Introduction to Communicator 2007

Manage your contacts

Communication is all about making contact, and the heart of Communicator 2007 is your Contact List.

In this lesson, you’ll see how easy it is to add contacts to that list.

You’ll learn how to create a contacts group or add a distribution group from Microsoft Office Outlook.

And you’ll see how Communicator 2007 helps you sort contacts for convenient viewing.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Add contacts

There are two ways to add someone to your Contact List.

1

2

Search for the contact …

… or add a contact by using a wizard.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Add contacts

Say you need to be in constant touch with your manager, William Lyon. To add him to your Contact List, you can search for William and drag his name from the search results to the list.

The picture on the left illustrates the process:

1. In Communicator 2007, type the name or e-mail alias in the Search box and press ENTER.

2. Drag the name from the Search Results pane to the Contact List. And that’s it.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Add contacts

Since William is your manager, you probably know his e-mail address already. When you don’t need to search for a contact, you can add the name directly.

Use the Add a Contact wizard, as shown on the right:

1. Click the Show menu button, point to Tools, and then click Add a Contact.

2. The Add a Contact wizard starts.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Create a contact group or add a distribution group

When you’ve added a lot of names to your Contact List, it’s convenient to view them in, and send single messages to, groups.

1

2

Create a new contact group …

… or add an existing distribution group.

You can:

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Create a contact group or add a distribution group

Creating a contact group takes only seconds; the process is illustrated on the left.

1. Click the Show menu button, point to Tools, and then click Create New Group.

2. Type a name for the group and press ENTER.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Create a contact group or add a distribution group

Sometimes the group you need already exists in Outlook, as a distribution group. Adding it to your Contact List is a simple process, as shown on the right.

1. In the Search box, type the display name or e-mail address of the distribution group.

2. Drag the distribution group from the Search Results pane to your Contact List. To see the names of the group members, click the group name.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Create a contact group or add a distribution group

Sometimes the group you need already exists in Outlook, as a distribution group. Adding it to your Contact List is a simple process, as shown on the right.

You can change the members of a contact group, but you cannot change the members of a distribution group, because it doesn’t belong to you. However, you can add a distribution group to a contact group.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Choose the views you want to use

Like contact groups, different views of your contacts make it easy to see what you need and to communicate quickly with other people.

You can see who’s available now, and you can tell Communicator 2007 to inform you when somebody’s availability changes.

If you work most of the time with a few contacts, you can show their names above the rest. You know how you work best, so you choose what suits you.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Choose the views you want to use

To change the way you view contacts, click the Change the way you view your contacts button and then select a view from the menu.

• To show up to 10 recent contacts as a group at the top of the Contact List, click Show Recent Contacts.

• To sort your contacts by their availability, click Sort Contacts by Availability.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

Choose the views you want to use

To change the way you view contacts, click the Change the way you view your contacts button and then select a view from the menu.

• To see which of your contacts you have tagged, click Tagged Contacts.

• To view contacts by access levels, click Access Levels.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

What is a Contact Card?

You’ve seen how your Contact List improves the efficiency of communication. But it’s a list. Suppose you want to remind yourself of contact details — how do you view those?

Simple: You open a Contact Card, right from the Contact List. Just click the circle to the left of any contact name.

Introduction to Communicator 2007

What is a Contact Card?

A Contact Card tells you about a person’s availability and activity. It shows details such as the person’s company, job title, and office number.

If the contact has granted you permission, you can see schedule information as well as any personal notes.

For extra convenience, a Contact Card contains buttons to make a phone call, schedule a meeting, send e-mail, or send an instant message. How handy is that?