With the Conferencing Add-in for Outlook, you can schedule a conference call and join the call by using Office Communicator.

The dial-in feature is a new audio option for conferences hosted on Office Communications Server 2007 R2. Users without access to a computer who want to join an audio conference can now call into the conference using a regular mobile, desk, or home phone. When scheduling an audio conference, the organizer can add a conference call number to the conference. Invitees can use any phone to dial into the conference and participate in the audio portion of the conference.

The dial-in audio conferencing option is provided by the Conferencing Attendant application, which is a new feature in Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

Creating Conferences with the Dial-in Feature

The option to include the dial-in feature is available in the Conferencing Add-In for Outlook. When using Outlook to schedule an audio conference, the organizer can use the Audio Optionspage to select the dial-in option.

In the conference audio options, the organizer can select between the following two types of dial-in audio connections:

  • Use my assigned conference ID for each conference. Office Communications Server reserves a conference space for each user. Users have their own conference ID that they can use for any conference they organize. This option is useful if you want to remember just one conference ID for all your conferences.

  • Use a new conference ID for each conference. Office Communications Server assigns a unique conference ID.

Depending on the organization’s policies, the organizer can also decide whether to require participants to use a passcode to join the audio conference.

Using the Dial-in Feature to Join a Conference

The invitation e-mail contains the telephone audio numbers that participants can use to access a conference. The invitation also contains the conference ID and participant passcode, if required.

The participant uses any phone to dial into the conference and enter the conference ID and passcode, if required. After the participant joins the audio conference, the participant appears in the conference roster. Participants can view the conference dial-in number, conference ID, and passcode in the conference window.

If you are the Leader or you need to join a conference with restricted access, you need to configure your Dial-in Conferencing Settings and create a personal identification number (PIN).