Chat
Everyone at Tufts can use Jabber for instant messaging once they install the Jabber application. See the tabs below to read more about Jabber Chat's features.
Status information can indicate that your contacts are on the phone, in a meeting, or have stepped away from their desk. Jabber also displays your status based on your Outlook calendar. If you are in a meeting, Jabber will display yellow, and will note that you are in a meeting.
Even if contacts are offline, you can send an instant message that they receive the next time they sign in.
The table below explains the meaning of the various status icons.
Icon |
Description |
Green |
Available: Indicates that you are available to contact. |
Yellow |
Away: Appears when you are inactive for 15 minutes or for the duration that you specify. This status indicates that you are away from your desk, in a meeting, or on the phone. You can also manually set this as your status. |
Red |
Do Not Disturb: Indicates that you do not want to be contacted. |
Grey |
Offline: Indicates that you are offline and you will receive offline messages when you sign in again. |
- Select Contacts in the left-hand menu of the Jabber Hub window.
- Move your mouse over a contact and click on the Chat icon.
- A chat window will appear that you can use to communicate with your contact.
- Active chats will be listed in the Chat panel.
You also have the ability to invite multiple users to join in on a group conversation. Users must be using Cisco Jabber for this feature to work. Follow the directions below to start a new group chat.
- Click the ‘+’ button toward the top of the Jabber Hub window.
- A window will appear where you can search for contacts to add to your group chat and give your group chat a title. (Note: Only users who are online can be invited to a group chat.)
- When you are ready, click the Start Group Chat button.
- A chat window will appear that you can use to communicate with the other members of the group.
- Active chats will be listed in the Chat panel.
Chat rooms are ongoing rooms designed for groups of people to join and collaborate. These rooms save chat history allowing new members to view current as well as previous conversations. Participation in a chat room is similar to participation in a regular chat window. Chat Room titles can be viewed by all Tufts Jabber users. Some chat rooms have restricted access.
Join a Chat Room
- In the Jabber Hub window, click the Rooms icon.
- Use the dropdown menu to select All Rooms.
- A list of rooms will appear. Click the Join button next to the chat room you’d like to enter. If a room has a lock symbol next to it, you cannot join it without an invitation.
Create a Chat Room
- In the Jabber Hub window, click the Rooms icon.
- Use the dropdown menu to select All Rooms.
- Select New chat room.
- A window will open where you can configure the new chat room.
- Name – Give your room a short, descriptive name.
- Description – Provide more details about the chat room’s intended audience and use.
- Type – Select Public if you want people to be able to join the chat room immediately. Select Restricted if you want people to be able to join by invitation only. This cannot be changed after the room has been created.
- Location – Choose “Automatically Select”.
- Add to “My rooms” – Check this box if you want the room to be added to the “My rooms” list in the Jabber Hub.
- Moderators (Optional) – Select additional people to serve as moderators for the chat room. Moderators are people who can add new members to the room.
- Password (Optional) – Set a password for the chat room that people have to enter before they can officially join. (Note: This password must be entered whether the chat room is Public or Restricted.
- When you are done, click Create.
Editing and Deleting a Chat Room
If you are the owner of a chat room, you can change some of the chat room settings, invite/remove members, or delete the room altogether.
- While you are in the chat room, click on the Information icon next to the chat room name.
- A window will open where you can do the following:
- Mute/unmute the chat room
- Change the room name or description
- Add or remove moderators
- Add or remove members
- Block particular people from joining
- Enable/disable or change room password
- Delete the chat room