Skip to main content

Jabber Instant Messaging, Chat and Presence

Instant messaging, chat and presence are available in Cisco Jabber to everyone with the application on a district or college computer, including employees who chose a desk phone instead of a soft phone. You do not need a software-based phone to use chat.

Do I already have Jabber?

If you chose a software-based phone, or received a district computer after July 2017, Jabber should already be installed. Look for the Cisco Jabber icon on your desktop or in your applications list.

If it isn't installed, submit an ETS Request for Help at helpdesk.fhda.edu. ETS provides the installer link with your request. If you run into problems during installation, contact the ETS Call Center at (408) 864-8324.

Signing in

  1. Launch Cisco Jabber.
  2. The first time, type your CWID followed by @fhda.edu in the User ID field. Accept any certificate prompts.
  3. Type your MyPortal password.
  4. Optionally check Automatic sign-in.
  5. Click Sign In.

After the first sign-in, type only your CWID — no @fhda.edu.

Presence

Presence tells colleagues whether you are available for a phone call, a chat, or an office visit. Your status is set at the upper left of the Jabber window.

Important: presence only works between people who both use Jabber, and the other person must add you as a contact to see your status.

What the colors mean

  • Green — available for a call or a chat.
  • Yellow — away. Jabber is running on their computer but they've stepped away or been idle.
  • Red — on the phone, in a meeting, or otherwise unavailable.
  • Grey — Jabber is not running on their computer. They are offline.

Create a custom status

  1. Select the color status you want your custom status to use.
  2. Click on the status text to edit it and type your own wording.

Your custom status is added to the list rather than replacing the default one, so you can build up a set of statuses you reuse — "In class until noon," "At the Foothill campus today," and so on.

Delete a custom status

Select Delete Custom Statuses. Note that there is no way to delete just one — this removes all of your custom statuses at once.

Adding contacts

  1. Click the Contacts icon on the left side of the window.
  2. Go to the Contacts menu at the top and select New Contact…
  3. Begin typing the person's name. Matching names appear — click the right one and the remaining fields fill in automatically.
  4. Click Add.

Your new contact appears in your contacts list with their presence indicator.

Starting a chat

Two ways:

  • Select the person in your contacts list and click the message icon. A chat window opens.
  • Hover over the message icon next to their name and start the chat from the pop-up window.

You can start a chat with someone whose status is Away — a yellow dot still means Jabber is running on their computer, so the message will be waiting for them.

To end a chat session, simply close the window.

What you can do inside a chat

  • Send a screen capture
  • Send a file
  • Change the font and font color
  • Insert an emoticon
  • Add participants to turn it into a group chat
  • Share your screen
  • Show or hide the participant list
  • Start a phone call with the person you're chatting with

Group chat

  1. Go to the File menu and select New Group Chat…
  2. Check the boxes next to people in your contacts list, or type names directly into the People field.
  3. Click Invite at the bottom right.

Placing a desk phone call from Jabber

If you have a desk phone, Jabber can dial for you while you hold the conversation on the desk phone. This is handy for calling someone you've found in the directory without typing their number into the keypad.

  1. Make sure the phone control icon at the bottom of the Jabber window shows the desk phone rather than the computer.
  2. Hover over a contact and click Call, or click the handset icon to the right of their name in the list.
  3. A call window appears in Jabber. The conversation itself takes place on your desk phone, and there is no video.
  4. Click the red handset icon in Jabber to end the call.

Accessibility note

Jabber chat is available to every employee with a district computer, regardless of phone type. For staff who are hard of hearing, this provides a text alternative to phone conversations without any additional request or hardware.

Related articles