Connect 2013 Tip #4 Connections Goodies

This is a natural presumption, but you know some of you out there just can't wait for your IT team to set you up sometimes. I am not advocating you should go around them and if your environment is that locked down, sorry, but for everyone else...

So I am going to remind everyone about the FREE and (mostly) client side benefits you have that can be installed to help you get the most out of your IBM Connections services. All of these are at the Greenhouse Catalog. But some have been updated, you do know you should update the widgets if you haven't recently? Right? Hopefully we will see some new ones during or after Connect 2013.

1) Lotus Notes Widgets covers:

• Status Updates
• Files
• Activities
• Business Card

2) Desktop Plugin for Windows covers:

• Upload local files to IBM Connections from Windows Explorer or from your desktop
• Share uploaded files with people, communities, or folders in IBM Connections
• Work on files locally and publish them to IBM Connections
• View people's contact details and get in touch with them
• Pin, follow, or like IBM Connections files and folders
• View or contribute comments for a file
• NEW Lock a file when you are editing it to prevent file conflicts
• NEW View and restore files from IBM Connections Trash
• NEW Share folders with IBM Connections Communities

Here is a video of it in action:

3) Sametime Widget covers (and works for 4.0):

• NEW: SPNEGO support (using Sametime 8.5.2 IFR1)
• NEW: Support for Catalan, Kazakh, Thai languages
• Save chat transcripts into a Connections activity or a community forum.
• Business Card federates data from various sources such as the Connections Profiles, Sametime buddy list, and the Lotus Notes Directory. Links to the Connections applications are available as well as profile contact information.

The IBM Connections 3.0.1.1 Plug-in for IBM Sametime supports:

• IBM Connections 3.0.1.1
• IBM Lotus Sametime 8.5.1 standalone clients (Standard, Advanced, and Sametime Unified Telephony)
• IBM Sametime 8.5.2 IFR1 standalone clients (Standard, Advanced, and Sametime Unified Telephony)

4) Quickr Widget covers both Quickr for Domino and J2EE (I have not tested it, possibly needs server side help):
With the IBM® Connections Connector for Lotus® Quickr™, you can create associated Lotus Quickr team places for IBM Connections communities. A Lotus Quickr team place provides a central location from which a team can organize, share files, and collaborate on documents. Every IBM Connections community owner can optionally choose to create an associated Lotus Quickr team place. Updates made in the Lotus Quickr team place are aggregated in the community overview page, making it easier to stay current with projects and work collaboratively. Access control and membership of the Lotus Quickr place is determined by the often fluctuating IBM Connections community membership; it does not need to be managed separately. This version of the connector supports integration of Communities in IBM Connections 4.0 with Lotus Quickr 8.5.1 for WebSphere® Portal, or Lotus Quickr 8.5.1 for Lotus® Domino® 8.5.

4A) Quickr J2EE Library for Connections in case you need it too (I have not tested it, possibly needs server side help).

5) Firefox Connections Toolbar which I really like, when using Firefox and covers:
The IBM Connections toolbar for Firefox facilitates searching and using IBM Connections directly from the toolbar without the need to navigate or search the IBM Connections UI. The toolbar supports IBM Connections 3.0 to 4.0

6) Widget for Sharepoint covers:

• NEW: Support for Catalan, Kazakh, Thai languages
• Add the widget for Connections community owners to setup and customize
• Easily add documents from Microsoft SharePoint Sites to your communities
• View and edit Folders and Document properties
• Download and Check Out documents for editing then upload to share changes with the community

The IBM Connections 3.0.1.1 Widget for Microsoft SharePoint supports:

• IBM Connections 4.0
• IBM Connections 3.0.1.1
• IBM Connections 3.0.1
• IBM Lotus Connections 3.0
• Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Standard
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
• Microsoft Windows 2008 Server Enterprise
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server Enterprise

 There you go 6 widgets to help you get the most out of your Connections installation and all for FREE!

See you at Connect!