Teams and Spaces

At its essence, Webex Teams works through the intersection of people, teams and spaces. This intersection allows you to organize your collaboration with others on the basis of topics of mutual interest, common goals, etc. You can create limitless combinations of people in both teams and spaces as a means of organizing your collaborative workflow. You can also join spaces and teams created by others.

A common question is whether you are required to establish a team before creating associated spaces in which to interact with others. The short answer is “no.” Teams are optional. However, they make space creation more efficient. The video to the left discusses teams and spaces.

Working With Spaces and Teams

The two videos below, from the Verizon Webex Teams group, drill down in fair detail involving how to create and work with spaces. There is a bit of duplication between these videos and the one above but with enough value to include for viewing.

Making Calls

Making calls in Webex Teams is easy. Calls can be made within Webex Teams to either another Webex Teams user within Locus/Syntax or to a non-Webex Teams party. Here’s how it works. To call another person (one to one), enter the email address of the person you’re trying to reach in the search field above the People/Spaces list. Alternatively, click on the “plus” sign, and you’ll be prompted for an email address. If the person doesn’t currently have Webex Teams installed, he/she will be given the option to install the app. However, this is not required, as the call can also launch within a browser.

If you’ve previously communicated with this person within Webex Teams, his/her Space will appear in the list, after which you can click on the green round call button. If video is enabled on both your device and that of the called party, a video call will be initiated. If video is not available on both end, the call will be of a computer audio nature. If you have not previously communicated with this person, he/she will appear for the first time in the People/Spaces list, after which you may simply navigate to that person on the list in order to initiate the call.

If your called party is already on the People/Spaces list (shown in the above picture), simply choose that Person/Space, and click the Activities Menu button with the 9 dots in the upper right corner of your Webex Teams desktop (see the picture to the left). Click on the resulting Green “Call” button. The call will be of a video nature if available on both ends. Otherwise, the call will be computer audio only.

Another way to initiate a call is via the Navigation Menu (the vertical icons) at the far left side of the Webex Teams desktop. If you click on the telephone handset icon within this menu, you will be presented with a 10 digit dialing keypad similar to that of a traditional telephone but with a blank field into which you can specify either an email address, a traditional 10 digit PSTN phone number (this is not yet activated at Locus/Syntax; see below), or a SIP address. If an email address is specified, Webex Teams will make a Webex Teams call (video ore otherwise) just as we described above. If a SIP address is specified, a video conference call will be initiated to the far end party whose SIP address was specified. This is a great way to connect to outside party videoconferencing systems that are not Cisco based.

Here are the SIP addresses for Locus/Syntax, which you may give to others who may desire to initiate a call with you:

• locus.call.ciscospark.com

• locus.room.ciscospark.com

In the future, you’ll also be able to make calls via this 10 digit keypad to a PSTN (public switched telephone network) party just as you would be able to using a cell phone or traditional land line. Currently, all calls (whether video or audio) occur only through a digital network such as the Internet or the internal office network. We’ll update you when this new capability becomes available.

Receiving a Call

It’s also possible to receive a call in Webex Teams. If someone calls you, you’ll get a dialog box (see left) prompting you to answer the call. If you want to take it, just click “answer.”

Screen Sharing

If you need to share your screen from your laptop or mobile, you can wirelessly connect to the Webex Board (Syntax working room), the two screen Webex Room Kit (conference room), or the DX80 in the Locus Huddle Room off of reception directly from the Cisco Webex Teams app using ultrasound proximity (for pairing the screen with your app) in conjunction with the office’s WiFi. This allows you to take what's on your laptop and project it onto the screen without having to go find the cable, find the dongle, figure out how it all fits together, figure out which input needs to be selected on the TV, etc. With Webex Teams and Cisco displays, all of that stuff goes away. You just connect and project.

Here’s how it works. When you’re in the vicinity of one of these display devices (vicinity being defined as in the same room), Webex Teams and the Cisco display device will search for a common ultrasound frequency using (respectively) the microphones on each. When they “find” each other, the display device’s name (e.g., “Syntax Work Room,” which is what we named the Webex Board in that location) Will be automatically displayed on the lower left corner of the Webex Teams desktop app or on the bottom of an iOS or Android device. Simply choose the device name, and you’re connected. The video wall display will show a notification when a user pairs and prompt you (depending upon which version Cisco display) with the familiar round buttons to either place a call or share a screen (and in the case of the Webex Board, perform whiteboarding).

Recording a session

Recordings are helpful for people who can't attend the meeting or for those who want to later refer back to what was discussed. You can record meetings in Cisco Webex Teams by taking the following steps (diagram to the left).

Playing Recordings From a Webex Teams Meeting

When someone records a Webex Teams meeting that is associated with a space, a link for the meeting recording automatically appears in the space sometime after the meeting ends. Select the link or the recording image posted in the space, and then play the recording from your web browser. The recording image includes the meeting title, date, time, duration, and recording password.  Keep in mind that you'll only see the meeting recordings posted in spaces for Webex Teams meetings. If it's a Webex standard meeting or Personal Room meeting, the host receives an email message with a link to the recording and can then share it with other attendees.

Mersive Screen Sharing

The One Liberty Plaza office of Locus/Syntax has several wall mounted displays that are purposed simply as screen sharing devices. Examples include the Locus Co-working Room, Locus Overflow and the Syntax Overflow rooms. You can connect to these displays with technology by Mersive for wireless screen sharing, which is really simple to use. The video to the left describes the technology in more detail.

Here’s how to connect for screen sharing:

• Make certain that:

  - The display is turned on (remote control is velcro’d to back of monitor on right hand side).

  - You are connected to LocusFIS wifi.

• Select the “Mersive” icon (HDMI 1) on bottom of screen using the display’s remote;  You’ll see the SOLSTICE POD screen appear on the display.

• On your laptop, run the Mersive Solstice app (the green wreath icon on your desktop or dock). If you don’t have the Mersive Solstice app, you can download it here.

• Enter your name when prompted;  Click on “Continue.”

• Choose from among available Mersive Solstice Pods listed on your computer screen;  available Pods are named for the room in which they’re located – for example, “Locus Co-Working Room.”

• On the same screen on your computer, enter the “Key” that is displayed on the Solstice screen on the monitor.  This key is a four digit number that changes each time you attempt to connect.

• Click the “OK” button, which will take you to a screen allowing you to choose what you wish to share – either:

  • The entire screen, OR

  • “App window”, which refers to the app (among however many) that is currently active on your computer

• Share away!

• To share Audio, you must perform these brief additional steps:

  • A driver must be downloaded one time at the prompt

  • Make sure “Desktop Audio” On/off at bottom of screen in ON

  • Make sure volume on TV is up (“VOL” button on TV remote toggles up and down)

• To STOP sharing, go back to the Solstice app on your computer, and select “STOP SHARING.”

Files

Share files with anyone any time. File sharing in a space is quick and simple. And the files you receive are neatly organized, searchable, and saved right alongside all of your communications, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. Especially when you need to share them in meetings. Here’s how it works. Your files are saved to the same space you securely work in with your team. Looking for a file?The secure search function makes it easy to find what you need at a moment’s notice. Files can be organized into folders and can include:

• Files that you and other team members upload from your laptops

• Uploaded files can include those originating from cloud services such as G-drive, Dropbox or Box

• Also accessible via the Files button (left) are those capturing the content of whiteboarding session as well as annotations on top of screen shares

• Going forward, we’re considering a plan to integrate a document management capability with Webex Teams’ Files function. Such a capability will optionally provide for file activity history, metadata, more nuanced security, version control and compliance monitoring depending upon related organizational policies. It would also allow us to search for files based upon content or context in their native cloud storage environments outside of the Webex Teams file management function.

  To upload a file into a Webex Teams space, simply click on the “paper clip” at the bottom of the screen. Your file system (either Mac Finder or Windows Explorer) dialog box will then appear, and you can navigate to the desired file, select it and click on the “Attach” button. It’s that easy!

Whiteboarding

With the Webex Board (Syntax working room), you can create whiteboard drawings to help share your ideas with others during meetings or with the members of your Locus/Syntax Webex Teams spaces. Whiteboarding works similarly on the Webex Teams desktop app. The Webex Board provides the ultimate experience. For example, more than one person can draw on the whiteboard at once, so you can engage and collaborate with participants both in the room and with those connected remotely from another device or from the Cisco Webex Teams app. You can use the board's touchscreen to draw with your fingers or use the provided stylus. With the Webex Teams app, you can similarly create and save your drawings to work on them later or to share them with others to continue the discussion after the meeting. At its simplest, you can walk up to the screen itself, grab the stylus and simply start drawing, knowing that you can easily share with colleagues - people can see the whiteboard on their laptops and devices while they’re in the room and take it with them when they leave.

The video on to the left presents whiteboarding in more detail. You can also use this comprehensive Cisco link to step you through the process.

Meetings and Scheduling

Scheduling and conducting meetings using Webex Teams is a powerful feature. Since Google Cal is the prominent calendar system used at Locus/Syntax, we’ve integrated it with the Webex Teams desktop so you can book a meeting with other participants (whether they are Webex Teams users or not) without the need to switch from the Webex Teams desktop to the calendaring application and then back. Here’s how it works.

To schedule a meeting for a space, click the Activities Menu button (9 dots - upper right on your Webex Teams desktop) in the top right, and select "Meetings". The page will display a list of all scheduled meetings for this space along with a “+” button at the top for scheduling a meeting. Clicking the “+” button will open Google Calendar and create a pre-populated calendar invite.  If you're logged into multiple Google Calendar accounts, the calendar will default to your primary login, but you can change which account the invite is sent from by switching accounts in the top right of Google Calendar. 

Feel free to tweak the meeting name, time/date and invite list as needed. The location field will be pre-populated with "@spark" or "@webex". To host the meeting in a new space, this can be changed to "@meet"; otherwise leave this alone. Click “Save” to generate the event and invitation emails. Once scheduled, the meeting will appear in your Webex Teams calendar.

The dialog box that Google Calendar uses to prompt a Webex Teams invitee to accept such a meeting looks the same in a stand-alone Google Calendar invite (see left).

Outside Parties

You can collaborate with any one or more people that are not part of Locus or Syntax with no problem. The same Webex Teams features will be present during such collaboration as is the case using Webex Teams with other colleagues within Locus/Syntax. You can invite anyone to join a Webex Teams meeting as long as they have internet, audio and video capabilities. The only activity not allowed for such attendees is the ability without an enterprise account to initiate a meeting. Otherwise, participants are not required to have an account.

Phones and Voicemail

With a few exceptions, most Locus and Syntax people do not have land line telephones. Rather, some use the few desk phones or speaker phones located in the three huddle rooms off of reception or in the conference and working rooms. Others simply use their cell phones. What’s been missing is an assigned direct dial phone number for each person and an accompanying voice mail system that is unique to Locus/Syntax.

Adopting the Webex Teams platform provides us with the opportunity to fill this gap. While it’s not our intention to provide more desk phones (let alone a physical phone for each person), it remains important to provide direct phone numbers and voice mail for each Locus/Syntax person as we become more outward facing in order to accommodate communications with more traditional outside parties. Accordingly, we are implementing expanded phone service.

Things you need to know … 

Each person will be assigned a “Direct Number”, in the range of 212-880-02xx.    Since few people at Locus have actual hard-wired phones assigned to them, most of these new numbers will ring the person’s personal cellphone, then go to an individual Voicemail box.  When you get such a call, it will display the Caller ID of the person calling. You will have no way of knowing whether the call was dialed to your CellPhone directly, or to your Locus/Syntax phone number.

 We are asking you to record a greeting in your mailbox that caller will hear when you don’t answer on your cellphone.

• If you do NOT want your new Locus phone number to ring your cell first, let us know, and we will program the line to go directly to Voicemail.

• For the office Voicemail to pick up instead of the voicemail on your cellphone, you’ll need to contact your cell carrier and extend the number of rings before your cellphone goes to the carrier’s voicemail.   We recommend 5 rings.   Otherwise, your cell voicemail will pick up before the Locus voicemail kicks in.

• When the Locus Voicemail takes a message, we’ll send the Audio file to your email, and you can listen to it from your cellphone, laptop, etc.   (At this point, the messages are NOT transcribed into text – you’ll get an audio WAV file.)    We’ll automatically delete the message from the voicemail system after a few weeks, during which time you can dial a number to listen to a message, if you don’t want to listen on your laptop or cellphone.

For the few people in the office with dedicated hard phones, this new number will ring that phone first before ringing to voicemail.   If desired, it can also ring a cell-phone simultaneously with the hard-phone, and you can answer from either.

Setting Up Your New Voice Mailbox (one time setup instructions)

• Dial 646 430 6455.

• When system answers, press 9 and then your 4 digit mailbox number.  (It’s 6 plus the last 3 digits of your new phone number – 62XX).

• You will be prompted to enter your temporary passcode – it is 1790.

• A tutorial will then begin to help you setup your new mailbox.

A tutorial will now begin to help you setup your new mailbox.

You'll be prompted to record your NAME.  Just speak YOUR name – not a whole greeting.

• Begin speaking at the tone, then press * when you are finished, press 2 to keep your recording, or follow the prompts to record again.

The system will ask you to enter the first 3 letters of your last name, and accept what you enter by pressing 2.   Dial the digits on your phone that correspond to the first 3 letters of your name. 

You’ll be asked if you want to be listed in the Directory for Dial by Name.  PRESS 2 FOR NO.

Record a GREETING:  Please record a personal greeting, including your name and the company name.

• Start recording at the tone, and press * when you are finished.

• To keep it, press 2, or follow the prompts to re-record. 

Last, you'll be asked to change your SECURITY CODE

• Enter new Security Code (at least 4 digits), then Press * when done entering it.

• Re-enter the same new code, then press * to confirm.

YOU’RE DONE!

 Using Your Voicemail

You’ll get an email whenever someone leaves you a voicemail.  You can click on the attachment and listen to the voicemail.   The message will remain in your Voicemail box for two weeks, at which time it will be automatically deleted from the Voicemail system.   This does NOT affect the email and attached audio file.   You Save or Delete that on your device, and it is NOT coordinated with the actual box on the Voicemail system.

 You can also call in to hear your voicemail message

• To hear messages by phone:  Dial 646-430-6455

• When the system answers, PRESS 9, then enter your 4 digit mailbox number.  (62XX)

•  Enter your passcode

• IF THE SYSTEM PROMPTS YOU FOR “YES or NO”, always press 1 for YES, 2 for NO.   This is not prompted.

• TO LISTEN TO NEW MESSAGES:  Press 4

  • Press 1 (YES) to hear the message.  

  After you have listened to it:

  • Press 5 to hear the next message

  • Press 6 to Delete it

  • Press 7 to Archive (Save) the message

  • Press 8 to hear the date and time of the message

  • Press 0 to SAVE the message as New (not listened to yet)

  • Press # to REPEAT the message

  TO CHANGE YOUR GREETING:

  • Press 7 for Setup options

  • Press 4 for Greetings

  • Press 6 to Edit Standard Greeting

    • Your current Greeting will play.  To change it, press 1 for “Yes.”

    • Begin recording at tone, then press * when done.

    • Press 2 to keep the new greeting, press 1 to delete it and re-record.

Devices

In addition to your laptop, desktop or smartphone, Webex Teams really stands out when used with Cisco devices such as the Webex Board (aka Spark Board) in the Syntax working room, the two screen Webex Room Kit (in the conference room) and the Webex DX 80 (located in the middle huddle room off of reception). Other such devices will be added to the office in the future.

Webex Board

The Webex Board (in the Syntax work room) is more than just a video display. It’s a game changing all-in-one device that provides everything you need to collaborate with your teams in physical meeting rooms: You can wirelessly present, whiteboard, screen share and host video and audio calls. The Webex Board is also a touch screen so is very easy to interact with. The video to the left, prepared by Yorktel, is a good tutorial for its use.

Device Proximity

On Windows and Mac, you can connect automatically with Webex devices such as the Webex Board, the two screen Webex Room Kit and the DX80 from the “Connect to a Device” menu in the lower left corner of the Webex Teams desktop. The way it works is pretty amazing. All Webex Teams devices “listen” via an ultrasound frequency for other such devices. When recognized, the device’s name will automatically show up in the “Connect to a Device” menu on your desktop. Once connected, you can share your screen, start a call, or open a space (on the Webex Board). If you have a lot of devices close by, you can set certain devices to not automatically connect.

Other Stuff

Content will be coming shortly on a variety of topics, including:

• TechHelp

• Third party utilities

• Cybersecurity @ Locus/Syntax

• Antivirus and personal VPN

• Cloud backup

• IT asset management

• Various tutorials of interest

• Any other topics you’d like to see included (email us at techhelp@locus.co)