Blog

The release of the Project Server 2007 Cumulative Update for October 2012 appears to have a problem with the digital signing of one of the files and the installation will fail.  This issue affects both the Project Server 2007 – Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp-x-none.msp; Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): October 30, 2012 – KB 2687536, and also the SharePoint Server roll-up package – SharePoint Server 2007 cumulative update server hotfix package (MOSS server-package): October 30, 2012 KB 2687533.  It also affects both the x86 and x64 versions.  This DOES NOT affect the individual SharePoint Server 2007 CU – KB 2760381, or the WSS 3.0 CU KB 2687535 – so if you need to update WSS or SharePoint Server then these packages can be used – but this will still leave Project Server un-patched. Thanks to Stéphane Deschênes of gp3 in Quebec City for bringing this to my attention. The problem file is the DATAEDIT.dll (assembly dataedit.dll.x64 or dataedit.dll.x86) and the message you will get will be “The installation of this package failed”: The KB in the title bar will be either the Project Server one here Hotfix for Office (KB2687536) – or Hotfix for Office (KB2687533) if you are trying to load the SharePoint Server roll-up. In the Application event log you will see two Error events, 11937 and 1023 both with a source of MsiInstaller.  The text will be: Log Name:      Application Source:        MsiInstaller Date:          11/14/2012 8:33:32 AM Event ID:      11937 Task Category: None Level:         Error Keywords:      Classic User:          DOMAINUser Computer:      Description: Product: Microsoft Office Project Server Application Server — Error 1937. An error occurred during the installation of assembly ‘DataEdit,fileVersion=”12.0.6668.5000″,version=”12.0.0.0000000″,culture=”neutral”,publicKeyToken=”71E9BCE111E9429C”,processorArchitecture=”MSIL”‘. The signature or catalog could not be verified or is not valid. HRESULT: 0x80131045. assembly interface: IAssemblyCacheItem, function: Commit, component: {AD9A0847-F41E-41F3-9B3C-CA9952D6D7E2} Log Name:      Application Source:        MsiInstaller Date:          11/14/2012 8:33:34 AM Event ID:      1023 Task Category: None Level:         Error Keywords:      Classic User:          REDMONDbrismith Computer:      BriSmith2007.redmond.corp.microsoft.com Description: Product: Microsoft Office Project Server Application Server – Update ‘Hotfix for Office (KB2687533)’ could not be installed. Error code 1603. Additional information is available in the log file C:Users AppDataLocalTemppjsrvapp-x-none_MSPLOG.LOG. The log file mentioned in the second event will give more information – the key piece will be the following: …. MSI (s) (3C:88) [08:40:11:480]: Assembly Error:Strong name signature verification failed for assembly ‘%1’.  The assembly may have been tampered with, or it was delay signed but not fully signed with the correct private key. MSI (s) (3C:88) [08:40:11:480]: Note: 1: 1937 2: {AD9A0847-F41E-41F3-9B3C-CA9952D6D7E2} 3: 0x80131045 4: IAssemblyCacheItem 5: Commit 6: DataEdit,fileVersion=”12.0.6668.5000″,version=”12.0.0.0000000″,culture=”neutral”,publicKeyToken=”71E9BCE111E9429C”,processorArchitecture=”MSIL” MSI (s) (3C:88) [08:40:11:480]: Note: 1: 2205 2:  3: Error MSI (s) (3C:88) [08:40:11:480]: Note: 1: 2228 2:  3: Error 4: SELECT `Message` FROM `Error` WHERE `Error` = 1937 Error 1937. An error occurred during the installation of assembly ‘DataEdit,fileVersion=”12.0.6668.5000″,version=”12.0.0.0000000″,culture=”neutral”,publicKeyToken=”71E9BCE111E9429C”,processorArchitecture=”MSIL”‘. The signature or catalog could not be verified or is not valid. HRESULT: 0x80131045. assembly interface: IAssemblyCacheItem, function: Commit, component: {AD9A0847-F41E-41F3-9B3C-CA9952D6D7E2} …. At this time I don’t have any details of when the packages will be rebuilt – I will update this posting as soon as I have more information.

When: Monday, December 10, 2012 at 9:30 AM – Friday, December 14, 2012 at 5:00 PM (GMT) Where: Technology House 1 Shottery Brook Office Park Timothy’s Bridge Road CV37 9NR Stratford Upon Avon United Kingdom Hosted By: Technology Associates Technology Associates is one of the leading IT solutions companies specialising in Microsoft Project and Enterprise Project Management Solutions. Since 1990, Technology Associates have provided deployment, consultancy, development and training services to more than 500 organisations including some of the world’s leading companies, and we have an international presence in countries in EMEA, USA, and APAC.     Technology Associates have deployed hundreds of EPM solutions and deployed more than 2,000 Microsoft Project solutions. The company holds Microsoft Gold Competencies in Project & Portfolio Management, Application Integration and as an ISV, along with eight other silver competencies. With such a stong technical tour-de-force we have built a solid reputation for delivering high quality services and solutions, and providing exceptional value for money. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, with Offices in New York, San Francisco, India and Barcelona, and a strategic partner network covering AsiaPac, Middle East and ROW, we work internationally in delivering IT solutions to our customer base in over 39 countries. Find out more at www.techassoc.com Follow us on Twitter – https://www.twitter.com /TechAssoc   Register for this event now at: https://talmanagingps2010101212-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: Course Description The goal of this five-day instructor-led course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively plan, deploy and manage Microsoft Project Server 2010. Target Audience This course is intended for Administrators, Systems Engineers, PMO Managers, Project Managers, Consultants and other people responsible for the deployment and management of a Microsoft EPM Solution using Project Server 2010 in medium to very large computing environments that use the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 operating system. Typical environments in which they work have the following characteristics: Supported users ranging from 50 to 2,000+ Multiple physical locations Typical products and technologies include Windows Server 2008, Active Directory, Network Internet Information Services (IIS), Load Balancing, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Analysis Services, Failover Clustering, Microsoft Exchange 2007, Microsoft SharePoint Technologies, Microsoft Project Server 2010, Microsoft Office Project Professional 2010, Microsoft Office Outlook 2010, Office Web components, messaging and collaboration platforms, and network security products and technologies. Pre-requisites: Students should have a working knowledge of the following: Microsoft Windows Server 2003/2008 networking. Microsoft Office Project Professional. Basic project management concepts. Course Outline:        Module 1: Planning to Deploy Project Server 2010 Module 2: Installing and Configuring Prerequisites Module 3: Deploying SharePoint and Project Server 2010 Module 4: Configuring Project Server 2010 Module 5: Configuring Project Server Clients Module 6: Defining Project Server Settings Module 7: Managing Project Server Security Module 8: Managing Time and Task Management Settings Module 9: Customizing Project Workspaces Module 10: Administrating Project Server Tasks Module 11: Configuring Demand Management and Portfolio Analysis Module 12: Configuring Project Server Business Intelligence Module 13: Backing up and Restoring Project Server 2010 Module 14: Upgrading and Migrating to Project Server 2010

There appears to be an error currently on our TechNet documentation at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee662106.aspx indicating that the version of the Analysis Management Objects required when building an OLAP cube from Project Server 2013 depends on the version of SQL Server you have running Analysis Services.  In fact it does not – and like previous versions of Project Server we actually require a specific version that our code talks to – regardless of which version it will actually be building the cube on.  For Project Server 2013 we require the ‘10.xx’ release so anything from RTM SQL Server 2008 Analysis Management Objects – version 10.0.1600.60 through to the SP2 of the SQL Server 2008 R2 10.50.4000.0 will work.  The only one that does not work in my testing is the SQL Server 2012 version. If you have the 2012 version, or if you haven’t loaded any Analysis Management Objects then you will see the following error when trying to build a cube.   [11/12/2012 10:17 AM] Failed to build the OLAP cubes. Error: The attempt to build the OLAP database on server BriSmithSQL failed, the SQL Server Analysis Services Analysis Management Objects (AMO) client software may not be installed on this server, please install/update the client on this server and retry. The underlying exception was: Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.AnalysisServices, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=89845dcd8080cc91’ or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. The SLQ Server 2008 R2 SP2 version is the most recent and can be found in the feature pack at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30440 and you are looking for SQLSERVER2008_ASOLEDB10_amd64.msi (which is the x64 version).  Direct download link is here . I haven’t tried building a cube against a SQL Server 2008 instance – that may need to use the earlier SQL Server 2008 feature pack – most recent is SP2 if you find the R2 version above doesn’t work. For those still having a hard time finding where we have hidden the cube building option (I admit it – it took me a while…) can find it either by going to Central Administration, Manage Service Applications, Project Server Service Application (or whatever you have called yours) and then use the drop down for the specific PWA site you are interested in and click Manage which will take you to the following page – and OLAP Database Management is the link you need: Or Central Administration, General Application Settings, and click Manage under the PWA Settings header. If you go this root you may need to change the PWA site in the upper right hand corner. And if you are using the preview of Project Online (or you are reading this after the full release) and can’t find the link to OLAP cubes it is because that feature isn’t available in the online version.

The Project 2013 SDK download is updated for the RTM release of Project 2013. In addition to articles, references, and code samples that are updated from the July release of Project 2013 Preview, the SDK also includes a local copy of VBA Help for Project Standard and Project Professional. You can install the downloaded Project2013SDK.msi file on computers that are running Windows 8, Windows 7 (and a couple of earlier Windows releases), Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012. When you install the SDK on a Windows 7 machine, the SDK contents are accessible from the Start menu. Figure 1 shows, for example, that the Microsoft SDKs folder contains the Project 2013 SDK folder, which contains links to three files. From the hierarchical context of the Start menu, it is clear that the Documentation node is contained in the Project 2013 SDK folder. Similarly, if you install the SharePoint 2013 SDK download and the Apps for Office and SharePoint SDK download , they each create a folder in Microsoft SDKs , and each SDK has a Documentation node within its folder. Figure 1. Using the Project 2013 SDK from the Windows 7 Start menu The problem Windows 8 does not have a Start menu, it has two related Start screens. After you install the Project 2013 SDK download, and scroll the main Start screen to the links for the installed files, you can see the same three links as in Windows 7. (To see the Welcome Guide on the Start screen, you can search for Welcome.rtf , open it in Internet Explorer, and then pin Welcome Guide to the Start screen.) But , the Start screen in Windows 8 is not arranged in hierarchical folders. In Figure 2, it is not clear what the Documentation link is for. Figure 2. Using the Documentation link to the Project 2013 SDK, on the Windows 8 Start screen The problem is worse if you also install the SharePoint 2013 SDK and the Apps for Office and SharePoint 2013 SDK. You would then have three Documentation links and three Welcome Guide links, each of which goes to a different SDK. If you right-click one of the Start screen icons, the icon shows a check mark, and the Start screen shows options at the bottom (see Figure 2). If you choose All apps at the bottom right of the screen, Windows 8 shows lists of installed apps within top-level groups. For example, the Microsoft SDKs group contains links for all of the Office, Project, and SharePoint SDKs that you install; there are no subfolders to distinguish which links go to which SDK. In Figure 3, only the Project 2013 SDK is installed, and the links have the same names as in Figure 2. Figure 3. Using the Project 2013 SDK links in the Apps view, in Windows 8 The workaround (for now) On a machine with Windows 8, you can install one SDK at a time, and then rename the links on the Start screen, before installing another SDK. To install Office, Project, and SharePoint SDKs on Windows 8 Log on to Windows 8 as an administrator. Install, for example, the Project 2013 SDK. On the Start screen, right-click the Documentation icon, and then choose Open file location at the bottom of the screen. On the Windows Desktop, rename the Documentation link as Project 2013 SDK Documentation , and then choose Continue in the File Access Denied dialog box (see Figure 4). Figure 4. Renaming the Project 2013 SDK links in the Desktop view Similarly, rename the VBA Reference link as Project 2013 VBA Reference , and rename the Welcome Guide link as Project 2013 Welcome Guide . With the mouse pointer in the lower-left corner of the screen, choose the Start pop-up icon, and then scroll to the Project 2013 SDK icons (see Figure 5). Figure 5. Using the renamed links in the Start view Install the Apps for Office and SharePoint 2013 SDK, and similarly rename the Start screen links. Install the SharePoint 2013 SDK, and similarly rename the Start screen links. Figure 6 shows the Microsoft SDKs group with the renamed links in the All apps view. Figure 6. Using the renamed links for all three SDKs in the All apps view In future releases, the Office, SharePoint, and Project SDK downloads will be reconfigured so that they install with non-conflicting link names on Windows 8.  

Audience: Office 365 for professionals and small businesses Office 365 for enterprises   Lync and Learn is an online session led by Office 365 Product Managers and Community  Grid members .  Lync and Learn sessions address different Office 365 subjects and scenarios and is beneficial to anyone who wants to learn more and expand their knowledge of the Office 365 suite. View past Lync and Learn sessions  here .        Many users move to Office 365 for its convenience and reliability of email. But Office 365 comes packaged with other products that can help greatly increase anyone’s productivity and collaboration.  One of the most powerful Office 365 tools is SharePoint Online. Some users may not  be aware of the potential of SharePoint Online, or may want to brush up on some SharePoint best practices. If this sounds like you, then be sure to join our next  Lync and Learn Session . Join  John Ventry  for an informative session detailing what SharePoint Online is and how it can instantly improve productivity and collaboration for you and your organization.   John Ventry  is a 17 year technology professional, currently working as an Office 365 and SharePoint consultant for St. Charles Consulting Group. John works with clients on developing SharePoint solutions, creating mobility strategies around SharePoint and Office 365, SharePoint migration strategies and Office 365 administration.   To join this webcast please join us on  Thursday November 15 th , at 10:00 AM Pacific Time  and  see the Lync information below.  Download and save the calendar invite  on this blog post. We are excited to see you there!  Interested in being our next Lync and Learn presenter?  Learn how to join the Office 365 Grid  and become an Office 365 Lync and Learn presenter. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————— Presenter:  John Ventry , Office365/SharePoint Consultant for St. Charles Consulting Group, and  Office 365 Grid member . Date/Time: Thursday May 15 th , at 10:00 AM Pacific Time . (1 Hour presentation) Live Meeting Information: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Join online meeting https://join.microsoft.com/meet/v-joshto/F00T8BQY Join by Phone  +14257063500         +18883203585           Find a local number   Conference ID: 27579341     Forgot your dial-in PIN?   |    First online meeting?      [1033])!] ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Audience: Live@edu; Office 365 for education Editor’s Note: Please be sure that the contact information for your institution is up to date to be alerted to key Live@edu to Office 365 upgrade information. Sign in to the Service Management Portal (SMP)  and update the critical notification field with all updated contacts for your institution.  The upgrade to Office 365 for education is happening! By September 2013, all Live@edu customers will need to complete the upgrade to Office 365 for education. Microsoft will start scheduling more academic institutions for the upgrade soon, but you don’t have to wait. Sign in to SMP  and see if your institution is ready to upgrade, or contact Live@edu  support to initiate the upgrade.   Get started today. Download the upgrade planning worksheet and start planning. The Office 365 upgrade builds on your existing Live@edu deployment, and we provide the tools and guidance at each stage—including the new upgrade planning worksheet . You can use this tool to track the tasks required before, during, and after the upgrade.   To get started Download the upgrade planning worksheet and start by selecting the scenarios that apply to your Live@edu deployment. Prepare for the upgrade. Visit the upgrade center to better understand each step in the upgrade process. Start the upgrade to Office 365. Remember, after the upgrade your domain will be subscribed to Exchange Online Plan 1 automatically – which is free. You can then change your subscription to any of the Office 365 academic plans to give your students, faculty, and staff access to more services. Check out all the Office 365 academic plans .   Live@edu administrative changes coming December 2012 While Live@edu accounts are being prepared for the upgrade to Office 365, a few administrative features will not be available beginning December 3, 2012 until your institution’s upgrade to Office 365 for education is complete:  Add or remove accepted domains to your institution subscription. Change your institution mailing address and phone number within the SMP. Modify co-branding. Note Co-branding is not supported in Office 365 for Exchange Online. If you need to take any of these actions, consider doing so prior to December 3 . Once your institution completes the upgrade, you’ll be able to make these changes on Office 365.   Regards, The Live@edu to Office 365 team

We have some guidance out on TechNet about the recommended settings for SQL Server for our various versions – so for example we recommend for 2010 at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee662107.aspx that you set AUTO_CLOSE to OFF, and AUTO_UPDATE_STATISTICS_ASYNC to ON.  But we don’t always make a show of telling you what NOT to change.  A good guide is to leave things at the default settings unless we recommend otherwise.  For example, in 2013 we don’t recommend the UPDATE_STATISTICS settings because we, like SharePoint in 2010 and 2013, now have a timer job for that purpose. One good example of this was a case I worked today with my colleague Vikram.  The customer had an issue connecting from Project Professional to PWA – the error was “The following job failed to complete.  Job Type: Load, Error ID: 42(0x2A), Error Description: An internal error occurred.  My apologies if you are reading this having searched for that error – it has many causes and this one is probably way down the list of likely ones…It usually means it couldn’t get the enterprise global from the database.   In this case we could reproduce the issue with the customer’s database, and soon found the SQL error that was being thrown (The ‘More Info’ button in the dialog, the ULS logs and SQL Profiler helped here)  – “Arithmetic overflow error converting numeric to data type numeric” as a result of executing the stored procedure MSP_WINPROJ_READ_ENTERPRISE_CUSTOM_FIELDS, which also has an set of GUIDs passed in that represent the custom fields of interest.  However, all the data looked OK, and it even gave the same error with a NULL parameter indicating no custom fields.  After trying a few things it was obvious from debugging the stored procedure that it had some issue with the eglobal version number – which should have been ‘14’ but was showing blank. The value in the database being queried was just fine – 14.1461140000, the same as on a working system I was comparing with.  But it got me thinking – it turns 14.1461140000 into 14 – I wonder if some DB options would make that give an arithmetic overflow?  Sure enough – the database had an option set to True for Numeric Round-Abort – so this implicit cast was being aborted. I thought I’d also look to see how 2013 behaved with this wrong setting – and as I expected it also failed, but with a slightly different (but no more helpful) error on the client side (please click the link if you too see a message that you feel could be more helpful – I did…) – though to be fair the failure is slightly different just caused by the same root cause. But at the back end it is very much more helpful!  In the ULS logs I saw: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException (0x80131904): Error 1934, Level 16, State 1, Procedure MSP_UPDATE_USER_ACTIVITY, Line 14, Message: UPDATE failed because the following SET options have incorrect settings: ‘NUMERIC_ROUNDABORT’. Verify that SET options are correct for use with indexed views and/or indexes on computed columns and/or filtered indexes and/or query notifications and/or XML data type methods and/or spatial index operations.  This is a great example of the improvements to logging we now have in 2013 to try and ensure that the log will give us the full answer – rather than just being a clue as to where we should go and look next.

In Project Server 2010, Project developers were able to create Project Workflows using Visual Studio 2010. In Project Server 2013, we enabled creating the workflows with SharePoint Designer , which makes it much easier and faster to create Project Workflows. In that blog post , we showed how we have simplified the workflow creation for Project using SharePoint Designer 2013. We are, however, still supporting creating Project Workflows with Visual Studio for the more complex set of workflows, and in fact, have also made it easier to create Project Workflows with Visual Studio 2012. Below, we are going to use a sample two-stage workflow to show how you can create workflows with Visual Studio 2012: 1. Creating the Workflow solution: File Menu> New> Project> Office/SharePoint> SharePoint solutions > SharePoint 2013 Project. Give this project a name, and hit OK: In the customization wizard, enter the address of the PWA web you’d like this workflow to be published to. Then, pick the sandboxed solution option to limit this workflow to this particular PWA web: 2. At this point, the project you’ll see the empty canvas. In the Project Menu, click on the Add New Item, and from the Office/SharePoint tab, select Workflow, enter a name, and hit Add: Then, in the customization wizard, pick Site workflow: Then, pick the history list and the workflow tasks list from that site. We recommend that you use the default lists since a number of PWA UI entry points, use these default lists. Then, hit Finish: 3. Now, we need to set up the environment to use the Project Server activities. In the toolbox, right click and click on “add tab”, and call the new tab “project server”: Then, right click on the “project server” tab and click on “choose items” from the menu, and you’ll see this dialog: In the dialog click on Browse, and navigate to where the workflow dlls are located. They are usually located in C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft SharedWeb Server Extensions15TEMPLATEWorkflowActivities You’ll see two activities dll there. Open the project server one (Microsoft.Office.Project.Server.WorkflowActivities.dll), and hit OK. You are now taken back to the “toolbox items” dialog, and highlights the selected corresponding activities. Hit OK to continue. 4. You might see a “sequence” in the canvas. Delete that, and from the toolbox, pick Flowchart and add it by dragging it into the main area. This flowchart will be the main container of all the stages of the workflow: In the toolbox, click on Control flow, and add the sequence inside that flowchart. Throughout this sample workflow, we will use sequence to represent workflow stages in Visual Studio. This is similar to how SharePoint Designer handles each stage, i.e. each stage is equivalent to a separate sequence in Visual Studio: Rename the sequence to “Create_Stage” by clicking on the “Sequence” and start typing to change the name. Drag the line from start to “Create_Stage” to connect them together:   5. Double click on the “Create_Stage” to drill into this sequence a. Under project server in toolbox, add the “EnterProjectStage” and “ExitProjectStageGate” activities to the sequence. These two activities are required in any of the PWA stages in Visual Studio. b. In the properties of “EnterProjectStage”, change the StageID to the Stage ID of the particular stage you’d want this sequence to represent. You can find the stage ID in the URL of that stage, and is available if you navigate to that stage in PWA Settings > Workflow Stages, and then click on the particular stage. Since stageID is a string, the ID should be provided in quotation marks. c. Put another sequence between “EnterProjectStage” and “ExitProjectStageGate”. Essentially, everything in this sequence is what is represented in the text-based designer in SharePoint Designer stage definition. d. From project server item in the toolbox, drop the “waitForProjEvent” activity in that sequence: e. Change the EventName property to “OnProjectSubmit”. The other supported Event Names are “OnProjectCommit” and “OnProjectCheckIn” 6. In the breadcrumb, click on Flowchart to go one level up. Add another sequence after Create_Stage and call it Finished_Stage, and connect the wire from Create_Stage to the Finished_Stage: 7. Similar to the Create_Stage, add the EnterProectStage and ExitProjectStageGate activities to the sequence as well as the WaitForProjectEvent activity in the middle, and set the properties accordingly:     8. This completes building the workflow in Visual Studio. However, in order to make sure that the workflow can be properly published to the PWA, we need to make a few more changes in the xaml files of the project: From solution explorer, pick “Elements.xaml” under the workflow node a. Replace the WSEventSourceGUID with the following so that the workflow is correctly identifies as a project workflow: b. Inject the following properties under the “Url = WorkflowStartAssociation”:                         9. Now that everything is set, and the workflow is ready for publishing, click on the “Build Solution” under the Build menu, and then click on the “Deploy Solution” under the Build menu. The wsp file is now deployed to the site. You can also find a copy of the wsp file in the file system, under [project name]> bin> debug Now, the workflow will show up in PWA. If you navigate to PWA Settings > Enterprise Project Types, and create a new Enterprise Project Type, you will see this workflow as one of the options in the workflow dropdown list. For more information, see Getting started developing Project Server 2013 workflows in the Project 2013 SDK.

Using Lync and OneNote, an Office 365 user can take notes during a Lync Meeting. In addition, other meeting participants can see and add to these notes during the meeting. Users can also take private notes and, if the user also has Outlook, he or she can include notes in the meeting request, allowing users to preview them, add their own notes, and prepare for the meeting accordingly.   Author : Alexandra Lise Publication date : November 6, 2012 Product version : Lync Online   Lync’s sharing feature gives Office 365 users with OneNote a way to share notes with colleagues in different locations during an ad hoc (IM, audio, and/or video) conversation or a scheduled Lync Meeting. Collaboration features allow others to contribute to the notes. And, with Outlook and OneNote, Lync Online users can send out notes in a meeting request for attendees to preview. Guidance First, help Lync Online users set up a sharing session , by pointing them to the following topics: Set up a Lync Meeting Explains how to schedule an online meeting by using Outlook or Lync Web Scheduler. Start an impromptu Lync Meeting Explains how to invite one person or a group of people into a Lync IM conversation and add audio and/or video. Next, teach users to add notes to a meeting request and/or Lync Meeting by following the steps at Use shared and private notes in a Lync Meeting . Finally, make sure users know how to let others edit the notes and also how to save notes from Lync. Edit notes together To give control to another person, on the sharing bar at the top of your meeting window, click Give Control , and then either click an individual attendee or click Give Control Automatically to grant control to anyone who requests it during the sharing session. Take back control at any time by clicking Give Control again, and then clicking the either the name of the person who has control or Give Control Automatically if it’s selected. Save notes To save notes during a Lync sharing session, pause on the presentation (monitor) icon, click the Manage Presentable Content button, click More , and then select the saving option. Lync’s sharing and collaboration tools combine with OneNote’s ability to keep track of information by giving Office 365 users with both programs a way to share notes during sharing sessions with large and small audiences, remote users, and in scheduled or impromptu settings and to work with colleagues to capture evolving ideas and to collect information from different experts. Additional Resources To learn more, check out the following articles: Download the Lync 2013 for Office 365 Sharing and Collaboration Quick Reference Introduction to the Lync Meeting Window Check the Lync 2013 for Office 365 Help at office.com for related training and videos, coming soon. Keywords: Lync Meeting, OneNote, notes, sharing

Using Lync and PowerPoint, an Office 365 user can give PowerPoint presentations, record them, and work collaboratively on PowerPoint slides during a Lync Meeting with as many as 249 other people. This article describes how to use this feature.   Author : Alexandra Lise Publication date : November 6, 2012 Product version : Lync Online   Lync’s sharing feature gives Office 365 users a way to share PowerPoint presentations with colleagues in different locations. Users can present information from slides or take advantage of Lync’s collaboration features and work together on a presentation to be delivered later. Collaboration features enable users to give control to other users while the annotation tools help groups focus on certain parts of a presentation. Sharing sessions can be done ad hoc or during a scheduled Lync Meeting. Getting Started To help Lync Online users set up a sharing session , point them to the following topics:   Set up a Lync Meeting — explains how to schedule an online meeting by using Outlook or Lync Web Scheduler . TIP: To be able to set up Lync Meetings users must be enabled for dial-in conferencing. For details, see Configure Dial-in Conferencing .   Start an impromptu Lync Meeting — explains how to invite one person or a group of people to join a Lync IM conversation and add audio and/or video. Presenting and Recording To give a presentation 1. In a meeting or conversation window, pause on the presentation (monitor) icon, and then click PowerPoint . Figure 1. Selecting PowerPoint in the meeting window. 2. Options: To move the slides, use either the arrows at the bottom of the meeting window or click Thumbnails , and then click the slide you want to show To see your presenter notes, click Notes . To use the laser pointer, highlights, shapes, the eraser, pen, text changer, and other annotation tools, on the upper-right side of the slide, click the Annotations button — then click the type of annotation you want to use. Note : annotating doesn’t change the actual file, although, if you want to, you can save an annotated copy. To prevent someone from skipping ahead or using annotations, in the meeting window, click More Options , click Lync Meeting Options , and then select the permissions level for the participant(s). To record a presentation 1. In the meeting or conversation window, click More Options , and then click Start Recording Figure 2. Figure 2. Starting recording. 2. (Optional) Use the controls at the bottom of the window to pause and resume recording. 3. When finished, click the Stop Recording button. Lync automatically saves the recording in a format that plays in Windows Media Player and Zune. Figure 3. Stopped recording notification. To manage a presentation To prevent people from downloading the presentation, during a sharing session, hover over presentation (monitor) icon, click the Manage Presentable Content button, and then click the Permissions menu and the appropriate option. To prevent people from annotating or skipping ahead, in the meeting window, click Meeting Options , click Lync Meeting options , and then select the appropriate permissions. To save someone else’s presentation or an annotated copy, during a sharing session, pause on the presentation (monitor) icon, click the Manage Presentable Content button, click More , and then select the saving option. To edit a presentation together To give control to another person, click Give Control on the sharing bar at the top of your meeting window. Then either click an individual attendee or click Give Control Automatically to grant control to anyone who requests it during the sharing session. To take back control at any time click the Give Control again, then click either the name of the person who has control or Give Control Automatically if it’s selected. Lync’s sharing and collaboration tools, combined with PowerPoint’s ability to organize and feature important information, give Office 365 users an effective way to present information to remote users in large and small audiences, It also enables users to work with colleagues— in scheduled or impromptu sessions— to develop, refine and style presentation content. Additional Resources To learn more, check out the following articles: Lync 2013 for Office 365 Sharing and Collaboration Quick Reference Record and Playback a Lync Meeting Introduction to the Lync Meeting Window   Keywords : Lync Meeting, PowerPoint, present, annotations