Make a phone call

To use Microsoft Lync 2010 communications software to make or receive a phone call, you need speakers and a microphone, a headset, or a USB audio device. You can use the Contacts list to call one or more internal co-workers or federated contacts (outside partners whose company is federated or connected with yours), or you can call an outside number by typing the number in the search field. For more information about how to search for contacts, see Use Lync 2010 Search.

Lync 2010 automatically detects your audio devices, but you may want to check your Audio Device options to select alternate devices, adjust volume levels, or to check that everything is working correctly. For more information, see Audio Device settings.

What do you want to do?

Make a one-click audio call

Each person in your Contacts list has a default number that you can call by clicking the Call button to the right of the contact. The default number is determined in one of two ways:

  • If you have called the contact before, the default number is the last number that you used.
  • If you have not called the contact before, the default number is determined by your organization's telephony configuration. Typically, the default is either a contact's work number or a Lync call (a VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, call).

To make a one-click audio call, open Lync, find the contact, and, in your Contacts list or search results, do one of the following:

  • Point to the contact, and then click the Call button. To see the number before dialing, point to the Call button, and then wait briefly for the contact’s name and number to appear.
  • Point to the contact, and in the contact card that appears, click the Call button.

For a video demonstration of how to make a call, see Video: Make a call.

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Call a contact's alternate number

Lync users can publish optional phone numbers and give others Workgroup or Friends and Family privacy relationship permissions to view the numbers.

  1. In your Contacts list or search results, point to the contact, and then click the Call menu.
  2. Click the number you want, or click New Number to enter a new number.

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Call multiple people

Lync allows you to call multiple people simultaneously by selecting people from a group.

  1. In your Contacts list or search results, find the group that the people you want to call are in. If required, expand the group.
  2. Press and hold the CTRL key, and click each person you want to contact.
  3. Right-click any one of the selected contacts, and then click Call.

 Note    You can call everyone in a group by finding the group that you want to call in your Contacts list or search results and clicking the Call button.

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Type a new number to call

You can type the number you want to call in the search field.

  1. In the search field, type or paste the phone number you want to call. You can type letters or numbers.
  2. In the search results, double-click the number, or point to it and then click the Call button to the right of it.

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Use the dial pad

If you want to call someone who is not in your Contacts list, you can dial their phone number using the dial pad.

  1. In the Lync main window, click the Phone icon.
  2. In the dial pad, enter the numbers you want to call, and then click Call.

 Note    With voice mail systems, conference calls, and various other situations, you may be asked to either enter a PIN or make a selection by entering a number. You can enter these numbers either on the dial pad in the Phone view or by clicking the dial pad button in the conversation window. If Lync is set up to use your desk phone, you can also use that dial pad.

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Call a contact's voice mail directly

You can connect directly to a contact's voice mail without ringing the contact first. You and the contact must both have Lync installed.

  • In your Contacts list or search results, point to the contact, click the Call menu, and then click Voice Mail.

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Add audio to an IM conversation

You can call contacts while you are in an instant messaging (IM) conversation by doing one of the following, in the conversation window:

  • To call a contact you’re currently in conversation with, click the Call button. This calls the contact at his or her default number.
  • To call someone who isn’t in the conversation, or to call a different number for the person in the conversation, click the Call menu, and then do one of the following:
  • Click the number you want to call.
  • Click New Number to specify a different number to call.

The conversation window remains open, and audio is added. Audio controls such as Volume and Mute are displayed.

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End a call

When you are finished with a call, make sure that you disconnect correctly.

  • Click the End Call button.

 Note    If you have added audio to an IM conversation, ending the phone call this way does not close the conversation window. To end both the phone call and IM conversation at the same time, click the Close button in the conversation window.

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Make a call as a delegate

If you are a delegate for someone, such as your manager, you can make and receive calls on their behalf.

  1. In your Contacts list or search results, point to the contact you want to call, and then click the Call menu. (You can also do this in a contact card.)
  2. In the drop-down list at the top of the menu that appears, click the person for whom you’re making the call on behalf of.
  3. Click the number you want to call, or click New Number to enter a new number.

In Microsoft Outlook 2010, the delegate drop-down list is not displayed in contact cards. Lync creates a group in the Contacts list named People I Manage Calls For, which contains the contacts who have made you their delegate.

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Check call quality

You can check the call quality of your audio devices with just two clicks:

  1. In the lower-left corner of the Lync main window, click the audio device menu Select Audio Device.
  2. Click Check Call Quality.

On your phone, a step-by-step narration will have you record a test message, and then it will be played back to you. To make adjustments, check and redo your settings in the Audio Device options, and re-do the test.

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