NextPlane Bot Users Guide for Cisco Webex Teams Federation

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

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

• Invite and add each other as contacts
• Send direct messages with rich text, GIFs, and emoji reactions
• Join and participate in Slack channels
• Share presence status*
• Search spaces with non-Webex Teams contacts
• Add spaces with non-Webex Teams contacts to your favorites
• Mute spaces with non-Webex Teams contacts

To get started with the nextplane bot, you need to add it to your Webex Teams application. You will then be able to add non-Webex Teams contacts and start communicating with them.

* Coming soon.

Go to the app header and click Add  > Contact a person. In the search box on the right, enter nextplane@webex.bot and press Enter. The nextplane bot appears on your spaces list. Now, you are ready to connect with non-Webex Teams colleagues.

In the space with the nextplane bot, enter your non-Webex Teams contact's user ID in the email address format, e.g. john.doe@gomaxine.com. Press Enter.

Once the non-Webex Teams contact accepts your invitation to connect, they immediately appear on your spaces list. Click your contact's name and in the message area, enter your first message and press Enter. This starts the chat.

If the nextplane bot has disappeared from your spaces list, go to the app header and in the search box , start entering nextplane. From the search results, select the nextplane bot.

The space with the nextplane bot opens and you can start inviting non-Webex Teams contacts.

If the space with your non-Webex Teams contact has disappeared from your spaces list, go to the app header and in the search box , start entering your contact's name. From the search results, select the space with your contact and start communicating.

Not to lose important spaces with your non-Webex Teams contacts, you can add them to your favorites.

Open the space with your non-Webex Teams contact and next to the space name, click Add to favorites .
The space is added to your favorites list. To find the space again, go to the the app header, click in the search field , and then select Favorites.

To remove the space from your favorites, next to the space name, click Remove from favorites .

To stop receiving notifications from the non-Webex Teams contact, you can mute their space notifications.

Open the space with your non-Webex Teams contact and next to the space name, click View space settings  > Mute notifications .
To unmute, click View space settings  > Muted .

What commands can I use with the nextplane bot?
With the nextplane bot,  you can use the following commands:

• invite – to invite non-Webex Teams contacts
• help – to display the list of available commands
• echo – to check the connectivity with the  nextplane bot

Can non-Webex 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 the invited contact does not appear on my spaces list?
It might take some time for the non-Webex Teams contact to accept your invitation, and sometimes you need to wait for a while. If the problem persists, get in touch with the NextPlane support team.

Can I participate in other platforms' channels?
Yes. Currently, you may be invited to join a Slack channel. Participating in Microsoft Teams channels will be available soon.

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

Can I send rich text to my non-Webex Teams colleagues?
Yes, you can exchange rich text with your non-Webex Teams colleagues.

Can I send emojis to my non-Webex Teams colleagues?
Yes, you can exchange emojis with your non-Webex Teams colleagues. Please be aware that each platform has its own inventory of emojis. So, when you send an emoji that is unknown for the recipient platform, it may not be recognized.

Can I share files with my non-Webex Teams contacts?
NextPlane is currently working to provide the possibility to share files with your non-Webex Teams contacts.

Can I remove non-Webex Teams contacts from my spaces list?
You can leave the space with your non-Webex Teams contact. If you need that space later, you will be able to find it using search.