Monday, March 4, 2013

Enabling User to Appear Offline on Microsoft Lync 2013/Skype for Business 2015 [Update]

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I posted something on this blog. Sorry about that. I have been very on my work and the change of technology to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Well, this blog post is to give you update on how to enable User to Appear Offline on the new Microsoft Lync 2013/Skype for Business 2015

By default, Microsoft Lync 2013/Skype for Business 2015 enable users to set their presence to one of the following six statuses:

But Administrators can provide users with another option for setting their presence: Appear Offline. When user selects this option, he or she appears to user(s) offline. In fact, all of the user's contacts see a presence icon indicating the user is offline. For the users to have the option of "Appear Offline" you must create a new registry key and registry value on the computer running Microsoft Lync 2013/Skype for Business 2015. For this option that I'm showing is per user or machine setting only, not a Global Setting.
 
Caution: Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer. Enable User to Appear Offline:

1.      Log on to a computer that is running Office Communicator.
2.      Click Start, and then click Run.
3.      In the Run dialog box, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
4.      In Registry Editor, expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, expand Software, expand Policies, expand Microsoft, expand Office, expand 15.0, click Lync .
5.      Right-click the Lync registry key, point to New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
6.      After the new value is created, type EnableAppearOffline to rename the value.
7.      Double-click the new EnableAppearOffline registry value.
8.      In the Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value dialog box, type 1 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
 

Registry Location

Registry Setting Example
 
9.      After making above change, exit from Lync 2013/Skype for Business 2015 (from system tray) and relaunch it.
10.      After signing back to Lync 2013/Skype for Business 2015 you should able to see "Appear Offline" on the option of the Microsoft Lync 2013.
 
 You know have the Appear Offline for Microsoft Lync 2013/Skype for Business 2015

For old versions for Enabling Appear Offline. Here are the reference links:
Enabling User to Appear Offline on Office Communicator 2007 R2 [Update]
Enabling User to Appear Offline on Microsoft Lync 2010

For questions send and email to: mikhail@mimanu.com

44 comments:

  1. Hi,

    Thanks for the sharing. Is there any way we can disable the status change?

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  2. After expanding "OFFICE" i am unable to find "15.0" in registry. any suggestions?

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  3. For me the Lync key did not exist, but I created it and added the DWORD and it worked on Lync 2013, thank you

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  4. I don't have a 32 bit OS, mine is 64 bit. Due to this there is no "15.0" folder under office. Do you have other suggestions?

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  5. You can manually create the key (a.k.a folder) under Policies. I am running Win Ent. 64-bit.
    Thanks to the author for the tip.

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  6. done it. i only find until microsoft. the rest.."office", "15.0", and "Lync" i just added by my self. manually create the key (a.k.a folder). it work perfectly.

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    Replies
    1. How to create (a.k.a folder)?

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    2. Just manually right click on the Main folder as New-> Key and then name it as mentioned.

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  7. Thank you for sharing. It´s the most complete tutorial i´ve seen about this option in lync.

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  8. Excellent! And I can still receive my calls on my Lync number while appearing offline!

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  9. Works like a charm! I also had to create a key called 'Lync' under 15.0. I'm running Windows 7 Pro.

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  10. Cool..!!!! Any other option we can enable like this?

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  11. i dont find Lync, i can only see Outlook in 15.0

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  12. Hi
    Even I would like to have the offline status in Lync 2013. However I dont have the option 15.0 in my registry.

    "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, expand Software, expand Policies, expand Microsoft, expand Office"

    Under office there is an option "10.0" and on clicking that also there is no Lync option.
    Kindly assist

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  13. I am also wanting to enable 'appear offline' to my LYNC 2013 MOBILE iPhone. Can anyone help?

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  14. I am also wanting to enable 'appear offline' to my LYNC 2013 MOBILE iPhone. Can anyone help?

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  15. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  16. Worked for me. Thanks for posting this !

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    Replies
    1. not working for me in lync-2013 windows 7.., any suggestion please?

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    2. not working for me in lync-2013 windows 7.., any suggestion please?

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  17. It didnt work for me even I followed the steps above. Help please!

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  18. Hi, Thanks for the sharing. This is really helpful. :)

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  19. Reg Add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Lync" /V "EnableAppearOffline" /D 1 /T REG_DWORD /F

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  20. will it work in office 2010 as well?

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  21. Hi,
    I want to enable appear offline in Skype for business 2015, please assist me?

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  22. worked like charm!!! Thanks a ton :)

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  23. 1. Open Command prompt with Administrative privileges.
    2. Type or copy paste below registry entry and press Enter button from Keyboard.

    reg add HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Lync /v EnableAppearOffline /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

    3. Now Exit Lync 2013 and reopen the same. Now you will “AppearOffline” status

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  24. Hi Mikhail Manuel, actually I never use microsoft lync,
    but I enjoy, result in I found exactly what I used to be looking for.. what is the diference between microsoft lync and yahoo messanger?
    Have a nice day. Bye
    Regards from Young Entrepreneur
    Tangki Fiberglass
    Jual Septic Tank

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks! I have used this in the past. Now, I just upgraded to Office 2016 (Office 365), and I lost the "Appear Offline" option in Skype for Business 2016. But, I wanted to verify that using these same steps added the option back again, with the following notes:

    Registry path:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Lync

    The 'Lync' key did not already exist, but after creating the key and adding the 'EnableAppearOffline' value as specified in this post (and exiting and restarting Skype for Business), the 'Appear Offline' option appeared once again.

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  26. Did all the above steps and still I am unable to bring the appear offline. I am using skype for business 2015

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  27. Is there any way to do the same for Lync in Mac?

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