There are many preferences that we can set so that Sametime is just how we like it! We have already seen how to set our preference for changing our status automatically. It is worth exploring the Sametime preferences available for us to be aware of all our options.
To access the Sametime preferences, select File | Preferences | Sametime.
The following is a screenshot of preferences for Sametime. Be aware that depending on a company's version of Sametime, not all the options will be available and so one will not be able to set preferences for them.
It is recommended to review all the preferences available. The following sections will highlight three of the available and most common preferences—Chat History, Chat Window, and Notifications.
Within preferences, we can set how we want to save chat history. We will be able to select where we want to save chats - either in our Lotus Notes mail or in a local file. If we select not to save chats, we can always save a chat manually by selecting the File | Save option. The following is a screenshot of our default options for saving chats:
There are several options available within preferences for the chat window.
The chat window preferences are in three sections—Display settings, Typing area, and Set notification for new chats (also listed in the main list of preferences).
The following is a screenshot of the available display settings; we can choose to select all of the available options or just ones relevant to us:
Tip
Tabbed windows tip:
The tabbed windows option is excellent for reducing the number of windows we have open on our computer as, at times, we may be chatting to multiple people. If you select the tabbed window option, Sametime will open only one window but each chat will be separated by a tab that can be shown vertically or horizontally. The following is a graphic where the preferences have been set to tab horizontally.
Under the Typing area option, we can select the direction of text:
The next set of options for the chat window are warning options, useful in situations such as when the person we want to chat with is away or in a meeting, and so on. We can also select how to close the chat window and what happens when we press the Enter key. We will review the Set notification style for new chats option in the next section.
People like to be notified of chats in different ways—for example, you may like the chat window to come to the front of your computer screen, others like the chat window to flash in the task bar, while a few may just want a sound to play. The following screenshot shows the options available for a new chat. Make sure we go into Sametime preferences to set up our preference by selecting File | Preferences | Sametime | Notifications. We can also access this area from File | Preferences | Sametime | Chat Window and then select Set notification style for new chats at the bottom of the dialog box.
In the Event area, we can see the different events for being notified and we can select each option. We can then select a sound and any other preferences that are available.
For example when we select the One-on-one chat, we can see the following options:
