Sametime Instant Messaging user policy settings
You can grant or limit access to features in IBM® Sametime® Instant Messaging by enabling or disabling various policies for users. Instant Messaging policy changes take effect in 60 minutes by default.
You can change the default time that Instant Messaging and Media Manager policies take effect by editing the REFRESH_RULES_INTERVAL setting in the [policy] section of the sametime.ini file.
All unauthenticated users have the anonymous policy, Sametime Instant Messaging Anonymous Policy, applied to them. For authenticated users, Sametime searches for a user ID or group match, and then applies the highest weighted policy. If there is no match, then the default policy, Sametime Instant Messaging Default Policy, is applied.
In a deployment with multiple Sametime communities, most policies are applied when a user logs in to any community. However, some policies are only applied when the user logs in to the default community. The following tables flag those policies that are applied only when users log in to their default communities.
| Setting | Purpose | Default Policy | Anonymous Policy | Applies to Default Community Only? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| User must set this community as the default server community | Determines if this community can be connected
to as a secondary community or if must it be the default community
for the Sametime Connect
Client client.
When this policy is selected, users must log in to this community
before they can log in to other communities. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Selected | Selected | No |
| Allow user to add multiple server communities | If this setting is checked, community preferences
and menus are available to users. When this setting is not checked,
users cannot add their own secondary communities. When the policy
becomes enabled, clients cannot log in to any secondary communities
that were not set by the administrator. Administrator-defined secondary
communities are not impacted by the policy. The client recognizes
they are defined by the administrator and allows the user to log into
them. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Selected | Not selected | Yes |
| Allow user to add external users using Sametime Gateway communities | If enabled, allows users to connect to external communities such as AIM and Lync/OCS. If this policy is not allowed, the check box and text for adding external users by email address is not available in clients. | Not selected | Not selected | No |
| Allow user to save chat transcripts | If this is enabled, users see the File-Save
option in the chat window. Chat history capabilities are available. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Selected | Not selected | Yes |
| Automatically save chat transcripts | This is not valid unless Allow user
to save chat transcripts is selected. If this is not selected,
then users do not see preferences for chat history or the chat history
viewer in their clients. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Selected | Not selected | Yes |
| Maximum days to save automatically saved chat transcripts | If Allow to automatically save chat
transcripts is selected, then a value must be entered
in this field. Users cannot set a larger value in their clients than
the one specified here. Set this value to 0 to allow users to keep
saved transcripts for an unlimited time. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | 365 | 0 | Yes |
| Limit contact list size | This limits the number of contacts that users
can enter in their contact lists. By default, there is no limit to
the number of contacts in the list. Note: A group counts as one contact. | Not selected | Not selected | Yes |
| Contacts | If Limit contact list size is selected, then a value must be entered in this field. Specify the number of contacts that users can enter in their contact lists. | 500 | 500 | Yes |
| Enable organization tree view for this user | For Sametime clients, this setting allows users to see the company directory in a hierarchical structure. The Organization view service must be configured on the Community Server in advance. By default, this applies to the default community. To enable the tree view for a non-default community, specify com.ibm.collaboration.realtime/defaultOrgTreeHost=hostname in the plugin_customization.ini file. | Not selected | Not selected | Yes |
| Allow users to send offline messages | For Sametime clients, this setting lets users send text messages that include regular text, rich text, and basic emoticons. Advanced client users can send messages to any users who are offline or who have set their status to "Do not disturb." The messages are delivered when the offline users next log in or when they retrieve their messages manually. Offline messaging must be enabled on the Community Server in advance. | Not selected | Not selected | No |
| Allow all Sametime Connect Client features to be used with integrated clients | If this is not selected, some Sametime Connect features
do not display when Sametime is
integrated with other products. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Not selected | Not selected | Yes |
| Allow mobile client | This feature lets users deploy Sametime awareness and chat features on mobile devices. | Selected | Selected | Yes |
| Sametime update site URL | Defines the location from which Sametime administrators
can push features to clients. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Blank | Blank | Yes |
| Setting | Purpose | Default Policy | Anonymous Policy | Applies to Default Community Only? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allow custom emoticons | Allows all actions on the preferences palette:
new, import, export, add picture, add palettes. If you do not allow custom emoticons, the user has no options to modify any of the settings related to the emoticons. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Selected | Not Selected | No |
| Allow screen capture and images | Allows pasting and right-click copying of image and screen captures. | Selected | Not Selected | No |
| Set maximum image size for custom emoticons, screen captures, and inline images | Allows administrator to set the maximum image
size for custom emoticons, screen captures, and inline images. This
setting includes images pasted inline through the palette emoticons,
cut and paste, screen captures, and print screen. It does not include
images sent through file transfer. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Not selected | Not Selected | No |
| KB | If Set maximum image size for custom
emoticons, screen captures, and inline images is selected
, then a value must be entered in this field. Users sees a message
if they attempt to send a file that is larger than the specified size. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | 500 | 500 | No |
| Setting | Purpose | Default Policy | Anonymous Policy | Applies to Default Community Only? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allow user to transfer files through server | Allows user to transfer files to other users. | Selected | Not selected | No |
| Maximum individual file size transfer in kilobytes, for files sent through the server | Limits the size of the file that can be transferred
by the specified value. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | 1000 | 1000 | No |
| Use exclude file types transfer list, for files sent through the server | Limits the types of files that users can transfer. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Not selected | Not selected | No |
| Types to exclude from transfer | If Use exclude file types transfer
list is selected, then a value must be entered in this
field. Type the three-letter extension of each file type, separated
by a comma or semicolon. This field accepts bmp, gif, txt, pdf, sxi,
sxc, and sxw filename extensions. Comma separated values and spaces
are acceptable. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | exe,com,bat | exe,com,bat | No |
| Allow client-to-client file transfer | Allows users to transfer files without passing
the files through the Sametime server.
These files are not logged. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Selected | Not selected | No |
| Allow transferring multiple files and folders | This setting only applies to Sametime Advanced users.
For Sametime clients,
this option allows the transfer of multiple files and folders during
a chat session if "Allow client-to-client file transfer" is allowed. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Not selected | Not selected | No |
| Allow transferring files to participants in an n-way session | This setting only applies to Sametime Advanced users.
For Sametime clients,
this setting allows a person to transfer one file to multiple participants
at the same time if Allow client-to-client file transfer is
selected. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Not selected | Not selected | No |
| Maximum number of users to receive a single file in one file transfer session | For Sametime clients, this setting
limits how many people can receive a file in one session if Allow
transferring files to participants in an n-way session is
selected. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | 10 | 10 | No |
| Setting | Purpose | Default Policy | Anonymous Policy | Applies to Default Community Only? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allow user to install plug-in | Allows users to install plugins and updates
from the Sametime Connect
Client menu. This setting does not apply to browser clients. | Selected | Selected | Yes |
| Sametime optional plug-in site URLs | If you allow the installation of custom plugins in the "Allow user to install plug-in" option, this is the URL that the client searches to retrieve possible plugins. Type the URLs separated by a comma or semicolon. | Blank | Blank | Yes |
| Setting | Purpose | Default Policy | Anonymous Policy | Applies to Default Community Only? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allow location reporting | When set, a user has the choice to share their location with other users. City level location information is appended to a user's status message that others see. For example, I am available @ Austin, TX. When not set, a user is not able to share location information. | Selected | Selected | |
| Enable offline access | When set, a user can enter the Sametime client without logging in. This allows users to perform some tasks such as view chat history when offline. When not set, offline access is not allowed. | Selected | Selected | |
| Offline access password minimum length | Required minimum password length. | 8 | 8 | |
| Offline access password expiry days | When set, this is the number of days until a password expires. When blank or set to zero, the password never expires. | 0 | 0 | |
| Offline access prompt delay | When set, this is the number of minutes for which a user can re-enter offline mode without entering a password again. When blank or set to zero, a user must always enter a password. | 30 | 30 | |
| Disable untrusted SSL | When set, this policy prohibits a user from logging in to a server that does not have a certificate trusted by the device. When not set, a user can log in to a Sametime server that has a certificate not trusted by the device. | Not selected | Not selected | |
| Disable URL dialer | When set, OpenScape is not displayed as a click-to-call choice even if OpenScape is installed on the device. When not set, a user is able to choose OpenScape as a method of making calls from Sametime if OpenScape is installed on the device. | Not selected | Not selected | |
| Minimum force logout duration | When set, this is the number of minutes a user can stay logged in before being automatically logged out. When blank or set to zero, a user is logged out after the amount of time they configure on their device. | -1 | -1 | |
| Disable chat history | When set, this policy prohibits users from saving chat history on the device. When not set, a user has the option to save or not. | Not selected | Not selected | |
| Disable password save | When set, this policy prohibits users from saving their password on the device. A user must always enter a password when connecting to the server. When not set, a user can choose to save their password or not. | Not selected | Not selected | |
| Allow contact export | When set, this policy enables users to export Sametime contact information to a native contact application on the device. When not set, a user is not allowed to export Sametime contact information. | Selected | Selected | |
| Offline access password required | When set, this policy requires a user to enter a password to enter the Sametime client without logging in. This policy is applicable only when Enable Offline Access is set. When not set, a user does not need to enter a password to access the client in offline mode. | Selected | Selected |