Preferences

- Audio Preferences

- Video Preferences

- Advanced Preferences

After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying your changes.

#### Account Preferences

To change you account preferences click Preferences in the Settings menu and then click the Account tab.

Figure 2-7 Account preferences

Description of "Figure 2-7 Account preferences"

On the first page you can change your account and service settings.

After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying your changes.

##### SIP Address

The SIP Address text box shows what SIP address is used in this account. If you want to use another SIP address you must create a new account.

##### Full Name

In the Full name text box you can change the name that is included in all messages you send and calls you make. The recipient will see this name or the Display name if she or he has set one for you.

##### Accounts

Click the Accounts... button to see the list of accounts you have created. You can delete accounts by selecting the desired account, and clicking the Delete button. Click the Close button when you are finished.

##### Deleting Accounts

To delete an account, click on the account name to select it, then click the Delete button.

##### Automatic Start

Check the Run this program when the system starts checkbox if you want Oracle Communicator to start automatically when you start your PC.

##### Automatically Signing In

Check the Automatically sign in with this account checkbox if you want the application to automatically use this user ID when Oracle Communicator starts. Automatically signing in with this account is the default setting.

##### Service Settings (Optional)

The Service button is a link to your service provider's web pages where you can change your service settings. This button may or may not appear, depending on what your service provider has set up for you. What service settings you can change depend on the services provided to you. Contact your service provider for more information.

#### Presence Preferences

To change you presence preferences click Preferences in the Settings menu and then click the Presence tab.

Figure 2-8 Presence preferences

Description of "Figure 2-8 Presence preferences"

After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying your changes.

##### Service Note

The optional text that is written in the Service Note box specifies what you want to call this client, for example PC at home, PC at work, laptop, and so on. This text is shown in others' Contact Lists.

##### Idle Detection

By enabling this feature (checking the checkbox), it is possible to automatically change your presence status to Idle when there is no activity on your PC for the specified time (in minutes). This tells your Contacts that you were available on this machine, but have not been active on it for the specified amount of time.

##### Privacy

Under the Privacy heading, you can click the Presence Policy button to change who is allowed to see your presence information. The Presence Policies dialog will appear.

##### Persistent Note

Under the Persistent Note heading, you can enter a message that will be visible to all of your Contacts when you are offline. To enter a Persistent Note, type in some text, then click Set Note.

#### Appearance Preferences

To change the appearance preferences click Preferences in the Settings menu and then click the Appearance tab.

Figure 2-9 Appearance preferences

Description of "Figure 2-9 Appearance preferences"

After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying your changes.

##### Themes

The theme determines how Oracle Communicator's main dialog and communication dialog for messaging, telephony and video will look and sound. You can change your theme to any theme included in the Themes drop-down menu.

##### Sound Events

Oracle Communicator uses sounds to alert you if a special event occurs. Using the Sound events checkboxes, you can decide if you want the sound to be played when the event occurs or not. The following sound events can be changed:

- Incoming Message sound is played when you receive a new message from someone.

- Contact Goes Online sound is played when one of your contacts goes online.

- Contact Goes Offline sound is played when one of your contacts goes offline.

- Voice Mail Received sound is played when a notification about new voice mail is received.

Click on one of the sound events and click Play to hear how it sounds.

##### Show main window on top of all other windows

This setting will cause Oracle Communicator's Main window to always stay on top of all other windows on you desktop when it is not minimized.

##### Minimize to system tray when closing

This setting will cause Oracle Communicator's Main window to minimize to the system tray instead of shutting down when you click the Close button at the right top of the window. To shut down the application when this setting in activated you must right-click the application icon in the system tray and select Exit.

##### Messages

Choose what should happen when the Enter key is pressed when writing a message. Either send the message or insert a new line in the message.

In the Render smileys graphically checkbox you can choose to render smileys graphically or just as text :-) in the Message area in the Communication dialog.

In the Show message timestamps checkbox you can choose to show message timestamps when a message is sent.

##### Ring Signal

The default ring signal will be used when someone calls you, unless you have selected a particular ring signal for the caller. With this setting, you can change what sound to use as the default ring signal. It can be one of the built-in ring signals, or a wave sound file that you select. To select your own default ring signal, choose Select other... in the drop-down menu and then locate your sound file, which must be in .wav format. This sound will be looped when it is used as ring signal, so not all sound files are suitable.

You can revert to the original ring signal by selecting Use the standard ring signal in the drop-down menu.

#### Security Preferences

To change the security preferences click Preferences in the Settings menu and then click the Security tab.

Figure 2-10 Security Preferences

Description of "Figure 2-10 Security Preferences"

After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying your changes.

##### Credentials

When you are required to authenticate yourself, you can choose to save your password (Saving your password is the default setting.). What you actually save are your credentials; a username and a password. Saving credentials decreases security. You can unsave a password or remove the whole credential if you like. To do so, click on one of the credentials in the list and click Unsave Password if you do not want the password to be saved for this credential; click Remove to remove the credential altogether.

Note:

Changes you make to your password or credentials will take effect the next time you log in.

#### Network Preferences

Important:

Your system administrator may have provided you with a customized installer that will prepopulate the network settings. If that is the case, you do not need to modify the settings on this tab.

To change the network preferences click Preferences in the Settings menu and then click the Network tab.

Figure 2-11 Network preferences

Description of "Figure 2-11 Network preferences"

After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying your changes.

##### Proxy Settings

Check the Use a proxy server checkbox and fill in the Address: field if you want to use a proxy server. Proxy servers are used in many organizations, depending on the way the system is set up. Your service provider will provide proxy server information, if needed.

##### XDMS Settings

Check or uncheck the Use HTTPS checkbox, depending on server configuration.

##### LDAP Settings

Your organization may use LDAP services for looking up people and groups. If so, set your LDAP server here. Your service provider will provide the information you must use here. Buttons in the LDAP settings field include: Add..., Edit..., Remove, and Set default. These buttons, and the fields they contain, should only be used if you are sure of the information, or if you are instructed to use them by your service provider.

Check the Use STUN checkbox, fill in the Host: and Port: fields if you want to use STUN. Your service provider will give you this information if needed.

##### Voice and Video Quality

Move the Connection speed slider bar to the speed that corresponds to your network connection speed. 64 Kbps corresponds to the speed of a 64 Kbps modem connection and 1-2 Mbps corresponds to a LAN connection. Leave the Connection speed slider on 256 Mbps if you are unsure. The connection speed setting helps Oracle Communicator use a suitable connection configuration.

#### Audio Preferences

To change the audio preferences click Preferences in the Settings menu and then click the Audio tab.

Figure 2-12 Audio preferences

Description of "Figure 2-12 Audio preferences"

After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying your changes.

##### Voice Playback

In the Playback device drop-down list box, you can choose the sound playback device (from the list of available devices) you want to use for voice calls.

If you have a USB headset, it is recommended that you select it here as the voice playback device.

##### Voice Recording

In the Recording device drop-down list box, you can choose what sound record device you want to use for voice calls.

If you have a USB headset, it is recommended that you select it here as the voice recording device.

##### Silence Suppression

If you check the Use silence suppression checkbox, your client will only send sound when you are talking and not send any sound at all when there is silence. This saves bandwidth.

##### Echo Cancellation

If you check the I am only using headphones checkbox, you will turn off echo cancellation as this is not needed in this case. Uncheck this checkbox if you want to turn on echo cancellation to, for example, use your PC as a speaker phone and you are not using headphones. Note that echo cancellation only works for voice calls, not for video calls.

##### Audio Settings

The Audio… button takes you to the PC's system audio settings. These depend on your PC. Use the system audio settings to control where sound alerts such as a ringing signal should be played.

If you have a USB headset, you should select the USB headset as Voice playback and Voice recording device (see above) and to select the computer's built-in sound card in the system audio settings. This makes all voice communication go through the headset, and alerts such as ringing signals will go through speakers connected to the computer's sound card.

Check the Use PC speaker for incoming call alerts checkbox for the application to play a beep in the internal PC speakers at incoming calls. Note that this functionality is hardware-dependent and for some PCs the beep sound is played very loudly in your headset. In this case you should uncheck this checkbox.

##### Voice Sound Volume

The Volume… button takes you to the PC's sound hardware settings from where you can adjust and test the volume levels. These depend on your PC. Checking Allow the client to check volume levels before making a call allows you to do the following when placing or answering a voice or video call:

- Mute/unmute speakers

- Mute/unmute microphone

- Display a warning if the speaker volume is zero

- Display a warning if the microphone volume is zero

- Automatically pause audio playing software, such as Windows Media Player

#### Video Preferences

To change the video preferences click Preferences in the Settings menu and then click the Video tab.

Figure 2-13 Video preferences

Description of "Figure 2-13 Video preferences"

After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying your changes.

##### Video Capture

In the Video capture drop-down list box, you can choose the video capture device you want to use (from the list of available devices) for video calls.

##### Video Size

You can choose what video size you prefer to send in your video calls. Note that this will only be your preferred image resolution and not necessarily the resolution that is used in all video calls since the image resolution in the sent video stream also depends on the receiving party's capacity.

##### Camera Settings

Depending on your video camera, you can set different video settings such as brightness, contrast, zoom, white balancing, and so on. Click the Advanced button to open your camera's video settings.

#### Advanced Preferences

To change the advanced preferences, click Preferences in the Settings menu and then click the Advanced tab.

Figure 2-14 Advanced preferences

Description of "Figure 2-14 Advanced preferences"

##### History Settings

The History contains a record of communications you've had, including audio/video calls as well as the content of instant message conversations. You can also use it to contact someone with whom you've communicated in the past.

You can control whether or not these records are kept (and, if they are kept, the length of time for which they are kept) in the Advanced Preferences tab. On that tab, Keep a History of New Calls and Instant Messages is selected by default. If this box is checked, a record of any communications (calls, video calls, instant messages) will be saved in your History. You can also set the time period for which you want to retain these records (Forever, Until I sign out, For 14 Days, For 30 Days).

##### Save History Option

If you choose not to keep your records forever, old records are only deleted when you sign out of your account.

You may delete individual records from the History (or the entire History) by using the History dialog.

##### Auto-Answer Settings

In the Advanced Preferences tab, you can choose to set the Auto-Answer setting. Choosing this option will have Communicator automatically answer incoming calls. After making your changes click Apply or OK. Click Cancel if you want to close the Preferences dialog without applying.

### Themes

The theme determines how Oracle Communicator's Main window and Communication dialog for messaging, telephony and video will look and sound. To change the themes, from the Settings menu, click Preferences, and then click the Appearance tab.

Figure 2-15 Themes

Description of "Figure 2-15 Themes"

Select a theme; your changes will be saved and the same theme will be used the next time you start Oracle Communicator. Available themes depend on your service provider.