Chat and Presence

Blocked Domain Support for Cisco Webex Messenger Users

Applies to: Cisco Jabber for Windows and Mac

Webex Messenger users can now add a specific domain or a contact from a specific domain to the blocked list. Contacts from the specified domain cannot view your availability or send you instant messages.

This feature can be used to prevent spam messages from the non-approved domains. Enterprise compliance is maintained by allowing communications only between organization approved domains.

Procedure

Step 1

Select Jabber > Preferences > Privacy.

Step 2

Choose the Policies section and select Managed Blocked People.

Step 3

Add the contact ID or domain in the Blocked list.

Chat Bots

Applies to: Cisco Jabber for all clients.

Jabber clients can be used to interact with XMPP chat bots. A chat bot is an automated service that appears and behaves like a user in Jabber. A Jabber user can add a chat bot to their Contacts list and start a chat conversation with the bot.

You can develop chat bots to help with a business process, answer questions, or have fun. A bot can be as simple as issuing an alert message, like whenever a stock price changes, or a machine sensor that reports a temperature change. More advanced bots can interact with users using artificial intelligence to try and understand the intent of questions it may be asked, like “Book me a meeting room for next Tuesday in the Dallas office please”.

Cisco provides an SDK for developers to build bots. The SDK provides a Node.js framework for quickly developing bots based on the public domain Botkit project. Visit the Cisco Devnet for Cisco Jabber Bot SDK Introduction.

If you develop a chat bot developed using the SDK, you must create a Jabber user account in Cisco Webex Messenger or Cisco Unified Communications Manager. You only need to provision the bot for IM.

After you've created a bot, Cisco Jabber users can manually add the bot to their contacts list or you can automatically add it to the users' contacts lists using the AdminConfiguredBot parameter. The AdminConfiguredBot parameter is not supported in Cisco Jabber for Android. You also have to configure WhitelistBot parameter that allows the bot to start a call or a group chat, search for Jabber users to start a conference call, and set up meetings in Cisco Jabber. Cisco Jabber supports both plain text and rich text messaging with Bots.

For more information on configuring AdminConfiguredBot and WhitelistBot parameters, see the Parameters Reference Guide for Cisco Jabber.

Browser Click to Call

Applies to: Cisco Jabber for Windows and Cisco Jabber Softphone for VDI

With Browser Click to Call, users can start a call from any of the following browsers:

  • Internet Explorer, from version 9

  • Mozilla Firefox, from version 38.0a1

  • Google Chrome, from version 45

Users can highlight and right-click on any number, URI, or alphanumerical string and choose one of the following options:

  • Call—Spaces and punctuation are stripped and the call is started.

  • Call with Edit—Spaces and punctuation are stripped and the number is displayed in the Search box of the hub window. Users can edit the number before starting the call.

Browser Click to Call is enabled with the CLICK2X installation parameter. If this parameter is set to ENABLED (default value), the feature is enabled. To disable this feature, you must set the CLICK2X installation parameter to DISABLE. For more information about the CLICK2X parameter, see the Deployment Guide for your release.

Click to Call from Google Chrome

Click to Call from the Google Chrome browser requires user input before it can be enabled. After users install and sign into Cisco Jabber, they must restart the Google Chrome browser. When the browser opens, a popup displays requesting users to allow installation of the "Jabber Call" extension. Users must allow the installation by clicking Enable Extension. The extension is installed and users can now make calls by highlighting and right-clicking on any phone number that is displayed in the browser.

If users do not have administrator privileges for their machine, they do not receive the popup requesting them to allow installation of the "Jabber Call" extension. In this case, users must contact their system administrator to install the extension.

Click to Call from Mozilla Firefox

Click to Call from the Mozilla Firefox browser requires user input before it can be enabled. After users install Cisco Jabber, they must restart the Firefox browser. When the browser opens, a popup displays requesting users to allow installation of the "JabberCallAddOn" add-on. Users must allow the installation by clicking Allow this installation and Continue. The add-on is installed and users can now make calls by highlighting and right-clicking on any phone number that is displayed in the browser.

Click to Call from Internet Explorer

Click to Call from the Internet Explorer browser does not require any user permissions or installations.

Custom Emoticons

Applies to: Cisco Jabber for Windows and Cisco Jabber Softphone for VDI.

You can customize Jabber’s emoticon library by either replacing existing emoticons or creating your own. To do this, you’ll need to add your image files to Jabber’s emoticon directory and write new file definitions.

Custom emoticons are visible only to users whose local Jabber installation shares the same custom images and definitions.

Procedure

Step 1

In your program files, go to the Cisco Systems\Cisco Jabber directory and create a folder named CustomEmoticons.

Step 2

Create your custom emoticon image as a PNG file in three resolutions: 20 × 20 pixels, 40 × 40 pixels, and 60 × 60 pixels. For best results, use RGB color values and a transparent background. Save these files in the CustomEmoticons folder and name them in this format: example.png (20 × 20 pixels), example@2.png (40 × 40 pixels), and example@3.png (60 × 60 pixels).

Step 3

Define your emoticons in the emoticonDefs.xml file and the emoticonRetinaDefs.xml file, both of which can be found in the Cisco Systems\Cisco Jabber\Emoticons directory. The emoticonDefs.xml file defines standard-definition emoticons (20 × 20 pixels), while the emoticonRetinaDefs.xml file defines the images for high-DPI displays (40 × 40 pixels). Both sets of definitions are required for normal functioning in most systems. See Emoticon Definitions for information on the structure and available parameters for these files. New definitions load when you restart Jabber.

Emoticons that you define in the CustomEmoticons folder take precedence over emoticon definitions in the default Emoticons folder.

Emoticons that you define in the directory %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Cisco\Unified Communications\Jabber\CSF\CustomEmoticons, which contains custom emoticon definitions for individual instances of Cisco Jabber for Windows, take precedence over emoticon definitions in the CustomEmoticons folder in the installation directory.

Emoticon Definitions

Cisco Jabber for Windows loads emoticon definitions from emoticonDefs.xml.

The following XML snippet shows the basic structure for the emoticon definitions file:
<emoticons>
 <emoticon defaultKey="" image="" text="" order="" hidden="">
  <alt></alt>
 </emoticon>
</emoticons>
The following table describes the elements and attributes for defining custom emoticons:
Element or attribute Description
emoticons

This element contains all emoticon definitions.
emoticon

This element contains the definition of an emoticon.
defaultKey

This attribute defines the default key combination that renders the emoticon.

Specify any key combination as the value.

This attribute is required.

defaultKey is an attribute of the emoticon element.

image

This attribute specifies the filename of the emoticon image.

Specify the filename of the emoticon as the value. The emoticon image must exist in the same directory as emoticonDefs.xml.

This attribute is required.

Cisco Jabber for Windows supports any icon that the Chromium Embedded Framework can render, including .jpeg, .png, and .gif.

image is an attribute of the emoticon element.

text

This attribute defines the descriptive text that displays in the Insert emoticon dialog box.

Specify any string of unicode characters.

This attribute is optional.

text is an attribute of the emoticon element.

order

This attribute defines the order in which emoticons display in the Insert emoticon dialog box.

Specify an ordinal number beginning from 1 as the value.

order is an attribute of the emoticon element.

This attribute is required. However, if the value of hidden is true this parameter does not take effect.

hidden

This attribute specifies whether the emoticon displays in the Insert emoticon dialog box.

Specify one of the following as the value:
true
Specifies the emoticon does not display in the Insert emoticon dialog box. Users must enter the key combination to render the emoticon.
false
Specifies the emoticon displays in the Insert emoticon dialog box. Users can select the emoticon from the Insert emoticon dialog box or enter the key combination to render the emoticon. This is the default value.

This attribute is optional.

hidden is an attribute of the emoticon element.

alt

This element enables you to map key combinations to emoticons.

Specify any key combination as the value.

For example, if the value of defaultKey is :), you can specify :-) as the value of alt so that both key combinations render the same emoticon.

This element is optional.

Remember
The default emoticons definitions file contains the following key combinations that enable users to request calls from other users:

  • :callme

  • :telephone
These key combinations send the callme emoticon, or communicon. Users who receive this emoticon can click the icon to initiate an audio call. You should include these key combinations in any custom emoticons definition file to enable the callme emoticon.

Emoticon Definition Example

<emoticons>
 <emoticon defaultKey=":)" image="Emoticons_Smiling.png" text="Smile" order="1">
  <alt>:-)</alt>
  <alt>^_^</alt>
 </emoticon>
 <emoticon defaultKey=":(" image="Emoticons_Frowning.png" text="Frown" order="2">
  <alt>:-(</alt>
 </emoticon>
</emoticons>

DND Status Cascading

Applies to: All Clients

The following scenario occurs when the IM Presence service is supported only by Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service.

When a user manually sets the IM Presence status as Do Not Disturb from the Cisco Jabber client, then the status cascades down to all the phone devices that the particular user owns.

However, if the user manually sets the status as Do Not Disturb from any of the phone devices, then the status does not cascade to other phone devices that the particular user owns.

Enterprise Groups for Unified CM IM and Presence Service

Applies to: All clients

Users can add groups to their contact lists in Cisco Jabber. The groups are created in the enterprise's Microsoft Active Directory and then are imported into Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service. When enterprise groups are set up and enabled on Unified CM IM and Presence Service, Cisco Jabber users can add enterprise groups to their contact list from the client.

Using enterprise groups is supported when on the Expressway for Mobile and Remote Access.

Prerequisites for Enabling Enterprise Groups in Cisco Jabber

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 11.0(1) or later

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service Release 11.0 or later

Before you can set up enabling adding enterprise groups to contact lists for your users, you must configure the feature on the server, see Enable Enterprise Groups section. For more information about enterprise groups, see the Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Limitations

  • This feature is available to on-premises deployments only. Cloud deployments already support Enterprise Groups.

  • Security Group is supported from Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service 11.5 or later.

  • Presence is unsupported for contacts in enterprise groups of over 100 people who are IM-enabled, unless the user has other presence subscriptions for a contact. For example, if users have someone added to their personal contact list who is also listed in an enterprise group of over 100 people, then presence is still displayed for that person. Users who are not IM-enabled do not affect the 100 person presence limit.

  • Nested groups cannot be imported as part of an enterprise group. For example, in an AD group, only group members are imported, not any embedded groups within it.

  • If your users and AD Group are in different organizational units (OUs), then before you add the contacts to the AD Group, you must sync both OUs with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, and not just the OU that the AD Group is in.

  • If you have the minimum character query set to the default value of 3 characters, then user searches for enterprise groups will exclude any two letter group names (for example: HR). To change the minimum character query for CDI or UDS connections, change the value of the MinimumCharacterQuery parameter.

  • Enterprise groups with special characters cannot be located during searches if the special characters are among the first 3 characters (or whatever value you have defined as the minimum character query) of the name.

  • We recommend that you only change the distinguished name of enterprise groups outside of core business hours, as it would cause unreliable behavior from the Cisco Jabber client for users.

  • If you make changes to enterprise groups, you must synch the Active Directory with Cisco Unified Communications Manager afterwards in order for the changes to be applied.

  • When a directory group is added to Cisco Jabber, the profile photos are not displayed immediately because of the sudden load that the contact resolution places on the directory server. However, if you right-click on each group member to view their profile, the contact resolution is resolved and the photo is downloaded.

  • Intercluster peering with a 10.x cluster: If the synced group includes group members from a 10.x intercluster peer, users on the higher cluster cannot view the presence of synced members from the 10.x cluster. This is due to database updates that were introduced in Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 11.0(1) for the Enterprise Groups sync. These updates are not a part of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Releases 10.x. To guarantee that users homed on higher cluster can view the presence of group members homed on the 10.x cluster, users on the higher cluster should manually add the 10.x users to their contact lists. There are no presence issues for manually added user.

UDS Limitations (Applies to Users on the Expressway for Mobile and Remote Access or with UDS on-premises)

There is no search capability for enterprise groups when connecting using UDS, so users must know the exact enterprise group name that they want to add to their contact lists.

Enterprise group names are case-sensitive.

If two enterprise groups within an AD Forest have the same name, then users get an error when trying to add the group. This issue does not apply to clients using CDI.

Enable Enterprise Groups

The enterprise parameter Directory Group Operations on Cisco IM and Presence in the Enterprise Parameter Configuration window allows you to enable or disable the Enterprise Groups feature. Follow these steps to enable the Enterprise Groups feature.

Before you begin

The Cisco DirSync feature service must be running.

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Enterprise Parameters.

The Enterprise Parameters Configuration window appears.
Step 2

In the User Management Parameters section, from the Directory Group Operations on Cisco IM and Presence drop-down list, select Enabled .

Step 3

(Optional) From the Syncing Mode for Enterprise Groups drop-down list, choose one of the following:

  • None—If you choose this option, the Cisco Intercluster Sync Agent service does not synchronize the enterprise groups and the group membership records between IM and Presence Service clusters.
  • Differential Sync—This is the default option. If you choose this option, after all the enterprise groups and group membership records from remote IM and Presence Service cluster are synchronized, the subsequent syncs synchronize only the records that were updated since the last sync occurred.
  • Full Sync—If you choose this option, after all the enterprise groups and group membership records from the remote IM and Presence Service cluster are synchronized, all the records are synchronized during each subsequent sync.
Note 

If the Cisco Intercluster Sync Agent service is not running for more than 24 hours, we recommend that you select the Full Sync option to ensure that the enterprise groups and group membership records synchronize completely. After all the records are synchronized, that is, when the Cisco Intercluster Sync Agent has been running for about 30 minutes, choose the Differential Sync option for the subsequent syncs. Keeping the value of this parameter set to 'Full Sync' for a longer period could result in extensive CPU usage and therefore we recommend that you use the Full Sync option during off-business hours.

Step 4

(Optional) Set the LDAP Directory Synchronization Schedule parameters in the LDAP Directory Configuration window to configure the interval at which Microsoft Active Directory groups are synchronized with Cisco Unified Communications Manager. For more information, see the online help.

Step 5

(Optional) Enter a value for the maximum amount of users each group can contain, in the Maximum Enterprise Group Size to allow Presence Information field. The permitted range is from 1 to 200 users. The default value is 100 users.

Step 6

Click Save.

File Transfers and Screen Captures

Applies to: All clients

File transfers and screen captures are enabled in Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service. There are additional parameters that are specified in the Cisco Jabber client configuration file. For more information on these parameters, see the Policies parameters.

To configure file transfers and screen captures in Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service 9.x or later, see Enable File Transfers and Screen Captures.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service, release 10.5(2) or later provides additional file transfer options:

  • For peer to peer chats, see Enable File Transfer and Screen Captures for Peer to Peer Chats only.

  • For group chats and chat rooms, see Enable File Transfer and Screen Captures for Group Chat Rooms.

  • To configure maximum file transfer size, see Configuring Maximum File Transfer Size.

What to do next

If your deployment includes earlier versions of the Cisco Jabber client that do not support these additional file transfer methods, there is an option to select Managed and Peer-to-Peer File Transfer. For more detailed information, see the Configuration and Administration of IM and Presence Service on Cisco Unified Communications Manager guide.

Enable File Transfers and Screen Captures

This applies to Cisco Unified Communication Manager IM and Presence Service 9.x, 10.0.x, and 10.5.1. You can enable or disable file transfers and screen captures using the Cisco XCP Router service on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service. File transfers and screen captures parameter is enabled by default.

File transfers and screen captures are supported for both desktop and mobile clients.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration interface.

Step 2

Select System > Service Parameters.

Step 3

Select the appropriate server from the Server drop-down list.

Step 4

Select Cisco XCP Router from the Service drop-down list.

The Service Parameter Configuration window opens.

Step 5

Locate the Enable file transfer parameter.

Step 6

Select the appropriate value from the Parameter Value drop-down list.

Remember 

If you disable the setting on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service, you must also disable file transfers and screen captures in the client configuration.

Step 7

Select Save.

Enable File Transfer and Screen Captures for Group Chats and Chat Rooms

Jabber stores transferred files and screen captures on a file server and logs the metadata to a database server. This feature adds the following functionality:

  • File transfers in group chats using Cisco Jabber clients that don't support chat rooms

  • File transfers and screen captures in peer-to-peer chats

Before you begin

This feature is available only on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service, release 10.5(2) or later.

Configure an external database to log metadata associated with the file transfer. For more information, see Database Setup for IM and Presence Service on Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Configure a network file server to save the transferred files. For more information, see Configuration and Administration of IM and Presence Service on Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration interface.

Step 2

Select Messaging > File Transfer.

Step 3

In the File Transfer Configuration section select Managed File Transfer.

Step 4

In the Managed File Transfer Assignment section, assign the external database and the external file server for each node in the cluster.

Step 5

Select Save.

What to do next

For each node:

  • Copy the public key for the node to the authorized_keys file on the external file server. Include the IP address, hostname, or FQDN for the node.

  • Ensure that the Cisco XCP File Transfer Manager service is active.

  • Restart the Cisco XCP Router service.

On the DNS server, configure automatic login for Jabber using the _cisco-uds and _collab-edge service (SRV) records. For more information about SRV records, see Service (SRV) Records.

Enable File Transfer and Screen Captures for Peer to Peer Chats Only

Enable file transfer for peer to peer chats on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service, release 10.5(2) or later. Files and screen captures are only transferred in a peer to peer chat. The file or screen capture information is not logged or archived.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration interface.

Step 2

Select Messaging > File Transfer.

Step 3

In the File Transfer Configuration section, select Peer-to-Peer.

Step 4

Select Save.

What to do next

Restart the Cisco XCP Router service.

ECM File Attachment Configuration

Applies to: All clients, for Jabber Team Messaging Mode deployments.

The Enterprise Content Manager (ECM) file attachment feature extends Cisco Jabber file attachment to allow users to upload files from OneDrive or SharePoint Online. Users can then view the file and send them through chat to other Jabber users who are authorized to view them.

When users send attachments, they can choose to upload files from their computer or ECM account. Users can choose to send the files to other people in their organization, or to specific people who have access to the file. When the recipient gets the message with the ECM attachment, they must be signed in to that ECM service before they can view or open the file.

Configure ECM File Attachment

Procedure
Step 1

To enable ECM file attachment for users, go to the Control Hub, and select Settings.

Step 2

Under Content Management, select Edit Settings and choose Microsoft to enable ECM with OneDrive and SharePoint Online.

Configuring Maximum File Transfer Size

The maximum file size is only available on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service, release 10.5(2) or later.

Before you begin

The file transfer type selected is Managed File Transfer.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration interface.

Step 2

Select Messaging > File Transfer.

Step 3

In the Managed File Transfer Configuration section enter the amount for the Maximum File Size.

Step 4

Select Save.

What to do next

Restart the Cisco XCP Router service.

Location Sharing

Applies to: Cisco Jabber for Windows and Cisco Jabber for Mac.

Location sharing allows users to share their location with their contacts. When the client detects a new network connection, it prompts the user to name the location: for example, "Home Office" or "San Jose." That name appears next to the user's presence status when they're connected to that network. Location sharing is enabled by default.

You can use the following parameters to configure location sharing. See the Parameters Reference Guide for more information.

  • Location_Mode: Determines whether the feature is enabled.

  • LOCATION_MATCHING_MODE: Determines how Jabber detects the current network location

  • Location_Enabled: Determines whether the location tab appears on the client interface.

If the ShowIconWhenMobile parameter is enabled, when a user is signed in to both a desktop and mobile client, only the desktop location is visible.

Location of Saved Chats and Files on Windows

Applies to: Cisco Jabber for Windows and Cisco Jabber Softphone for VDI, for on-premises and Cisco Webex Messenger deployments. It is not available for Jabber team messaging mode.

You can automatically save instant messages and transferred files each time a user closes a conversation using the EnableAutosave parameter. That parameter applies for both Windows and Mac. (See the Parameters Reference Guide for the Mac behavior.)

In Windows, the default locations for the saved chats and files are ..\documents\MyJabberChats and ..\documents\MyJabberFiles. However, you can specify a different location with the AutosaveChatsLocation parameter or let users choose their own location with the AllowUserSelectChatsFileDirectory parameter. If you allow users to set their own directory location, then the user preference takes priority over the system-defined setting. For more information about these Windows-only parameters, see the Parameters Reference Guide for your release.

Multiple Device Messaging for Cloud and On-Premises Deployments

Applies to: All clients, for cloud and on-premises deployments.

Multiple Device Messaging for on-premises deployments requires Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence 11.5.

Users who are signed into multiple devices can see all sent and received IMs on each device regardless of which device is active. Notifications are synchronized; if an IM is read on one device, it shows as read on other signed-in devices. This feature is enabled by default, but can be disabled with the Disable_MultiDevice_Message parameter. The following limitations apply:

  • Clients must be signed-in. Signed-out clients do not display sent or received IMs or notifications.

  • File transfer is not supported. Files are available only on the active devices that sent or received the file.

  • Group chat is not supported.

  • Multiple device messaging cannot be enabled if AES encryption is required.

Feature Functionality

Description

Active Jabber clients enabled for Multiple Device Messaging

Sent and received messages are displayed for the entire conversation.

Inactive Jabber clients enabled for Multiple Device Messaging but signed in

Sent and received messages are displayed for the entire conversation.

Non-Multiple Device Messaging enabled Jabber clients and AES Encryption enabled Jabber clients

Sent messages are only seen on sending device. Received messages are displayed on active devices only.

For more information on parameters, see the latest Parameters Reference Guide for Cisco Jabber.

Enable Multiple Device Messaging

This configuration procedure is applicable for on-premises deployment.

Procedure

Step 1

In Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration, choose System > Service Parameters.

Step 2

From the Server drop-down list, choose the IM and Presence Service Publisher node.

Step 3

From the Service drop-down list, choose Cisco XCP Router (Active).

Step 4

Choose Enabled or Disabled, from the Enable Multi-Device Messaging drop-down list.

Step 5

Click Save.

People Insights

Applies to: All clients, for Jabber Team Messaging Mode deployments.

People Insights provides users with expanded profiles of their contacts. Anywhere a contact card appears, user can access People Insights: contact lists, in conversations, from the call history, and voicemail history. The feature displays publicly available information in each user's profile.

For contacts in the same organization, users can also see the internal company directory information for those contacts. This information is not visible to users outside the company. People Insights stores the company directory information in a separate data source from the publicly available information.

Each user can choose to add more data by editing their People Insights profile. A user can also choose to hide parts or all of their People Insights profile.

People Insights encrypts the profile data both in transit and at rest. The feature is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For more information, see What Is People Insights.

Enable People Insights

Before you begin

You can enable People Insights if your deployment meets these conditions:

  • You use Common Identity (either CI-enabled or CI-linked).

  • You enable Directory Synchronization.

People Insights is currently English-only.

Procedure

To enable People Insights, go to the Control Hub, and select Settings > Directory Synchronization and People Insights and turn on the Show People Insights toggle.

Persistent Chat Rooms

Applies to: All Cisco Jabber clients, for on-premise deployments only.


Note

In cloud deployments, you use WebEx Messenger group chats or Jabber team messaging mode instead of persistent chat rooms.

Persistent chat rooms offer you ongoing access to a discussion thread. The room persists even if no one is currently active in the chat. The room remains available until you explicitly remove it from the system. These rooms allow users to participate with team members, customers, and partners in other locations, countries, and time zones. New users can quickly gain the context for an ongoing conversation, making collaboration easier in real time.

Configure Persistent Chat

You enable and configure persistent chat on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service before users can access persistent chat rooms on the client. Persistent chat rooms are not available in Webex Messenger mode or Jabber team messaging mode.

Before you begin

For Cisco Jabber desktop clients, persistent chat is available on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service 10.0 and later. For Cisco Jabber mobile clients, Persistent chat is available on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service 11.5 su5.

See Database Setup for IM and Presence Service on Cisco Unified Communications Manager for information on the database configuration to support persistent chats. Perform that database configuration before continuing with this task.

Enable local chat message archiving for persistent chat. You enable local chat message archiving on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service using the Allow clients to log instant message history setting. For more information, see the Enable Message Settings topic in the On-Premises Deployment Guide.

If you sign into Cisco Jabber on multiple clients, reading a message once marks it read on all clients.

If you enable the Push Notification service, Cisco Jabber chat rooms receive push notifications. This behavior continues even if the user manually terminates Cisco Jabber from the device. For more information on Push Notification, see Push Notification Service for IM.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration interface.

Step 2

Select Messaging > Group Chat and Persistent Chat.

Step 3

Select Enable Persistent Chat.

Step 4

Ensure the settings How many users can be in a room at one time and How many hidden users can be in a room at one time under the Occupancy Settings section contain the same, non-zero value.

Step 5

Configure the remaining settings as appropriate for your persistent chat deployment. We recommend the persistent chat settings in the following table.

Note 

Persistent chat rooms inherit their settings when you create the room. Later changes do not apply to existing rooms. Those changes only apply to rooms created after the changes take effect.

Persistent Chat Setting

Recommended Value

Notes

System automatically manages primary group chat server aliases

Disabled

Enable persistent chat

Enabled

Archive all room joins and exits

Administrator Defined

Persistent chat does not currently use this value.

Archive all room messages

Enabled

Allow only group chat system administrators to create persistent chat rooms

Administrator Defined

Maximum number of persistent chat rooms allowed

Administrator Defined

Number of connections to the database

Default Value

Database connection heartbeat interval (seconds)

Default Value

Timeout value for persistent chat rooms (minutes)

Default Value

Maximum number of rooms allowed

Default Value

Rooms are for members only by default

Disabled

Room owners can change whether or not rooms are for members only

Enabled

Cisco Jabber requires this value to be Enabled.

Only moderators can invite people to members-only rooms

Enabled

Cisco Jabber requires this value to be Enabled.

Room owners can change whether or not only moderators can invite people to members-only rooms

Enabled

Users can add themselves to rooms as members

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Room owners can change whether users can add themselves to rooms as members

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Members and administrators who are not in a room are still visible in the room

Enabled

Room owners can change whether members and administrators who are not in a room are still visible in the room

Enabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Rooms are backwards-compatible with older clients

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Room owners can change whether rooms are backwards-compatible with older clients

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Rooms are anonymous by default

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not support this value for persistent chat. Cisco Jabber cannot join anonymous rooms.

Room owners can change whether or not rooms are anonymous

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not support this value for persistent chat. Cisco Jabber cannot join anonymous rooms.

Lowest participation level a user can have to invite others to the room

Default Value

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Room owners can change the lowest participation level a user can have to invite others to the room

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

How many users can be in a room at one time

Administrator Defined

Cisco recommends using the default value.

How many hidden users can be in a room at one time

Administrator Defined

Default maximum occupancy for a room

Default Value

Room owners can change default maximum occupancy for a room

Default Value

Lowest participation level a user can have to send a private message from within the room

Default Value

Room owners can change the lowest participation level a user can have to send a private message from within the room

Default Value

Lowest participation level a user can have to change a room's subject

Moderator

Room owners can change the lowest participation level a user can have to change a room's subject

Disabled

Remove all XHTML formatting from messages

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Room owners can change XHTML formatting setting

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Rooms are moderated by default

Disabled

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Room owners can change whether rooms are moderated by default

Default Value

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

Maximum number of messages that can be retrieved from the archive

Default Value

Number of messages in chat history displayed by default

Administrator Defined

Cisco recommends a value from 15 through 50. The Number of messages in chat history displayed by default setting does not apply retroactively to persistent chat rooms.

Room owners can change the number of messages displayed in chat history

Default Value

Cisco Jabber does not use this value for persistent chat.

What to do next

Ensure that you configure any client-specific parameters for persistent chat:

  • Desktop clients—Set Persistent_Chat_Enabled to true.

  • Mobile clients—Set Persistent_Chat_Mobile_Enabled to true.

Enable file transfer in chat rooms. For more information, see Enable File Transfer and Screen Captures for Group Chats and Chat Rooms.

Administer and Moderate Persistent Chat Rooms

You administer persistent chat rooms from the Jabber client by creating rooms, delegating their moderators, and specifying members. Jabber automatically creates the node on which the room is created, but you can override and specify a node. Administrators and moderators are privileged users in persistent chat rooms. You can administer persistent chat rooms on any service node that you are an administrator for on Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence servers.

Administrator Capabilities

Administrators can perform the following tasks from the All Rooms tab of Persistent Chat in the client hub window:

  • Create rooms. When you create a room, you automatically become the room administrator.

  • Define and change up to 30 moderators for a chat room (who become room owners).

  • Specify and change the room name.

  • Define the maximum number of participants in a room. This number cannot be less than the number of participants already in a room.

  • Add and remove room members.

  • Block, remove, and revoke participants.

  • Destroy rooms (which removes it from the server, but does not delete the history).


    Note

    An administrator cannot create rooms, add or remove moderators, block or revoke participants in Cisco Jabber for mobile clients.

Moderator Capabilities

An administrator can define up to 30 moderators for one persistent chat room. Moderators can perform the following tasks:

  • Change the subject of a room.

  • Edit members (which includes adding, removing, and banning them).

Room Creation

When creating a room, you can provide the following types of information:

  • Room name (required, maximum 200 characters)

  • Description

  • Room type (public or restricted)

    After you define the room type, no one can change it.

  • Specify whether to add the room to your My Rooms tab.

  • Add up to 30 moderators (who must have a valid Jabber ID to moderate a room).

  • Room password

After you create the room, you can add members to the room immediately or later. Refresh the All Rooms list in order to see your new room in the list of available rooms.

Enable Persistent Chat Room Passwords

Persistent chat rooms that are password protected means that when users enter a room within a Jabber session, they must enter the password. Password protected rooms comply with the XEP-0045 specification from the XMPP Standards Foundation.

Procedure

Step 1

To set a password for a room, from the Chat Rooms tab on the hub window, select All rooms > New room > Password.

Step 2

To change the password for a room, open the chat room, click on Edit Room, select Password, then edit and save the password.

Limitations

If you disable Disable_IM_History parameter, then it affects the @mention feature in persistent chat rooms.

Prompts for Presence Subscription Requests

Applies to: All clients

You can enable or disable prompts for presence subscription requests from contacts within your organization. The client always prompts users for presence subscription requests from contacts outside your organization.

Users specify privacy settings in the client as follows:

Inside Your Organization

Users can choose to allow or block contacts from inside your organization.

  • If users choose to allow presence subscription requests and:

    • You select Allow users to view the availability of other users without being prompted for approval, the client automatically accepts all presence subscription requests without prompting users.

    • You do not select Allow users to view the availability of other users without being prompted for approval, the client prompts users for all presence subscription requests.

  • If users choose to block contacts, only their existing contacts can see their availability status. In other words, only those contacts who have already subscribed to the user's presence can see their availability status.


Note

When searching for contacts in your organization, users can see the temporary availability status of all users in the organization. However, if User A blocks User B, User B cannot see the temporary availability status of User A in the search list.

Outside Your Organization

Users can choose the following options for contacts from outside your organization:

  • Have the client prompt them for each presence subscription request.

  • Block all contacts so that only their existing contacts can see their availability status. In other words, only those contacts who have already subscribed to the user's presence can see their availability status.

Before you begin

This feature is supported for on-premises deployments and is only available on Cisco Unified Communications Manager, release 8.x or later.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration interface.

Step 2

Select Presence > Settings.

The Presence Settings window opens.

Step 3

Select Allow users to view the availability of other users without being prompted for approval to disable prompts and automatically accept all presence subscription requests within your organization.

This option has the following values:

  • Selected—The client does not prompt users for presence subscription requests. The client automatically accepts all presence subscription requests without prompting the users.

  • Cleared—The client prompts users to allow presence subscription requests. This setting requires users to allow other users in your organization to view their availability status.

Step 4

Select Save.

Push Notification Service for IM

Applies to: Cisco Jabber for iPhone, iPad, and Android in Jabber team messaging mode.

The Push Notification service for IM forwards the new IM notification to Cisco Jabber, even if Cisco Jabber is inactive, terminated, or is closed by the user. Cisco Jabber supports Push Notification service for cloud and on-premises deployment modes. Cisco Jabber supports:

  • Apple Push Notification (APN) for iPhone and iPad

  • Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for Android in Jabber team messaging mode

To deploy Push Notification service for on-premises and cloud deployments, see Deploying Push Notifications for iPhone and iPad with the IM and Presence Service and Webex Messenger at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/unified-communications-manager-callmanager/products-configuration-examples-list.html.

To receive Push Notification service, you must have the ports 5223 and 443 open. For more details on ports, see the Ports and Protocols section of the Planning Guide for Cisco Jabber.

To enable Push Notification service, you have to configure the parameter Push_Notification_Enabled. For more information about configuring the parameter, see the latest Parameter Reference Guide for Cisco Jabber.

From Cisco Jabber Release 12.1 onwards, this feature supports Advance Encryption Standard (AES) for end-to-end encrypted instant messages and also for Jabber-to-Jabber calls.

The following are the AES Push Notification service limitations:

  • Users do not receive a push notification:

    • For the first AES encrypted message with a user on their device.

    • When the user receives the AES encrypted message from a different user with whom there was never an earlier communication.

  • When users receive a new message notification, they can view the message content only if they double-tap the notification.

  • When the network connectivity is slow and if the receiver locks the screen or if Jabber is terminated by the the user, there is no communication between the sender and the receiver. Users cannot send messages too. However, if the user sends the message again, it is successfully delivered.

  • Users receive no notifications for peer-to-peer communications.

  • Users receive push notifications for messages even when they set their status to do-not-disturb.

Restore Chats on Login

Applies to:All clients.

This feature allows users to specify if open chat sessions are restored on next sign in. This only applies to 1:1 chats.

For desktop clients, this feature is configured using the RestoreChatOnLogin parameter. When the parameter is true, the Remember my open conversations check box is selected on the General tab of the clients. The check box is not checked by default when users sign into Cisco Jabber for the first time.

For mobile clients, this feature is configured using the RememberChatList parameter. When the parameter is set to on, then the user's chat list is saved and restored after relaunching Jabber. Also, Save chat list option is available in the client.

For more information on parameters, see the Parameter Reference Guide for your release.

Temporary Presence

Applies to: All clients

Disable temporary presence to increase privacy control. When you configure this parameter, Cisco Jabber displays availability status only to contacts in a user's contact list.

Before you begin

This feature is supported for on-premises deployment and requires Cisco Unified Communications Manager, release 9.x or later.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration interface.

Step 2

Select Presence > Settings > Standard Configuration.

Step 3

Uncheck Enable ad-hoc presence subscriptions and then select Save.

Cisco Jabber does not display temporary presence. Users can see availability status only for contacts in their contact list.