Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/16612
BUILDING COMMUNICATIONS-ENABLED APPLICATIONS WITH MICROSOFT LYNC SERVER 2010 INTEGRATING COMMUNICATOR FUNCTIONALITY INTO YOUR APPLICATIONS USING THE LYNC CONTROLS SDK The Lync Controls SDK allows developers to integrate Lync functionality into their applications. Think of Lync as being built out of Lego blocks with each providing a specific piece of functionality such as showing the presence of contacts, organizing contacts into groups, and interacting with contacts by starting instant message or phone conversations. The Lync Controls SDK separates the functionality in Lync into individual controls that developers can drag-and-drop into their Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) or Silverlight applications. The Lync Controls SDK includes a control to show the presence of a contact, such as an associate who has been assigned to a task through the case management system. Controls are also available to easily start an IM or audio conversation with that associate at the click of a button, with no additional code required. One set of controls provides functionality for managing contact lists and enables the user to do things such as integrate his or her Lync contact list into an application. Custom contact lists can also be used to create and display an ad hoc list of contacts, for example the account team for a client in a CRM application. Additional controls are available to search for contacts and display the results. Controls are also available to set the current user’s presence, personal notes and location. Integrating Lync functionality into applications using the Lync Controls SDK allows users to launch communications directly from the application that they are working in without needing to switch to Lync. The Lync Controls SDK is available in WPF and Silverlight and is extremely easy to use; developers only need to drag-and-drop the appropriate controls into the application without any need for additional code. EMBEDDING CONTEXT INTO CONVERSATIONS USING THE LYNC API The context of a conversation refers to the topic of the call. Context is usually established at the beginning of an audio call or instant message, e.g. “Do you have time to discuss the General Industries new matter request?” The back-and- forth involved in establishing context can be wasteful with the conversation going something like this: “I’d like to check on the status of the request so we can get started with the case.” “Hang on, let me open the New Business Intake application and pull up the General Industries account so I can check on the status.” The Lync API provides a mechanism for streamlining this process by injecting context into a conversation. There are two types of context that can be injected into conversations: Launch context and Conversation Window Extension context. Launch context allows the conversation recipient to open an application directly from the Lync conversation window, which contains the context for the conversation. Here’s a www.iltanet.org Infrastructure Technologies 9