introduction to the chorus - it services help site | web viewthe call history tab in chorus shows...

INTRODUCTION TO THE CHORUS WEB PORTAL

This document is designed to help you get started with the more advanced features of Chorus.

Why use the Chorus web portal?Your Chorus telephone will allow you to:

Make and receive calls. Access voicemails.

In addition to these, Chorus offers a range of functions that you may find useful. These include:

Call history. Directory and contacts. Voicemail (voicemails displayed in a list with caller details where known). Teleconferencing. Chat. Preferred devices

These features are accessed via the Chorus web portal.

Opening the Chorus web portal1. Go to https://web.chorus.ox.ac.uk/.

TIP: You may find it useful to bookmark this page. 2. Sign in using your normal University Single Sign On (SSO).

Navigating the chorus web portal

1. Call history tab.2. Voicemail tab.3. Conferencing tab.4. Tab area – displays the contents of the selected tab.5. Action bar.6. Contacts pane / directory.7. This button minimises / maximises the contacts pane.8. Search box.

Getting started with Chorus Web Portal – DRAFT FOR PILOT

https://web.chorus.ox.ac.uk/

Using the web portal communication optionsOne of the key features of the Chorus web portal is that it allows you quick access to a set of communication options for a displayed telephone number or contact.

Accessing communication options1. Hover the mouse over one of the following:

a. An entry in call history.b. An entry in the voicemail list.c. The result of a directory search.d. An entry in the contact list.

This will bring up a set of buttons as shown below:

Placing a call Clicking on the telephone button will place a call to the relevant phone number or contact

Other communication optionsClicking on the Communication Options button will display a list of available communication options. This will vary slightly depending on which view you are in; a typical set of options is shown below.

Call Work Phone – will place a call to the relevant phone number or contact.Email Work – opens an Outlook email window with the email address prepopulated (this option is only available where the entry is a Chorus user or has been manually entered into the contacts list with a telephone number). Chat – initiates a chat session with that number (Chorus users only).Start Web Collaboration – this function is not supported in this pilot implementation.


Call HistoryThe Call History tab in Chorus shows details of your calls – incoming (answered), missed and outgoing.

To navigate to the Call history tab click the clock icon at the top left of the screen.

Further actions: You can sort the list by date (ascending or descending) by clicking the small arrow

to the right of the Date column header. You can filter your list by call type – All calls, Missed calls, Incoming calls or

Outgoing calls –using the small arrow to the right of the call type column. Clicking on a name in the Call history list will display full contact details (if they

are a Chorus user). You can hover over an entry and select the telephone button to place a call, or

choose one of the communication options (see Accessing communication options).


Directory and ContactsThe Chorus web portal provides a directory of all Chorus users. This can be used to access their up to date contact information, to place a call to them, or to use other communication options (see Accessing communication options).

Searching the Directory 1. To search the directory for a contact, type the contact’s name, partial name or

initials into the search box and press Enter.

TIP: The search engine is very flexible and allows for the searching of partial names and initials.

Clearing a search1. To clear the results of a search and return to the original contacts view, click on

the x to the right of the search box

Adding a directory entry as a contactIf you are communicating with a contact regularly you may want to add that contact to your Contact Pane so that you don’t have to search for them every time.

1. From the results of a directory search, click on the required name to view their full details.

2. From here, click the ‘Add to contacts’ button to add this contact to your contact pane.

Adding an external contactIt is possible to add an external contact that does not appear in the directory.

1. Click the button in the top right-hand corner of the Contacts Pane.


2. Populate the resulting blank contact form. 3. Click Save to add to the contact list.


Voicemail (web portal)To navigate to the Voicemail tab click the clock icon at the top left of the screen. A list of your received voicemails will be shown.

Further actions You can view full contact details from the voicemail tab by clicking on the name in

the entry. To play back your voicemail, click the play button on the entry – this will play through

the speakers of your PC / laptop.

You can hover over an entry and select the telephone button to place a call, or choose one of the communication options (see Accessing communication options).

Playing a voicemail via the phone: To play a voicemail through the phone rather than through the computer speakers, choose ‘Play on Phone’ from the communication options list.


Teleconferencing There are two ways of using Chorus to talk to multiple people:

1. Dialling more than one person (Ad hoc conference).2. Generating a unique PIN that can be used by participants to dial in to a

conference at a prearranged time (Persistent Conference). Once created, the PIN for a persistent conference does not expire, so it can be used more than once.

Dialling multiple people / Ad hoc conference1. Hover over the name of the person you would like to dial (from a directory search,

contact list, call history). 2. Click on from the buttons that appear.

This will add that person to the action bar at the top of screen.

3. Repeat until you have selected all the people you wish to dial. 4. Click on the Call button to the right of the action bar to dial.

To close the action bar: 1. Click on the x to the top right of the action bar.

Creating a persistent conferenceSetting up a persistent conference generates a unique PIN. Attendees use this PIN along with the conference bridge number 01865 289000 to dial in at a prearranged time. NB: A conference bridge is functionality that links multiple calls together. The Chorus conference bridge number is 01865 289000, and the PIN then determines which calls are linked together into one conference.

1. In the web portal, click on the ‘Conference tab’ on the left side of the screen.

2. Click on the + to set up a new persistent conference.


3. Give the conference a title.TIP: Attendees will hear this title when they dial into the conference.Your choice of title may depend on whether you intend for this to be a specific one-off conference or for general conferences. You can create multiple persistent conferences (each with their own unique PIN) if you would like to use different conference names.

4. Tick ‘This conference is moderated’ for a moderated conference, or leave unticked for an unmoderated conference (see below).

5. Click on the Save button at the top right hand of the screen. 6. The conference will now appear in your persistent conference list and will show

the details, including the PIN, that people will use to dial in:

7. You will also receive an email with the log in details. 8. You can now send these details – the bridge number and the PIN – to the people

you want to dial into the teleconference along with the meeting invitation.

Points to note: The PIN is unique and does not expire until you delete the conference from your list.

You can therefore consider this your personal teleconference bridge and use it for future conferences that you wish to run.

You can create more than one persistent conference. Each will have a different PIN. This is useful if you are setting up conferences for other people (for example, a PA / EA setting up a conference on behalf of their manager), or if you want to give a teleconference a different name.

There is currently no functionality for scheduling the meeting in the system. This will be available in the future.

Moderated or unmoderated?A persistent conference can be moderated or unmoderated: A moderated conference will not start until the moderator dials in (using their

Chorus number), and will end thirty seconds after the moderator leaves. Anyone dialling in before the moderator will hear a holding message and music until the moderator is connected. Use this option to make sure the conversation only happens when the moderator has dialled in.

An unmoderated conference will start as soon as the first person dials in with the appropriate PIN and will end when the last person hangs up. Use this option if the moderator is dialling in from a meeting room (and not from their Chorus number).

The default moderator of a moderated persistent conference is the conference creator. If the creator is not planning to dial into the conference (for example, when setting up a conference on behalf of someone else), another person can be added as a moderator (see below).

Adding further moderatorsYou may want to do this if you are creating a conference on behalf of someone else but do not intend to dial in yourself. This will allow the conference to start when the designated moderator dials in. To do this:

1. Click on ‘Add new participant.


2. Add the person who will be a moderator.3. Hover over their name and then click on the moderator check box that appears.

TIP: If this does not appear, make sure the ‘This conference is moderated’ check box is ticked.

4. Click on save.They will receive an email to say that they have been invited to a conference. The conference will also appear in their persistent conference list for their information.

Initiating / entering a moderated conference sessionA moderated conference will start when the moderator dials in from their Chorus number. Anyone dialling in before the moderator will hear a holding message and music.

1. Dial the conference bridge number 01865 289000.2. When prompted, enter the PIN followed by #.

Initiating / entering an unmoderated conference sessionAn unmoderated conference starts as soon as anyone dials in with the bridge number and PIN. There is no hold music.

Ending a persistent conference sessionA moderated conference will end thirty seconds after the moderator leaves. Other attendees will hear a voice prompt to tell them of this. An unmoderated conference will end when the last person hangs up.

Initiating a conference from a meeting room If the person who would be the moderator of the meeting intends to dial in from a different number, such as a meeting room:

1. Make sure the conference is not set as moderated (leave the ‘This conference is moderated’ box unticked).

2. Dial into the conference using the meeting room phone. For small numbers of people in a meeting room, the speakerphone function of the phone should prove sufficient. Otherwise, Polycom devices are available to purchase.


Chat (instant messaging)Chat is an instant messaging feature that allows you to send text messages to other Chorus users.

Things to note about Chat Chat messages are transient. If the intended recipient of the message does not have

the Chorus web portal open in a browser, they will not receive the message. A chat conversation is not saved by the system, and therefore there is no audit trail.

It is possible to manually copy and paste the chat into a word document.

Sending a chat message1. Hover over the entry in the directory or contact list and click the button when

it appears (see Accessing communication options) and select the ‘Chat’ option.2. When the chat window appears, type your message and press ENTER to send.

TIP: If you see the message ‘[other participant] left the conversation’, it is an indication they are not available to chat. For example, they may not have the Chorus web portal open in a browser.

Receiving a chat message1. To receive a chat message, you must have the Chorus web portal open in a

browser.2. In order to receive an audio notification of an incoming message

a. Click on your name in the top right of the web portal.b. Choose ‘Settings’.c. Click on ‘Notifications’.d. Tick the ‘Play sound on incoming instant message’ option.

Ending a ChatTo end a chat, click on the X button at the top right of the chat window


Preferred devicesOne of the key features of Chorus is that you can set other devices as a ‘preferred device’. This means that calls placed to your Chorus number will ring on your specified preferred device without any of the delay that is often associated with call forwarding. Example instances of setting preferred devices:

1. Working in a different office, setting a local desk phone number as a preferred device.

2. Being away from the office, setting a mobile phone number as a preferred device.3. Before annual leave, setting a colleague’s number as a preferred device.4. Setting voicemail as a preferred device so all calls go directly to voicemail.

In each of the above instances, a call to your Chorus number will ring on the preferred device.

Adding a preferred device1. Click on the Device Icon in the Action Bar and select the ‘Device settings’ option

from the drop-down menu.

2. Click on ‘+ Add a new device’.


3. Complete the Device details and select your ring and redirection preferences (note: all redirections are to voicemail). TIP: Be sure to include the country code of the phone you are using and remove the first zero – e.g. +4418652xxxxx.

4. When you have completed the details click the ‘Add device’ button at the top of the window.

5. Your new device will now appear in your list of devices. You now need to click save to store your new device.

Setting a preferred device1. Click on the Device Icon in the Action Bar and select the device you would like to

set as Preferred from the devices drop-down menu.

2. The selected Device is now set as your Preferred Device and the Device Icon will now display its name to confirm this.


All calls to your number will now ring on the selected preferred device. NB: If you use the web portal to place a call – e.g. from the directory or from call history – and you have set a preferred device that is not your work phone, Chorus will first ring your preferred device and then, once you have answered, will place the call to the required number.

A note about auto-pilotThe top entry in the device list is auto-pilot. We do not recommend selecting this as an option as the functionality is currently limited. Similar but more powerful functionality will be available in future.

Set up voicemail as a preferred device (sending calls to voicemail)You can set up voicemail as a preferred device so that all calls to your number go directly to voicemail.

1. Navigate to the Devices Tab on the Settings window and add a New Device. 2. Name the device ‘Voicemail’ and specify the phone number as 10041.3. Click on ‘Add device’ and then on ‘Save’.


PresencePresence is a tool that you can use to indicate your availability to your colleagues who have added you to their contacts list. For example, it can be useful for people who might want to send you a chat message to know that you are available to receive it, as chat messages are transient and are not received if the recipient is not logged into the web portal. Setting a presence to indicate you are available or away will not affect how you receive calls from other people, unless you specifically choose for it to do so. Your current presence is indicated at the top right of the web portal

Changing your presence 1. Click on the presence icon (indicated by an arrow above). 2. Select one of the presence options, and enter some custom text if you wish

TIP: Custom presence status text is only viewable in your full details.

Presence auto-updateFor simplicity, you can set your presence to automatically update to a presence of your choice (e.g. ‘available’) when you log into the web portal and to another (e.g. ‘away’ when you log out).

1. Click on your name in the top right hand of the screen, and click Settings.

2. Click on Presence. 3. Scroll down to the bottom of the window that appears to access the information

shown here:


4. Click on Choose Presence under ‘Opening the browser / logging in’ and select which presence you would like to display when you are logged in. The recommendation here is ‘Available’.

5. Do the same for your preferred presence when the browser is closed. 6. Click Save at the bottom of the window.


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