Managing Workspace Plugin for Skype for Business

Overview

Genesys provides a plugin that adds functionality to Workspace Desktop Edition to tightly integrate it with the Skype for Business client on the agent desktop. Through the plugin, agents can handle voice, video, and instant messaging interactions handled by Skype for Business, in addition to accessing their Skype for Business contacts and seeing their presence status.

Important

• If Skype for Business 2016 is installed on the Workspace Desktop, then apply registry changes as described in Microsoft documentation. Administrator rights are required to make these registry changes.
• The Workspace Desktop Edition SIP Endpoint Role must only be activated when operating Workspace Plugin for Skype for Business in Hybrid mode with SIP Server.

Prerequisites

Workspace Plugin for Skype for Business requires the full version of the Skype for Business client (32-bit only—64-bit is not supported) that is delivered as part of either Microsoft Office 2013 or 2016 to be installed on the agent desktop, including, at minimum, the Microsoft Word module from the Microsoft Office suite.

Correct operation is not guaranteed if either:

• You use the Skype for Business Basic (free) client version; or;
• Word is not installed.

Deployment

1. Configure Workspace Desktop Edition. Note the following:
   • To use role-based access control, you must use Genesys Administrator to configure Workspace Desktop Edition and the Plugin. Be sure that your configuration procedure includes importing the template and metadata (see the Genesys Administrator 8.1 Help for information on importing metadata). This makes roles and other required items available.
   • Genesys recommends to assign the "Instant Messaging: Can release" privilege to all agents, since some Skype for Business clients might not support disconnection functionality for IM calls. See details in the Workspace Desktop Edition documentation.
2. Install Workspace Desktop Edition.
3. Install Workspace Plugin for Skype for Business for each Workspace Desktop Edition that your agent uses. Be sure that your configuration procedure includes importing the template and metadata for the Plugin.
4. Assign privileges, if you are using role-based access control. The following privileges are available:
   • IM - Can Delete From Conference: Enables the initiator of a conference to delete a party from a conference.
   • IM - Can One Step Conference: Enables instant conference of an IM call.
   • IM - Can One Step Transfer: Enables instant transfer of an IM call.
   • IM - Can Set Interaction Disposition: Allows an agent to set a Disposition code during or after an IM call.
   • Skype for Business - Can Use Plug-in for Microsoft UC: The agent is permitted to use functions of Workspace Plugin for Skype for Business. The other privileges of Microsoft Skype for Business cannot be configured if the value is Not Assigned.
   • Skype for Business - Can change presence: The agent is permitted to change presence of the associated Skype for Business user.
   • Video - Can Join Lync Video Channel: The agent is permitted to join an existing Skype for Business video channel.
   • Video - Can Use Lync Video Channel: The agent is permitted to use the Skype for Business video channel.
5. Disable the "Voice - Can Suspend or Reinstate A Conference Party" role, because the Plugin does not support it.
6. Provide values for the configuration options that you added to your Workspace Desktop Edition application.

Silent installation/upgrade

You can silently install or upgrade the Skype for Business Workspace Plug-in by using the following command-line entry:

.\setup.exe /s /z"-s C:\Downloads\WPluginMSUC\9.0.000.00\genesys_silent.ini -sl c:\logs\plugin.log

Skype for Business Client

Important

Ensure that you follow recommended instructions and Microsoft Patching Policy.

Operating modes

When used with the Workspace Plugin, the Skype for Business client can run in parallel mode with parallel Workspace and Skype for Business windows on the agent screen or in GUI-suppressed mode, where Agents see only the WDE interaction window on the screen.

You can run the commands within the GUISuppressionCommands/EnableUISuppressionMode.reg and GUISuppressionCommands/DisableUISuppressionMode.reg files found in your deployment package.

To run the GUI-suppressed mode command:

• Stop the Skype for Business client.
• Double-click the GUISuppressionCommands/EnableUISuppressionMode.reg file and accept the informational dialog boxes that follow.

The next time it starts, Genesys Workspace Desktop Edition starts the Skype for Business client in GUI-suppressed mode.

To run the parallel mode command:

• Stop the Skype for Business client.
• Double-click the GUISuppressionCommands/DisableUISuppressionMode.reg file and accept the informational dialog boxes that follow.

The next time it starts, Genesys Workspace Desktop Edition starts the Skype for Business client in parallel mode.

The parallel or suppressed mode of the Skype for Business client used by the Workspace Plugin affects the preferred setting for direct call handling.

Starting Skype for Business Client

Starting with version 8.5.00.81, Workspace Plugin provides the ability to dynamically control the registry settings that define the suppressed mode of the Skype For Business Client, by using the lync.parallel-gui option in the [interaction-workspace] section.

Prior to version 8.5.000.81, to install the plugin in Workspace, you had to make registry changes directly on the Agent desktop to control the GUI-suppressed mode that was used. Therefore, if the same agent worked on another desktop, the same registry changes had to be made manually in the other desktop as well.

To control the registry settings, use the lync.parallel-gui option, which can be defined at the Application and Person object levels.

lync.parallel-gui
Setting: [interaction-workspace] section, at Application, Person levels
Default value: registry
Valid values: true, false, registry, auto
Changes take effect: After restart

For all settings, Workspace Plugin cleans up any processes which had been previously started:

• true: Sets the registry keys for parallel mode and starts.
• false: Sets the registry keys for suppressed mode and starts.
• registry: Provides support for backward compatibility and refers to the registry to determine the GUI mode.
• auto: Searches for a running Skype for Business Client. If found, Workspace Plugin starts in parallel UI mode. If not found, Workspace Plugin starts in suppressed mode.

Limitations

• Workspace Plugin does not affect the Skype for Business Client started by the agent.
• If the Skype for Business Client is terminated, Workspace Plugin cannot determine if a process that is incomplete or stops responding is a working process or not. The agent must check and clean up any unrequired non-working processes
• The agent must have rights to make changes to the local space registry.
• The agent must have rights to the deleted processes that were started.

Configuration Options

Application Options

In the Workspace Desktop Edition application, update the following existing options in the [interaction-workspace] section:

• teamcommunicator.list-filter-showing = Agent,AgentGroup,Skill,RoutingPoint,Queue,InteractionQueue,Contact, LyncContact
• expression.team-communicator-phone-number = .*
• expression.phone-number = 0123456789#*ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz-_@:.+
• expression.phone-number.supported-characters = 0123456789#*ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz-_@:.+

Important

If you want the video popup for a video call to appear on top of the Workspace window, you must set the Workspace options interaction.window.popup-topmost-z-order and interaction-bar.enable-quick-access to false.

DN Object Options

In the Skype for Business Switch configuration object, add the DNs for the Skype for Business agents. The value must be the URL of the Skype for Business—for example, sip:skypeuser1@skypedco13.lab.

Because this DN is used for multiple operations (voice, and IM), set the following options on the Annex tab in the [TServer] section:

• multimedia = true
• voice = true

Warning

Direct calls between Skype for Business users are supported by the Plugin only when they are initiated through T-Server for Skype for Business. Direct calls initiated from the Skype for Business client are not supported.