Lync Windows and Macintosh Comparison

Enhanced Presence Support

Feature/capability Lync 2010 Win Lync 2011 Mac
Publish and view status Yes Yes
View status based on calendar free/busy information Yes Yes
View status notes and Out of Office messages Yes Yes
Add a custom location Yes No
Add a custom note Yes Yes

Contacts and Contact Groups Support

Feature/capability Lync 2010 Win Lync 2011 Mac
View Contacts list Yes Yes
Modify Contacts list Yes Yes
Tag contacts for status change alerts Yes No
Control privacy relationships Yes No
Search the corporate address book Yes Yes
Search personal contacts in Outlook Yes Yes
Manage contact groups Yes Yes
Expand distribution groups Yes No
Search for Response Groups Yes No
Display recent contacts group Yes No
Display current conversations group Yes No
Display alternate contact views (for example, tile) Yes Yes

IM Support

Feature/capability Lync 2010 Win Lync 2011 Mac
Initiate IM with a contact Yes Yes
Navigate among multiple IM conversations Yes Yes
Log IM conversations in Outlook Yes Saved on the Mac
Initiate an email to a contact Yes Yes
Use prepared conversation templates No No
Spell check No Yes

Conferencing Support

Feature/capability Lync 2010 Win Lync 2011 Mac
Add computer audio Yes Yes
Add video Yes Yes
Use in-meeting presenter controls Yes Yes
Access detailed meeting roster Yes Yes
Participate in multiparty IM Yes Yes
Share the desktop (if enabled) Yes Yes1
Share a program (if enabled) Yes No
Add anonymous participants (if enabled) Yes Yes
Use dial-in audio conferencing Yes Yes
Initiate a meeting Yes Yes
Add and present Microsoft PowerPoint files Yes View only, annotations not available
Use a whiteboard Yes No
Conduct or respond to polls Yes No
Share files Yes Yes
Schedule a meeting or conference Yes Yes
  1. Mac customers can share the desktop or a program, but they are unable to give control.

Telephony Support

Feature/capability Lync 2010 Win Lync 2011 Mac
Initiate a voice call Yes Yes
Click to call a contact Yes Yes
Transfer a call Yes Yes
Manage call forwarding Yes Yes
Manage team call settings Yes No
Manage delegates Yes No
Initiate a call to a Response Group Yes No
Support emergency services No No
Connect to voice mail Yes No
Make calls on behalf of another contact (manager/delegate scenario) Yes Yes
Handle another's calls if configured as a delegate Yes Yes
Manage a high volumes of calls Yes Yes

External Users Support

Feature/capability Lync 2010 Win Lync 2011 Mac
Initiate IM with a public contact Yes Yes
Initiate IM with a federated contact Yes Yes
Conduct two-party or multiparty calls with external users Yes Yes

Archiving and Compliance Support

Feature/capability Lync 2010 Win Lync 2011 Mac
Provide client-side archiving Yes Yes
Provide client-side recording Yes No

For Lync related questions or problems, send email to LyncSupport@uh.edu.