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Accent Desktop 2.0 User Guide

Welcome to the Accent Desktop User Guide

The Accent desktop app is in an all-in-one communication tool providing cloud phone system, video meetings, team messaging, file sharing, and more from one interface. The app is available for both Windows and MacOS systems.

This User Guide will help you to get started with the Accent Desktop app and utilize its vast communication and collaboration features. To begin, please click the box below to move to the first section of the guide.

Getting Started

Download & Setup

When your user account is created and enabled, you will receive an email from our systems providing user credentials and details on how to download Accent's apps and sign in, we refer to this email as the "Welcome Email".

Download the Accent desktop app by following the link found in the email or via Accent's downloads page at https://www.accentvoice.com/downloads/. Once installed, provide the app with your username and password as provided in the Welcome Email you received.

After a succesful login, you'll be presented with the app and the Home screen. In the next section we will breakdown the app layout, key elements, and features available to users once successfully logged in.

App Layout & Interface

App Layout

The app layout is pictured below with a detail of the app elements and the available sections of the app.

The navigation toolbar located at the top of the app provides user information and buttons to access the different sections (also referred to as "pages") of the app. These sections include:

Home - The apps home screen providing a synopsis of information and quick access buttons.
Connect - Phone calls, chat, team messaging, and file sharing.
Meetings - Provides access to start/join video meetings.
Calendar - Integrate your Google or Office 365 calendar with the app and join/schedule Meetings.
Downloads - Provides quick access to any files which have been downloaded via the app.
Settings Menu - Main app menu providing access to various app settings and functions.

In addition to the sections detailed above, the navigation bar includes additional buttons/options:

Toggle App Bar - Shows/hides the app bar which contains any web apps the user has added.
Navigation Forward/Back - Allows the user to navigate forward and back throughout the app, similar to how a web browser forward/back navigation occurs.
Refresh - Refreshes the content of page the user is currently accessing.
Notification Tray - Shows/hides the notifications tray.

System Tray Icon

The app will show within your PC or Mac "system tray". A right-click of the tray icon will provide quick access to the following functions:

Show - Show the app on top of other applications
Connect - Open the app with the Connect page in focus.
Meetings - Open the app with the Meetings page in focus.
Calendar - Open the app with the Calendar page in focus.
Quit - Close the app completely

App Updates

Automatic Update Notifications

When a new version of the Accent app is available you will receive a notification of the update's availability within the notification tray. To apply the available update simply click the orange update button and it will be applied automatically. The app will then restart with the most recent version installed.

Home

Home Page

The Home page is designed to give you quick access to commonly used features and critical information, it is the default starting point for the app as well.

The features and information available on the Home page are:

Quick Meeting Start: Allows the user to quickly join their personal meeting room.
Quick Meeting Schedule: Schedule a new meeting via the preferred calendar service.
Invite Contacts: Initiate a video meeting invite to one or more contacts.
Messages: Any pending Connect messages, voicemails, or missed calls.
Today's Events: The upcoming calendar events for the day.
Public Meeting Rooms: Quick access to the available Public Meeting Rooms.

Connect

Connect: Unified Communications

The Connect page is where users can access a variety of unified communication features including phone calls, chat (one-on-one and group chat), file sharing, and more.

The Connect page's features are accessible via the menu presented along the left vertical edge of the application and is viewable when accessing the Connect page. This menu includes direct access to the communication features and elements within the application.

The Connect menu includes:

My Status - Quick access to:
- Presence Status
- Status Description
- Call Forwarding
Favorites - Your curated contacts which have been tagged as favorites.
Chats - Collection of your most recent direct chats and channel chat activity.
Contacts - Personal and company contacts list.
Channels - Group chat and collaboration channels of which you've either created or are a member.
Phone - Integrated telephony features including softphone, call history, and voicemail.
SMS Messages (if applicable) - SMS messages and chats to/from external numbers. Requires enablement by Accent technical support.
Connect Settings - Settings and preferences specific to the unified communication features.

My Status

The My Status window is available by clicking on your profile icon. This window provides quick access to status based options.

The available options within this window include:

Messaging Services Status
- Provides a visual status confirming connection to Accent's cloud messaging services.
Calling Services Status
- Provides a visual status confirming connection to Accent's cloud calling services.
Forward Calls
- Forwards any call received to the phone number you specify. This field requires a 10-digit number, do not enter hyphens or any other characters.
Custom Status Message
- Display a custom status message to other users within the application.
Presence Indicator
- Manually change the presence icon which is displayed to other users.
My Profile
- Access the My Profile page.
Save
- Save any changes you have made.

Favorites

The Favorites section allows you to add users from the section to a curated list available for quick and convenient access. The process to add a user to Favorites is depicted in the images below.

To add Contacts to the Favorites list follow the steps detailed below.

Chats

The Chats list provides a chronological list of your recent chat app activity. This list includes one-to-one direct chats and any channel activity of which you are a member. Clicking on any of the items will open the activity within the Main Content Panel.

The below image shows a Channel chat accessed from the Chats list.

Phone

The Accent app includes an always connected virtual softphone which you may use to make and receive calls in place of your physical desk phone. Calls made with the Connect virtual softphone originate from your extension just as if they were placed from you desk phone.

You may place and receive calls from both your desk phone (if applicable), the Accent Cloud Phone mobile app, and the Connect virtual softphone, all three operate independent of the other.

Dialpad

The Dialpad is the default view displayed upon accessing the Phone section and allows you to make calls to external phone numbers and internal extensions (typically via 3 or 4 digit extension numbers).

Calls to extensions and phone numbers via the Dialpad use your cloud phone system to make calls to physical phones, landline numbers, or mobile phone numbers. Each Accent user has a phone extension (typically 3 or 4 digits) which can be dialed directly from the Dialpad or via the user's Contact card.

Call History

Like the call history in your mobile phone, the Call History in the Accent app allows you to keep track of your calls. For the calls that were recorded you can also listen to the recordings and download the recording files.

Call History Search and Actions

To access your Call History, open the Call History tab from the Phone menu. Like Contacts and Channels, Call History has a search functionality that allows you to search based on names or phone numbers.

When possible, Call History records are automatically linked to Contacts (where Contact may be your personal (Connect contact), Contact from company directory, or a contact found on your device) based on the phone number. If the application finds a matching Contact, this Contact's image and name are shown.

Clicking on a Call History record will open the Call Details page. Clicking on the Actions︙icon offers more actions, such as:

Call places a call to the number associated with the record.
Play/Pause a call recording (if applicable).
Download a call recording (if applicable).
Open a downloaded call recording (on mobile and desktop applications, if applicable).
Profile allows you to access an associated Contact's profile.
Chat starts a chat with associated Contact.
Add to Personal Contacts allows you to create a new Contact for the calls not associated with any Contacts by opening the Add to Active Contacts form with the phone number pre-filled.
Call Details opens the Call Details page for that record.

You can change the default on-click behavior in the Other Settings

You can also change the number of Call History records to be shown in the application. To do this, open Language and Appearance and set the Number of call history records to show as needed.

Listening to and Downloading Call Recordings

If a Call History record has a an associated call recording, you can listen to it using the built-in player or download it.

Call Details Page

To see more detailed information about a Call History record, open the Call Details page from the Actions︙menu or by clicking on a call record.

Currently, only Calls to Extensions and Phone Numbers are listed in Call History. Video Calls use a different mechanism and thus are not included.

Voicemail

Each user has a voicemail box by default and voicemail may be enabled/disabled via the Voicemail Settings menu. All voicemail messages are available for delivery to email and transcription to text within the email. If the user has designated voicemail messages to be delivered via email then the message will be automatically transcribed and the transcription included within the body of the email by default.

Visual Voicemail Interface

The Accent app provides a convenient user interface to manage and interact with voicemail messages. A caller may be directed to voicemail in two cases:‌

A call was rejected explicitly by the user.
A call was not answered after the number of seconds specified in Voicemail Settings.

‌Both scenarios imply the user has enabled Voicemail in their Voicemail Settings.‌

Voicemail is only available for calls placed to your extension or your direct phone number, i.e. not when someone places a video call to you. To customize your Voicemail experience, visit the Voicemail Settings within the app.

Listening to and Downloading Voicemail Messages

Clicking on a voicemail record will open the Voicemail details page for that record. Each voicemail record can be listened to with the built-in player via the details page and/or downloaded. Downloaded files are accessible within the Downloads page.

‌A voicemail's status can be "new" or "read". New messages appear bolded within the list. Once you listen to a voicemail message, it is automatically marked as "read".‌

The options available for while interacting with a voicemail record are:

Play/Pause a voicemail record.
Download a voicemail record.
Call places a call back to the number associated with the record.
Profile shows a Contact profile if the caller is associated with a contact.
Chat starts a Chat if the caller is associated with a Chat capable contact.
Download stores the message to the user's PC or Mac.
Mark as New/Read explicitly marks a voicemail record as new or read.
Delete permanently deletes a voicemail record after the user's confirmation.‌

Voicemail Search and Actions

Voicemail has the same search functionality as Call History, allowing you to find a specific message. The search looks for matches in caller's name and phone number.‌

Each voicemail record is automatically linked to a Contact (which may be a personal, company or device contact) by the phone number. If the application finds a matching contact, the image and name will be shown.

Making & Receiving Phone Calls

Receiving an Inbound Call

When an inbound call is received the call notification will appear and a ringtone will be played simultaneously.

The call notification will provide the call ID information which is available along with options to answer or decline the call:

Answering the call will answer the call to the defined system audio output/input.
Declining the call will send the call to your voicemail.

To mute the audio notification and ringtone when an inbound call is received, please refer to the notifications section of this guide.

Note: Muting the audible ringtone notification is sometimes preferred by users especially when the user has a physical desk phone.

Placing a Phone Call

You can start a call from the Dialpad by entering the destination number which you would like to call and clicking the Dial button to initiate the call.

Once the call has been placed you will see the interface change to reflect an active call in progress.

During a Call (Compact View)

During a phone call the following options are available:

Mute Microphone turns your microphone off. The person on the other side of the call will hear only silence without knowing that you muted your microphone. Once you mute your microphone, the opposite Unmute Microphone button will be displayed.
Hold Call puts the call on hold. After setting a call on hold, you will have the Resume Call button which allows to continue a conversation.
Dialpad opens a window with a Dialpad which allows to send DTMF tones to the current call. This is useful when an IVR menu on the other side asks you to press one button or another.
Transfer call opens the Transfer call window which allows you to transfer the ongoing call to another phone number.

You can expand the view from Compact to Expanded by clicking on the Active Call Window. This will visibly place the call to the right within the Main Content Panel.

During a Call (Expanded View)

During a phone call the following options are available:

Mute Microphone turns your microphone off. The person on the other side of the call will hear only silence without knowing that you muted your microphone. Once you mute your microphone, the opposite Unmute Microphone button will be displayed.
Hold Call puts the call on hold. After setting a call on hold, you will have the Resume Call button which allows to continue a conversation.
Dialpad opens a window with a Dialpad which allows to send DTMF tones to the current call. This is useful when an IVR menu on the other side asks you to press one button or another.
Transfer call opens the Transfer call window which allows you to transfer the ongoing call to another phone number.

Managing Simultaneous Calls

During a call you may place a second call by entering the destination number within the Number Field and clicking the Dial button to initiate the outbound call.

Note: Placing a second call during an active call will place the currently active call on hold automatically.

Once the second call has been placed the app interface will then reflect two Active Calls, the Live Call and the Call on Hold. You may toggle between the two calls using the Hold buttons. Taking the initial call off hold will result in placing the second call on hold.

Merging Calls (3-Way Conference Call)

You may merge two Active Calls using the Merge button, this will create a conference call with all three parties active in the same call. Once the conference call has been created the interface will update to reflect both participants within the same Active Call (pictured below).

During a conference call an option to split the calls will now be available. The Split Calls feature will separate the conference call into two separate calls, placing one party on hold while the other party is active.

Team Communication

The Accent Desktop allows you to chat with team members in a one-on-one and group capacity (Channels). All chats take place within the app and may only include other members of the organization. This section will detail both one-to-one chat conversations and Channels (Team Chat).

Messaging

To access a chat thread and begin messaging, click on a chat-enabled Contact, Channel or a recent message from the Chats menu option. You can send messages and files, launch a video call, use emojis, view message history and perform message search via the messaging and chat interface. The interface and messaging dynamics for one-to-one chats and Channels is almost identical.

Sending and Receiving Messages

Once you open a Chat page, you can type your messages using the input on the bottom of the page.

Once a message is sent you will see it posted to the chat thread.

All chat messages received, posted, or shared files appear in chronological order within the chat stream.

Note: Every time you send or receive a message, it appears on the top of the Chats menu tab. Chats shows the last messages of one-to-one and Channel conversations, so you could easily find your last chat or see the chats with newest messages on top of the list.

When a message is received, you will receive an operating system notification if your PC/Mac settings support OS-based notifications.

Message Actions

Sent Message Actions

Once a message is sent to a user or posted within a Channel, you may take specific actions with that message, those actions include:

Edit Message - Edit the text content of the message
Forward Message - Forward the message to another user
Delete Message - Delete the message from the conversation

Note: You may only edit or delete messages that you have sent or posted, not messages received from other users.

Received Message Actions

Once a message is received from another user or posted by another user within a Channel, you may forward that message to other users through the Message Actions options.

Replying Inline to a Message

Forwarding a Message

To forward a message, simply click on the Forward action, a pop-up box will appear asking you to determine who the message will be forwarded to. Messages may be forwarded to individual users or Channels of which you are a member.

First, select the message destination from the pop-up box then follow the steps below the image.

The message to be forwarded will appear as an attachment within the destination chat, allowing you to add any additional comments along with the forwarded message. Once you've added any additional desired comments, simply press the Enter key or click the Send icon to forward the message and the comments.

Note: Additional comments are not required to forward a message, it is an optional feature.

Insert a Meeting Invite

Inserting a video meeting link within a chat is easy via the right-click menu within the chat entry box. This will allow you to quickly drop a meeting link directly into the chat and send it to a contact or team chat channel.

Personal Meeting Invite

To insert your personal meeting link select the "Insert Personal Meeting Invite" option from the menu.

Channel Meeting Invite

To start a channel meeting and invite a channel to a meeting select the "Start Channel Meeting" option from the menu. This option will insert an invite with a unique meeting name specific to that channel.

Clicking a video meeting link shared within a chat will automatically join the user to the video meeting specified within the link.

Quick Chat Responses

Special Characters and Emojis

All chats support emojis. Text emojis (e.g. ":)" will always be replaced by graphic emojis automatically. You can view the full list of available emojis and insert them into the message by right-clicking within the chat text box and selecting the "Emoji" menu item.

The emoji library will be presented allowing you to insert the appropriate emoji for you conversation.

GIFs

The Accent Desktop app supports the use of animated GIFs within both one-on-one and team chat messaging. GIFs are insertable via right-clicking within the chat text box and selecting the "Insert GIF" menu option.

The GIF search window will open on the right-hand side of the application, allowing you to search an online library of GIFs (provided by Giphy) to insert into the chat stream. To search for a GIF, enter a search term into the GIF search box, circled in the image below. GIF search terms can be vague or specific and based on a variety of topics.

Once you have searched for a term and found an appropriate GIF you can insert that image directly into the chat via the "insert" icon located in the bottom right corner of the respective GIF. Clicking the insert icon will automatically insert the GIF into the chat stream.

Once the GIF is inserted into the chat stream it is viewable by all parties within the chat and able to be manipulated in the same manner as any other chat messages or content.

Search Within Chat

You may search within a one-on-one or channel chat history to find messages or files from within that chat.

Click on the Search icon to reveal the Chat Search Window.
Enter a query to search within the entry form. You may search for messages, files, or webhook messages within the chat.
You may designate optionally within the Chat Search Options to include or exclude messages, files, or webhook messages from your search.

Your search results will be shown within the Chat Search Window. Search results are interactive, simply click on the returned result and that message will be shown within the Main Chat Window.

To send a file to a one-to-one Chat or a Channel, follow these 4 simple steps:

Click on the clip icon on the left part of the Chat Entry Field.
Select the file you want to send from within your local files.
The file will then be processed and uploaded to the chat. Large images and videos are processed to reduce their size before upload.
Files received can be found within the chat thread and are stored locally within the default Documents folder of the device. Any file received and downloaded will also be found within the My Files menu.

Note: File sharing is limited to a maximum file size of 20MB.

Note: You can also send a file by dragging and dropping the file from your OS file list onto a Chat, Contact or Channel in the members list. If you drop a file elsewhere, a modal window will appear asking you to choose a Contact or a Channel to send the file.

Downloaded Files

Once a shared file has been downloaded that file will appear within the Files page of the application.

Shared Files History

Within a one-on-one or team chat, the chat Actions︙provides a list of the shared files history from within the chat. This history provides a list of all the files shared within this specific chat conversation and provides an opportunity to download those files.

Note: You can specify the chat Actions︙menu to be initially open each time you open a Chat or Channel in Language and Appearance settings.

Channels (Team Chat)

Channels are a team chat feature which allow internal groups and teams of users to communicate in real-time via chat messages and file shares. A channel can be created for any topic, project, function, groups, or any other reason for communicating to multiple people simultaneously.

This section will detail interacting with a single channel and its members. For details regarding the Channels List, Managing Channels, or Creating Channels please refer to their individual sections.

Channel members may hold one of three Channel Roles: Channel Owner, Channel Moderator, or Channel Member. More information regarding Channel Roles is available in the Managing Channels section of this guide.

Channel Chat & Messaging

The mechanics of Channel chat are very similar to one-on-one chat sessions, you may refer to the dedicated section on Chat for further details on specific chat mechanics. Messages and files posted within the Channel appear in the Channel Content Thread in chronological order. You may download any file posted to the thread by clicking the file's accompanying download link, downloaded files are accessible via the Downloads menu.

Channel Video Call

You may invite the members of a Channel to an ad-hoc video call at any time by clicking the Video Call icon in the top right corner of the Channel window. Once the video call icon is clicked, the video invite window will open with the channel member pre-populated into the video invitation. Optionally, you may include a message with the invitation and/or curate the invitees list by adding/removing people. Once the invite is ready click the "Send Invite" button and the contacts will receive an invitation to join the video call.

Please Note: Only meeting invitees logged in to the app will receive the video call invitation.

Once the invitation is sent, the video meeting window will open and join the user to the meeting. Concurrently, the notification tray will open within the app to provide a real-time view of the invitees and the pending video invites. All video call invitations have a 60-second timeout, which will appear within the notifications window. Any pending video call invites may be canceled by clicking the "Cancel Meeting" button within the notification tray.

Channel Conference Call

Channel Actions

The Channel Actions button will reveal a tabbed window that allows you to toggle between a list of the Channel Members and the files shared within the channel.

Channel Members

The Channel Members list shows a detailed list of the users who are members of the particular channel with an Actions︙ button to quickly contact an individual user directly or view their User Profile. The list also includes an icon displaying the user's Channel Role.

Channel Files Shared

This Files tab within a Channel differs from the Files page accessible from the top navigation toolbar, this Channel Files tab details files shared within the specific Channel. Once a user shares a file within a channel that file will remain within the Files tab for reference or access in the future. Clicking on the Files tab will provide a list of those shared files within the Channel and allow you to download any file shared.

Note: Once the file is downloaded it is available within the file folder you designated and also from within the app's Files page.

Channel Search

Searching within a Channel's history is identical to search within a one-on-one chat with the only primary difference being you are searching through a Channel with messages and files from multiple users instead of just two. You may refer to the section on Chat Search for further detail on searching within a chat.

Channels List

The Channels list shows all the Channels of which you are either a member, moderator, or owner. The list will provide the following information for each Channel:

Channel Name
Channel Subject (if applicable)
Your role within the Channel
Whether the Channel is public or private

Channel Search

To search for available Channels, click the search icon:

By default, you will be presented with an alphabetically sorted list of all available Channels. You may join public channels from this list or further refine your search in the Channel search field.

Note: You must be added to private Channels by the Channel moderator or owner.

Once you begin entering text into the search field the list will automatically filter the results based on your search input.

Channels List Actions

The Channels List provide an Actions︙button for quick Channel actions, the available actions within this menu differ depending on your role within that specific Channel.

As a Channel Member

As a Channel member, Channel Actions are limited to opening the Channel content and leaving the Channel as a member.

As a Channel Moderator/Owner

As a Channel moderator or owner you may open the Channel Management section or delete the Channel completely.

Warning: Deleting a Channel can not be undone and a deleted Channel can not be recovered by Accent Technical Support.

Creating Channels

Users may create a new Channel at any time. The process begins by clicking the New Channel button located at the bottom of the Channels List.

Creating a New Channel

Once you've clicked the New Channel button you'll be presented with the new Channel setup page. This page will allow you to edit the specific Channel settings and details, including the following:

Channel Name
- This field is required, it should include lowercase letters, numbers, or the underscore. This field does not support spaces or special characters.
Channel Subject
- This is an optional field which supports letters, numbers, special characters, and spaces. When a Channel subject is set it will replace the Channel Name within the Channel chat.
Channel Description
- This is an optional field which supports letters, numbers, special characters, and spaces.
Channel Icon/Picture
- This is an optional settings allowing you to customize the Channel icon.
Channel Privacy
- Public - Channel is available for any user to join
Channel Members
- Allows you to choose members from the organization's users to be a part of the new Channel. Members may be added or removed from the Channel at anytime by the Channel Owner.

Once you have set the appropriate Channel Settings click the Save button to save your settings and create the new Channel.

Managing Channels

The Channel owner can manage a Channel at any time. To do this, go to the Channel Management page, it is accessible via the Channels List by clicking the Actions︙button for any Channel which you are an owner of.

Channel Management Page

Once the Channel Management page is opened, the following options are available:

Edit Channel Privacy
- Channels may be either Private or Public
Edit Channel Subject & Description
- These fields are optional and used to provide more information to Channel members regarding the channel
Manage Channel Members
- Used to add/remove members from the Channel as appropriate

Select or deselect members under Manage Channel members list. You can also use the search bar to find members if necessary. Press Save to save any changes.

Channel Roles

There are 3 roles a user can have within a Channel:‌

Channel Owner is a user who created the Channel
Channel Member - any member of a public Channel or a user who was invited in a private Channel

Nominating a member as a Channel Moderator by the Channel Owner is very simple. To do this, the Channel Owner needs to open the Member Actions and click on Grant admin rights. To remove the rights, the Channel Owner needs to open member the properties and click on Remove admin rights.

Only one Channel Owner per Channel may exist. A Channel Owner can nominate a Channel member as a Channel Moderator. There are no restrictions on the number of Channel Moderators per each Channel.‌

Delete Channel

A created Channel can be deleted by clicking on Delete in Channels List Actions and confirm the Channel deletion in the pop-up window.

Warning: Once a Channel is deleted that action can not be undone and the Channel's information can not be recovered.

Video Call

There are several ways to initiate a video meeting/call with another user via the Accent app, they are:

Invite Contacts Button
Video Call Button
Channel Video Call Button

Invite Contacts

For specific details on the Invite Contact button please visit the Video Meeting Invites section of this guide.

Video Call

You may invite an individual to an ad-hoc video call at any time by clicking the Video Call icon in the top right corner of the chat window or from the Contact's actions card.

Once the video call icon is clicked, the video invitation will be sent, the video meeting window will open and join the user to the meeting. Concurrently, the notification tray will open within the app to provide a real-time view of the pending video invite. All video call invitations have a 60-second timeout, which will appear within the notifications window. Any pending video call invites may be canceled by clicking the "Cancel Meeting" button within the notification tray.

Channel Video Call

Please Note: Only meeting invitees logged in to the app will receive the video call invitation.

Receiving a Video Call Invitation

When you receive a video call invitation, the invite will pop-up with the app and an audible ringtone will play.

You may accept the invite and join the meeting or decline the invite and optionally include a message back the originator with the decline.

Contacts

The Contacts List includes contacts that were added by you or Contacts who added you as a Contact.

The Contacts list provides a starting point to communicating with people. From here you can also manage your Contacts.‌

Clicking on the Actions︙button near a Contact will open the Contact's details card:‌

Chat - Chat and share files with a Contact
Extension - Place a phone call to the contact
Video Call - Invite the Contact to an ad-hoc video call
Profile - View Contact profile information
Add to Favorites - Adds the Contact to the Favorites list
Delete - Remove the Contact from your Contacts list

Clicking on the contact will open the one-to-one chat window allowing you to chat with the user and share files.

Adding Contacts

Adding a Contact Using Search

‌You can easily add a new Contact to your Contacts by using the Search function. Click on the magnifying glass symbol to search Contacts in the configured Contact Sources.‌

Use Contact search settings for filtering.

Start typing information which identifies the Contact you are looking for.

Use the checkbox [✔] to select a Contact you want to add and click on the Add Selected button. Using this method you can add a group of contacts as well. Another way is to use Actions︙ near a contact and click on Add to Contacts action. Once added, you will see the new contact in your Contact list.

‌‌

Adding a Contact Using the Form

In a situation when you want to add somebody to the Contact List when there is no match within the Search in your Contact Sources, you can create a Contact by using the New Contact Form. Click on the New Contact button in the Contact List to open the form.

Add the desired Contact information.

Press Save to add the Contact.‌‌

Once added, you will see the Contact in Contact List.

Connect Settings

The Connect Settings menu provides access to a variety of options for personalization of the app's communications features specific to cloud phone and messaging.

User Profile

Personal Information

First name allows you to add your first name to your User Profile (mandatory field)
Last name allows you to add your last name
Company allows you to add your company name
Email address allows you to add email address

Phone numbers

Mobile allows you to add your mobile phone
Office allows you to add your office phone number
Home allows you to add your home phone
Other allows you to add another type of phone to your User Profile

Password management

Changing the current password. Type a new password in New password, repeat the new password in Confirm new password, type current password in New password and press Save button to change your current password.

Notifications

Play message notifications controls whether a sound will play when a message is received.

Play call notifications controls whether the ringtone will play when a call is received.

Enable push notifications for one-to-one chats controls the receipt of message notifications for direct chat messages.

Enable push notifications for channels controls the receipt of notifications for channels of which the user is a member.

Enable vibration notifications controls whether the device will vibrate when a message is received, note the device must support vibration notifications.

Show in-app pop-up notifications controls whether a pop-up notification will be shown within the application when a message is received.

Show desktop notifications controls whether to show pop-up desktop OS notifications when a message is received.

Disable all application notifications will disable all notifications.

Audio and Video

Call audio input source allows you to set the audio input device for phone calls.

Call audio output destination allows you to set the audio output device for phone calls.

Video source allows you to set the device for one-to-one video calls.

Note: This setting does not control the video source for video meetings, that is controlled separately within the video meeting interface.

Notifications audio output destination allows you to set the audio output device for application notifications.

To start a test of current audio and video settings, click on Test configuration. Click Stop test to stop the test once it has begun.

Call Settings

Additional phone lookup

Create a shortcut to lookup a number using a URL of third-party service. Use ${PHONE} placeholder for the entire phone or ${PHONE(1,3)} to use specific digits in the number. You may also use 1-${PHONE(1,3)}-${PHONE(4,6)}-${PHONE(7)} or more sophisticated patterns.

Other calling settings

On click-to-call

Allows you to set an option for what happens after you click Call button in Chat window.

Allow phone number editing will allow to edit number before initiating a call.
Call immediately will start a call immediately

Default phone type

Select which phone number (work, extension, etc) will be used for default actions throughout the application.

Default phone country code

This should always be set to United States of America unless otherwise directed by Accent's technical support team.

Call Forwarding

Forward all calls made to my office extension will forward all the calls made to your PBX extension to the number defined in Redirect callers to‌

Forward calls when my office phone is busy will forward calls made to your extension to the phone number specified in Redirect callers to when your office phone is busy

Find Me / Follow Me

This section allows you to specify additional call forwarding rules in case the simple does not satisfy a your requirements.

You can specify up to 5 phone numbers which can be either dialed at the same time or sequentially.

You can specify whether the phone associated with your extension will be called or not, and whether the numbers will be called simultaneously or one after another.

Find Me / Follow Me can be enabled for all callers, or only calls from certain numbers will be forwarded by specifying the caller ID of these callers. You can also specify a time range (created by an administrator) to limit when Find Me / Follow Me rules will be in effect.

Note: You can enter the information you use frequently (for example a list of numbers for Find Me / Follow Me) and then “Enable” or “Disable” it as needed.

Call Screening

This section allows you to specify call screening rules for calls to your office extension and enable Call Screening.

You may specify call screening options for calls with or without a caller ID.

For calls with a caller ID you can request that the callers announce themselves. You can also enter a list of caller ID's for any number you would like to exclude from call screening rules.

For calls without caller ID you can request the callers announce themselves and/or enter their caller ID.

Note that you can enter the information once and then “Enable” or “Disable” Call Screening as needed.

Call Blocking

You can specify call blocking options for calls with or without a caller ID.

For calls with a caller ID the options are “Block” or “Allow”.

If you are blocking calls, you can enter the caller ID of callers to be excluded from blocking.

If you are not blocking all calls you can enter caller ID of callers that you would like to block.

For calls without caller ID the options are simply “Block” or “Allow”.

You can specify how the blocked calls are to be handled by choosing from the list of “When blocking calls” options.

Note that you can enter the information once and then “Enable” or “Disable” Call Blocking as needed.

Call Recording

Currently Call Recording applies only to calls to/from phone numbers and calls to your PBX extension only. to/from the app are not included in recorded calls.‌

Record all calls will enable recording of all the incoming and outgoing calls.‌

Record internal incoming calls enables recording only of internal incoming calls.‌

Record internal outgoing calls enables recording only of internal outgoing calls.‌

Record external incoming calls enables recording only of external incoming calls.‌

Record external outgoing calls enables recording only of external outgoing calls.‌

Record by pressing a key sequence *9 will allow you to start recording calls by pressing *9 on dialpad.

Voicemail Settings

Enable voicemail allows you to enable voicemail service.‌

Send caller to voicemail if my phone is not answered in allows you to set the number of seconds to wait before the caller calling your extension will be redirected to voicemail if phone is not answered.‌

Mailbox PIN sets a PIN for accessing your voicemail.‌

Notify by email about new voicemail enables email notification to defined below email address when a new voicemail is received.‌

Attach messages to email sets an option to attach voicemail audio file to email notifications.‌

Delete after delivery sets an option to delete voicemail records after email notification were sent.‌

Send notifications to secondary email address allows you to specify additional email address for notifications.

Language and Appearance

Language selection of currently supported languages:‌

English
Spanish
Russian
Dutch
Portuguese

‌Visual appearance‌

Show Chat menu when a chat or a Channel is opened controls whether the Chat or Channel Menu will be open when Chat or Channel windows are open
Display avatars (pictures) in chat controls whether to show profile pictures in one-to-one Chat windows
Display file and video previews in chat controls whether to show preview of images and video clips sent to a Chat or a Channel

‌Color scheme allows to select colors for the application and includes:‌

Blue
Green
Monochrome

‌Date and Time Format defines how to show time:‌

Time format allows you to set time display format (e.g. 8:24:39 PM)
Day format allows you to set day display format (e.g. 06/22/2018)
Full date format allows you to set full date display format (e.g. 2018-06-22 20:24)

Meetings

Meetings Page

Overview

My Personal Meeting

Each user has access to a personal video meeting with a unique meeting link and dial-in access code. This meeting is unique to you and is accessible anytime by clicking the Start Meeting button in the My Personal Meeting section. Your personal meeting information will not change, this includes the meeting link URL, the meeting audio dial-in, and the meeting dial-in PIN.

Start My Meeting

Starts your personal meeting, which is a personal meeting uniquely available to you. The personal meeting includes a unique meeting link and access information which is specific to your meeting.

Enable/Disable Video

This option allows you to toggle your video camera off/on prior to starting the meeting.

Enable/Disable Microphone

This option allows you to toggle your microphone off/on prior to starting the meeting.

Enable/Disable Lobby Mode

Schedule Meeting via Calendar

This button will launch a calendar invitation via your preferred calendar service (either Google or Microsoft). The invitation will include pre-filled information including the your Meeting invitation and a basic subject line. The invitation may then be edited as needed and sent to meeting invitees as appropriate.

Note: Calendar invitations launched via the app will require you to login to your calendar service on the initial invitation launch.

Copy Meeting Invite

Copies the complete meeting invitation to your clipboard for use within other applications. A sample meeting invitation is below:

Jane Smith has invited you to an Accent Video Meeting:

Meeting Link: https://meet.accentvoice.com/acmecorp-100
Dial-In (Optional): (614) 362-6580
Meeting PIN: 50 64 26 #
Mobile One-Click: 614-362-6580,506426#

Copy Meeting Link

Copies the personal meeting link to your clipboard for use within other applications.

Meeting Dial-In

This is the Meeting dial-in information for any meeting attendee joining via phone dial-in. Each Accent Meeting is accessible via dial-in audio with a 10-digit phone number and unique access PIN.

Public Meeting Rooms

Meeting History

Meetings you have started or attended via the app will be listed here in chronological order. Clicking on the meeting will provide an expanded view of the meeting's details.

Hosting/Attending a Meeting

Starting Your Personal Meeting

To start your personal meeting simply press the "Start Meeting" button on the Meetings page or on the . This will enter you into the screen.

Joining a Meeting from History

You may join a Favorited Meeting or a Meeting from your Meeting History by selecting the appropriate meeting and clicking the Join Meeting button via the Meeting Detail section on the page.

Entering the Video Meeting

Pre-Meeting Screen

When an attendee enters a meeting, the first screen presented is the Pre-Meeting screen. The Pre-Meeting allows the user to properly set the audio and video inputs and ensure all functions are working before entering the meeting. Once it is determined all functions are properly working the user must simply click the "Join Meeting" button to enter the meeting room.

Meeting Lobby/Password

The meeting host has the option to enable the meeting lobby and/or a meeting password to ensure an extra element of privacy. If the host has enabled the meeting lobby the attendee will be granted access to the meeting upon approval by the host.

Note: If a meeting password exists the attendee may bypass waiting in the meeting lobby by entering the meeting password.

It is recommended that you set a meeting password each time you schedule a meeting. This ensures that your meeting is secure and only the participants that you want to join are able to join. You can set a meeting password via the Security Options menu. Meeting passwords are active for the current meeting only, and should be updated each time you schedule a new meeting.

Waiting for the Meeting Host

Upon entry, if the host has not yet joined and opened the meeting room a message will be displayed communicating to attendees that the meeting will begin upon the host's arrival. Once the host or an authenticated member from the host's organization joins, the meeting will begin and all waiting participants will join. The host must authenticate and launch the meeting room for the meeting to begin, otherwise all participants (web & dial-in) will remain in a waiting state.

Video Meeting Invites

You can invite other users to an ad-hoc video meeting using the Invite Contacts feature. The feature is available on several pages throughout the app and can be used to create quick group meetings or meetings with an individual. The feature is similar to the capability available via the direct chat and channel messaging interfaces.

Sending a Video Meeting Invite

To compose a video meeting invite, simply click the Invite Contacts button available on the or . The overlay pop-up will appear allowing the user to add invitees to a video meeting invitation. The user may choose from the available list of invitees within the organization to include within the meeting invite.

Only users within the same organization may be invited to a video meeting via the Invite Contacts method. Invitees from outside an organization may be included via the external meeting link.

Upon selecting the appropriate invitees, the user may also include an optional message to be included with the meeting invitation. Once the invite is appropriately composed, click the Send and Start Meeting button to send the meeting invitation and start the meeting.

Monitoring an Invite Status

If a meeting invitation is accepted, rejected, or time's out, the user will receive a notification within the notification tray based on the invitation status.

Inviting Users to a Meeting In-Progress

To add a user to an existing meeting the Invite Contact button via the top navigation bar must be used. While in a meeting the Invite Contacts buttons located on the Home page and the Meetings page are inactive.

Once a user is invited to an in-progress meeting they will be added to the meeting upon acceptance of the invitation.

Receiving a Meeting Invitation

When you receive a meeting invitation, the invite will pop-up with the app and an audible ringtone will play.

You may accept the invite and join the meeting or decline the invite and optionally include a message back the originator with the decline.

Video Layout During a Meeting

When a Meeting is started or joined the Meeting video will open either within the application (Embedded Video) or in a separate dedicated window (New Window). These options are available to be set as the default method within the . The top navigation toolbar will provide you with options to view the Meeting video in Picture-in-Picture mode, dock the Meeting video to the right side of the application, or leave the Meeting at anytime.

Meeting in Standard Video

When a Meeting is started or joined the Meeting video will open within the full application window (Standard Video).

Meeting in Docked Video

You may dock the Meeting video to the right side of the application via either the dock video button on the top navigation toolbar or via selecting one of the other page buttons within the toolbar. You toggle between the other application pages during the Meeting and the Meeting video will remain docked on the right side.

Pop-out Video - Picture-in-Picture (PiP) Mode

PiP mode is enabled by clicking the PiP button on the toolbar to pop the Meeting video out to the PiP view. You may close the PiP menu by clicking the "X" icon in the top right corner of the window.

Note: Closing the PiP window will not exit you from the Meeting, the Meeting video will return to the application in Standard or Docked mode.

In-Meeting More Actions Menu

The in-meeting More Actions menu provides a variety of options and additional actions from which a participant and host may choose. These options are designed to give users access to advanced features, access additional meeting information, or make changes to personal settings.

Note: The Settings option accessible via the More Actions menu is detailed via the guide page.

Meeting Security Options

The security options available for each meeting include enabling the lobby feature, adding a meeting password, and end-to-end meeting encryption (currently an experimental feature).

Manage Video Quality

In-Meeting Settings Menu

The In-Meeting Settings menu is available both in-meeting and out of meeting and offers users several settings and options to adjust in order to optimize the in-meeting experience.

Audio/Video Device Management

Profile

Moderator

Everyone starts muted: Mutes all attendees automatically upon entering the meeting.
Everyone starts hidden: Video is turned off for all attendees automatically upon entering the meeting.
Everyone follow me: The video focus follows the moderator.
Mute reaction sounds for everyone: When reactions are played by participants the sounds will be muted.

Sounds

Public Meeting Rooms

Meeting Security & Privacy

Are Accent Meetings secure?

Accent's video meetings are designed to be secure and private in many respects.

To begin with, all meeting rooms are ephemeral: they only exist while the meeting is actually taking place. The meeting is created when the meeting organizer joins and is destroyed when the last participant leaves. Meeting rooms may only be launched by an authorized Accent Meetings user as well, which requires an Accent provided username and password to open the meeting room. If the same meeting room is launched again by an authorized user, a brand new instance of that meeting room is created with the same name and there is no connection to any previous meeting that might have been held with the same name.

Accent Meetings authorized users are provided a unique meeting room link from Accent when their account is created, this is a unique meeting room name which is only provided to that specific authorized user. Meetings users should only utilize the unique meeting room name provided by Accent when hosting meetings. Meeting room links provided by Accent should only be shared with meeting participants and invitees directly and should never be shared on social media or other public forums.

Can meetings be secured with a password?

Yes, once a meeting is launched the meeting organizer can set a meeting password by clicking the meeting info button in the bottom right of the control panel. Once a meeting password is set, any new attendees must enter the password prior to joining the meeting via web browser or app. Meeting room passwords may be changed each time a specific meeting room is used to help ensure security between meetings.

Should I enable Lobby Mode for my meetings?

It is considered a best practice for privacy purposes to enable the Lobby Mode feature for every meeting which a user hosts. Lobby Mode can be activated via the Enable Lobby checkbox on the Meetings page or via the Security Options button within your meeting. Please note that only authorized meeting hosts may enable the Lobby Mode feature. Once enabled, Lobby Mode will require any guest attendee to request access to the meeting before entering. Once meeting access is requested, a moderator will be required to grant access for that attendee to enter the meeting.

Are Accent Meetings encrypted?

Accent Meetings operate in 2 ways: peer-to-peer (P2P) or via our cloud video bridges when three or more participants are present in a meeting, this is transparent to the user during the meeting as well. P2P mode is only used for 1-to-1 meetings. In this case, audio and video are encrypted using DTLS-SRTP all the way from the sender to the receiver, even if they traverse network components like TURN servers.

In the case of multi-party (3 or more) meetings all audio and video traffic is encrypted on the network using DTLS-SRTP . This outer layer of DTLS-SRTP encryption is removed while packets are traversing Accent's cloud video bridges; however they are never stored to any persistent storage and only live in memory while being routed to other participants in the meeting.

Can the meeting organizer control the participants?

The meeting organizer or any authorized Accent Meetings user can control certain aspects of the meeting and it's participants. Authorized meeting users may enable Lobby Mode which requires guests to request access to the meeting before entering. During the meeting, authorized users can mute participant audio and remove meeting participants from the meeting via the "kick" function. Before the meeting begins, authorized users can also designate if participants join with audio muted or as hidden from the meeting video.

Is Participant or Meeting information stored or accessible?

No information specific to the content of the meeting is stored or accessed by Accent. Accent Meetings does not require participants to create accounts. Information which a participant provides such as their name or email address is only shared with other meeting participants. We do not retain this information after the meeting ends. Authorized users are provided a username and password in order to securely launch a meeting, this information is only used to start a new meeting and is not historically stored or archived by Accent.

Accent does not access, monitor, or record the video conferences which take place on the Accent Meetings platform, protecting the information discussed during the meeting and the participants involved from any sensitive or private data being exposed.

Does Accent track platform utilization and performance?

We are very committed to privacy and security and we are extremely careful about what information reaches the cloud monitoring, analytics engines, and performance monitoring systems we use. Accent also wants to provide our users with a great meetings experience and in order to do so we require visibility into what is going on within the Accent Meetings cloud platform.

Accent collects and stores information specific to the performance of the Accent Meetings cloud infrastructure and platform. This data includes historical performance information on critical platform infrastructure, real-time monitoring of cloud infrastructure status, and information on cloud platform demand. Accent does not monitor, access, or record data specific to individual meetings, meeting content, authorized users, or meeting participants.

Troubleshooting & FAQ's

Audio/Video Troubleshooting

People can't hear or see me during a meeting.

You must allow the app access to your device's microphone and camera the first time you attend a meeting. This access must only be granted once and is not required for future meetings upon initial grant by the user.

My audio echos occasionally or generates excess noise.

For the best audio experience, we recommend using a headset and microphone. Excess noise and echo can sometimes be generated when using the integrated microphone and speakers in certain laptops or devices. We suggest testing the experience with your specific device before hosting a meeting.

People say my video is "fuzzy" or distorted.

Accent Meetings relies on the performance of the user's internet connection and their individual PC/Mac to deliver a quality video streaming experience. In some cases, the internet connection or device processing capabilities may lag and the video resolution will adjust to compensate.

Accessing a Meeting

I can't remember my username or password, how do I reset or change it?

To change or confirm your Accent Meetings login credentials please contact Accent Tech Support directly at service@accentservices.com, via our website, or via phone at (800) 589-7379.

To launch a new Accent Meeting a validated user login is required to open and start the meeting. Once a validated user has logged in then all other attendees will be placed in the meeting. If two or more users with valid user credentials are attending the same meeting then only one login is required to open the meeting.

Can I secure my meeting with a password?

Yes, once a meeting is launched the meeting organizer can set a meeting password by clicking the meeting info button in the bottom right of the control panel. Once a meeting password is set, any new attendees must enter the password prior to joining the meeting via web browser or app. We also have a dedicated page to meeting security which you can access here.

During a Meeting

What view options are available during a meeting?

Users may personalize their Meeting view by toggling between speaker and tile, your browser/app will remember your personal view preference when joining Meetings. To toggle between views within a browser or the desktop app, simply click the view button located in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Speaker View

Speaker view will highlight the active speaker in the meeting by placing that person in the large view of the screen.

Tile View

Tile view will scale out all meeting participant evenly across the width of the screen and highlight the active speaker with a blue highlight around their video box. We recommend tile view for the best participant/user experience.

When presenting text my image shows reverse of what it should.

You can flip your image at any time by right clicking on your video tile and choosing "Flip".

Can I record my meetings?

A user may currently record the audio portion of a meeting. At this time recording the meeting video is not available, this may change in a future update as Accent continues to expand the Accent Meetings service.

Is there a meeting duration limit?

Meeting durations are limited to three continuous hours.

Is there a meeting participant limit?

The current limit is 30 participants per meeting, this may be increased in future updates.

Calendar

Connect Your Calendar

The Accent desktop app provides the ability to integrate your personal Google or Microsoft 365 calendar into the application for quick access to your day's meetings and events.

Connect Calendar

To connect a calendar to the app choose the appropriate sign-in option from the Calendar screen. Supported calendar providers are Google and Microsoft 365.

Note: You can connect both a Google and Microsoft 365 calendar to the app simultaneously and meetings from both calendars will appear. A maximum of two calendars, one from each provider, may be connected simultaneously.

Once a calendar provider is chosen you will be asked to authenticate with that provider via your unique user credentials. You must authorize the Accent App to access your calendar and information from that provider. Once authorization is confirmed your calendar will be integrated into the app.

Upon connecting your calendar to the Accent app you will see your meetings and calendar events for the day presented within the Calendar page. More details on this page can be found in our supporting section of this guide detailing the page.

Calendar Page

Timeline & List View

Upon connecting your calendar to the Accent app you will see your meetings and calendar events for the day presented within the Calendar section. The Calendar offers two unique views for users, the Timeline view and List view. The two different view options are shown in the graphic below. Users may switch between the different viewing options via the toggle button on the calendar navigation toolbar located at the top of the calendar.

Timeline View

The timeline view presents a traditional calendar for the day showing all hours of the day and the scheduled events appearing on the calendar. The navigation bar located at the top of the calendar provides options to interact with the calendar, these options include:

Add New Event: Adds a new event to the calendar without a predetermined time of day.
Date: The date currently being viewed. If viewing the current date it will appear with a circle around the date. The date can be tapped at any time to jump to a specific date. The date button is flanked by navigation buttons which are used to move the calendar forward or backward by one day.
Go to Current Day: If the calendar is not displaying the current date this button can be pressed to go to the current date.
Toggle Timeline/List View: Used to switch between the timeline view and list view.

Note: A new event may be added to the calendar by clicking on the desired time slot within the timeline view. This will create a new event scheduled for that specific time of day.

List View

The list view displays the scheduled events and meetings of the day in an agenda format sorted chronologically. Users may interact with the calendar events on the list view directly via the "Join Meeting" icon if desired.

Event Details

The Event Details section provides a deeper view of the information associated with a specific calendar item. This information may include details on meeting attendees, the specific meeting link/location, and any additional information the meeting organizer provided as part of the meeting invite.

The information which could be included for a meeting or event within the Event Details section includes:

Event Name
Event Time
Attendees (if applicable)
Location
Meeting Link (if applicable)
Calendar Link
Event Description & Details (if applicable)

Downloads

Settings

Settings & My Account

The Settings & My Account section includes a variety of app options and account based information. The section of this guide details each in an individual page.