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7 Skype for Business Beginner Tips From Microsoft

3 minute read

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If you’ve used Lync or Skype before, you will probably pick up on Skype for Business pretty quickly. Its design will be familiar to Skype users and the actions will be familiar to Lync users.

But there’s a learning curve with any new application, and Microsoft helpfully shared seven tips that are great for beginners (or reminders that are great for more advanced users). Check out the tips below:

In order to use Skype for Business, be sure to sign in with your work account. If you attempt to sign in with other credentials, you might get an error. If you’re asked for both a user ID and a sign-in address, enter your user ID in both boxes–for most organizations, these two are the same.

Skype for Business tip 2

Adding contacts in Skype for Business is nearly the same process as adding contacts in Lync 2013.

Skype for Business tip 3

Sending instant messages will feel familiar if you’re used to nearly any IM client. Check out our post on sending IMs in Lync 2013, because the demonstration will look similar to Skype for Business.

Skype for Business tip 4

Making work calls? Be sure to hover over your contact’s picture, not just their entry in the Contacts list. You can also right-click on their entry and select Call.

Skype for Business tip 5

Just as with voice calls, be sure to hover over the contact’s picture to find the video camera button. You can also right-click on the contact’s entry and select Start a Video Call.

Skype for Business tip 6

You can schedule Skype for Business meetings directly from your Outlook calendar. Refresh your memory with this post on creating Outlook meetings.

Skype for Business tip 7

When you’re in a conversation, call, or meeting, keep an eye out for the button that looks like a computer monitor. This will allow you to share your desktop, specific programs, PowerPoint files, and more.

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