Table of Contents

NextPlane App Users Guide for Microsoft Teams Federation

Why NextPlane App

Not everyone is on Microsoft Teams. Increasingly your colleagues, inside or outside your enterprise, can be on other collaboration platforms such as Cisco Webex or Slack. Others may be on legacy platforms such as Cisco Jabber.

The nextplane App lets you connect with colleagues that are on different platforms. You can stay on your Teams and be able to:

  • Invite and add each other as contacts
  • Send one-to-one chat messages with rich text, GIFs, and emoji reactions
  • Share presence status*
  • View each other's profiles
  • Find non-Teams chats
  • Join and participate in Slack channels
  • Pin, mute, or hide chats with your non-Teams contacts
  • Mark chats with your non-Teams contacts as unread
  • Block your non-Teams conversations

*Coming soon.


Get Started with the NextPlane App

1. Add the NextPlane App to Your Teams

Go to Apps  and in the Search box , start typing nextplane. In the search results, select the nextplane App and click Add.

The nextplane App is added to More added apps  and appears in your Recent chats on the Chat  tab.


2. Add a non-Teams Contact

In the Search box  at the top of the app, start typing nextplane, and then select the nextplane App.
I
n the message box, enter your non-Teams contact's user ID, e.g., john.doe@gomaxine.com, and click Send  or press Enter.


3. Wait for the Contact to Accept Your Invitation

The nextplane App will notify you when the non-Teams contact accepts your invitation to connect.
When you receive the notification, click Connect
In the message box, compose your first message and click Send  or press Enter. This starts the chat.

Important! You must send the first message to activate chat with your non-Teams colleague.


4. Start a One-on-One Chat with a non-Teams Contact

Go to Chat  > Recent and select the recently added non-Teams contact. In the message box, compose your message and click Send  or press Enter. This starts the chat.


5. Find a Chat with a non-Teams Contact

If you lost your chat with a non-Teams contact, type your contact's name in the Search box  at the top of the app and press Enter. In the search results, on the Messages tab, you will see all the chats the contact is a part of. Select the contact's name to go to the necessary chat with them.


Key Features

1. Accept the Incoming Request from an External Contact

The nextplane App will notify you of any incoming requests from non-Teams contacts whose companies are
a part of the NextPlane ConverseCloud Network.

When you receive the notification, click Connect . In the message box, compose your first message and click Send  or press Enter. This starts the chat.

Important! You must send the first message to activate chat with your non-Teams colleague.



2. Participate in Slack Channels

If you are already connected with Slack users via NextPlane, they can invite you to join and participate in Slack channels.

The nextplane App will notify you once you are invited. When you receive the notification, click Connect In the message box, compose your welcome message and click Send  or press Enter.

All the channel members—Slack and non-Slack—will be able to see your messages posted to that channel and reply to you.

Important! You must send the first message to activate the chat channel.



3. Pin a Chat with a non-Teams Contact

For quick access, you can pin important chats with your non-Teams contacts to the top of your chat list.
Go to Chat  > Recent and next to the necessary non-Teams contact, select More options  > Pin .

To unpin the chat from the top of the list, select More options  > Unpin .



4. Mute a Chat with a non-Teams Contact

To stop receiving notifications from a non-Teams contact, you can mute your chat.
Go to Chat  > Recent and next to the necessary non-Teams contact, select More options  > Mute .

To unmute the chat, select More options  > Unmute .



5. Mark a Chat with a non-Teams Contact as Unread

Marking messages with non-Teams contacts as unread reminds you to get back to the messages later.
Go to Chat  > Recent and next to the necessary non-Teams contact, select More options  > Mark as unread .

To mark the message as read, select More options  > Mark as read .



6. Hide a Chat with a non-Teams Contact

If your chat with the non-Teams contact is no longer relevant, you can hide it from your chat list.
Go to Chat  > Recent and next to the necessary non-Teams contact, select More options  > Hide . The chat will remain hidden until someone posts a message to it.

To unhide the chat, type your contact's name in the Search box  at the top of the app and press Enter. In the search results, on the Messages tab, select any chat with the necessary contact. Go to Chat  > Recent and next to the hidden chat with your contact, select More options  > Unhide .



7. Block a Chat with a non-Teams Contact

To prevent a non-Teams contact from writing to you, you can block your chat.
Go to Chat  > Recent and next to the necessary non-Teams contact, select More options  > Block bot conversation .
You cannot post messages to the blocked chat either.

To unblock the chat, select More options  > Unblock bot conversation .



Frequently Asked Questions

What commands can I use with the nextplane App?

With the nextplane App, you can use the following commands:

  • invite – to invite non-Teams contacts
  • help – to show help guidelines on how to use the nextplane App
  • echo – to check the connectivity with the nextplane App

Where can I find the nextplane App?
You can find the nextplane App in your Teams Apps .

Do I need to invite non-Teams contacts if my colleagues have already added them to my team?
Yes. You need to invite the non-Teams contacts to establish unique communication channels with them.

Can non-Teams contacts invite me from their client applications?
Yes, if their companies belong to the NextPlane ConverseCloud Network. To invite you, they need to have your user ID.

What if the contacts I need to invite do not belong to the NextPlane ConverseCloud Network?
Please provide them with the NextPlane contact details to establish federation between your companies.

What if I haven't received the confirmation that the invited contact accepted my invitation?
It might take some time for the non-Slack contact to accept your invitation. Please wait until the nextplane App confirms that your invitation is accepted. If the confirmation won't come,  you can try to invite the contact once again.

Can my non-Teams contacts see my profile?
Yes. After you add non-Teams contacts to your Teams, your profile details can be viewed by them.

What does it mean if I receive the notification that the non-Teams contact is temporarily unavailable?
It means that chatting with the non-Teams contact you last communicated with is not available due to some technical issues on their side.

Can I @mention my non-Teams contacts?
NextPlane is currently working to provide the possibility to @mention your non-Teams contacts.

Can I remove non-Teams contacts from my team?
You can hide non-Teams chats from your chat list or block conversations with non-Teams contacts.




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