General

  1. Does BigAnt Office Messenger work with VPN?
    Yes.
  2. Does BigAnt Office Messenger support Windows Active Directory?
    Yes.
  3. Is the BigAnt Office Messenger using Client/Server or Server-less architecture?
    BigAnt Office Messenger using Client/Server architecture. With a server, it provides some extra features: authorization, offline messages and subnets compatibility
  4. What kind of database supported by BigAnt IM server?
    Microsoft Access and SQL database.
  5. Does BigAnt Office Messenger works with both internet connection and intranet connection?
    Yes.
  6. Can BigAnt Office Messenger work in Terminal Server Environment?
    Yes.
  7. Comparison between BigAnt Office Messenger Standard version and Pro version?
  8. General features of BigAnt Office Messenger

Purchase and Register

  1. Does BigAnt Office Messenger is one time pricing?
    Yes. You need to pay BigAnt Office Messenger only once and get Life Time updates and technical support.
  2. How many Licenses I need to purchase?

    BigAnt Office Messenger licensing system is based on one concurrent user per License basis. For 10 User License Key, 10 Users will be allowed to display online concurrently.

    If you need a quote for 15 users or other quantities please contact info@bigantsoft.com

  3. What are the payment modes available?
    Online ordering payment options: Credit card, Bank / Wire Transfer, Check, PayPal, purchase order - Prepayment are provided by our Payment processors Regnow
  4. When I will get the registration code?
    The registration code will be delivered to you directly by our Payment Processor Regnow usually within 24 Hours of payment.
  5. How to Register BigAnt Office Messenger?

    The administrator will register BigAnt Console.

    In BigAnt Console, click Help>>Register. You will have Registration window, enter the registration code. Click Register button to restart BigAnt IM server.

  6. Is it possible to upgrade my License pack in future?
    Yes. You can upgrade to any license pack or add extra license from your existing license. Upgrade Price will be rate difference between Old Pack & New Pack.
  7. I'm using the BigAnt IM standard version now, if I need to upgrade to BigAnt IM Pro version, does only the price difference will be charged?
    Sure. Please send an email with your original order number to info@bigantsoft.com we will provide an upgrade order form for you. Only the difference will be charged.
  8. I noticed there were 3 default user accounts (Admin, Ant_Secretary, Ant_Guest_Web) existed on server, will they be calculated in the license I purchased?
    No. The license is a concurrent license which means how many of the existed users can logon messenger at the same time.
  9. Can I request an official invoice?
    Sure, you will receive a download link for a printable official invoice via email.

Requirements & Installation

  1. What are the minimum requirements?
    1. BigAnt Office Messenger will work in Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X 10.6 or above.
    2. BigAnt IM server will work in Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, 2008
    3. CPU: P4 (or higher recommended)
    4. Disk space: 100MB or above
    5. RAM: 256MB (or higher recommended)
  2. How to install BigAnt Office Messenger?
    Download BigAnt Office Messenger installer from here and save in your computer. Exit all applications for safe install. Recommend to install by Administrator on the computer.
  3. How to uninstall BigAnt Office Messenger?

    To remove BigAnt Office Messenger's program files from your computer, do the following steps:

    1. Click Add/Remove Programs icon in Control Panel folder.
    2. In the window select BigAnt Messenger and click Add/Remove button.
    3. Follow all instructions of the Setup Wizard.
  4. How to get a .msi client program?

    The MSI for IM client is available; please download from here

  5. How can I access BigAnt IM server from Internet?

    If BigAnt IM Server program was installed on a server machine with internet connection.

    If your company use a fixed IP or a domain name. BigAnt Client can login BigAnt IM Server by input the fixed IP or domain name anywhere anytime, if users have internet connection.

    If your company uses ADSL/dial-up for internet connection. Please apply a dynamic domain name from Dynamic DNS (Dynamic Domain Name Server) service provider. Please install and run Dynamic DNS client on BigAnt IM server machine. BigAnt Client users with internet connection can login BigAnt IM Server by input the dynamic domain name.

    Dynamic DNS (DDNS) allows you to create a hostname that points to your dynamic IP or static IP address or URL. It is recommended to use http://www.dyndns.com for your DDNS service. Check it out here: http://www.dyndns.com/services/dns/dyndns/

     

    If BigAnt IM Server was installed on a server machine with intranet connection.

    If your company use a shared internet connection through a dial-up computer, and BigAnt Server program was installed on the main machine. Please apply a dynamic domain name from Dynamic DNS service provider. Please install and run Dynamic DNS client on BigAnt server machine. So BigAnt Client users with internet connection can login BigAnt IM Server by input the Dynamic Domain Name.

    If your company uses Router for internet connection. Please point the Port 6660 from Router to the corresponding Port 6660 on the main machine with BigAnt server program installed. Meanwhile install and run Dynamic DNS client on BigAnt server machine. So BigAnt client with internet connection can login BigAnt IM Server by input the dynamic domain name.

Configuration

  1. What are the details to consider in First BigAnt IM Server run?
    In your very first run, you will be asked your company name, configure database.Open UDP/TCP port 6660-6662.
  2. What are the details to consider in First BigAnt Office Messenger run?
    In your very first run, you will be asked your logon name and password that created by your system Administrator.
  3. How to create contact list?

    The contact list is created by Administrator on BigAnt Console.

    1. Launch BigAnt Console, click User Management>>Organizational Units to manually create Organizational Units, Branches, Groups and User Accounts.
    2. Or import user accounts from Windows Active Directory to BigAnt console.
    3. Import>>Active Directory Import Wizard, follow the wizard step by step.
  4. Which ports needs to be opened on server firewall or IP Filter to enable BigAnt Office Messenger work properly?
    Service Port
    (Default Value)
    Description Protocol
    AntServer 6660 for instant messaging TCP
    AVServer 6662 for voice and video call UDP
    AntDS 6661 for document management TCP

    If this port number doesn't conflict with any currently running applications or services, please leave it as default. A BigAnt Client program uses this default port number as well. If the Administrator decides to use a different port number to run the server, all client programs should be reset to use the same new port number)

  5. How to setup live chat on my webpage?
  6. How to setup Document Management (For BigAnt Pro version only)?

Advanced...

  1. Is it possible to turn off video or voice chat on client side?
    Yes, Launch BigAnt Console, click Advanced Settings > System Manager on left pane. Check the option Disable voice chat on client side or Disable video chat on client side. Click Save button for changes to take effect.
  2. Is it possible to disable clients save history message on their local PC?
    Yes, Launch BigAnt Console, click Advanced Settings > System Manager on left pane. Check the option Disable saving message history on BigAnt client's local computer. Click Save button for changes to take effect.
  3. How can administrator broadcasting announcements from server side.
    Launch BigAnt Console, click Advanced Settings > Send bulletin message
  4. How to print history message?
    For IM server side, click Search and Statistic>>Message Search, click Export button to export message history to a .rtf (Word documents) and print it.
  5. How to display my company logo on BigAnt Messenger.
    1. Launch BigAnt Console, click Company Info>>Company Logo,
    2. Enter the URL where you company logo is located or browser and import the logo from local drive. The logo will be displayed on bottom bar on all BigAnt Client side.
    3. Click Save button for changes to take effect.
    4. The logo will be displayed on bottom bar on all BigAnt Client side.
  6. Is it possible to get a re-branding version of BigAnt Messenger?
    Yes, we provide re-branding service, all the icons and logos on client side can be replaced with your specified ones. Extra customization fee will be charged, please contact info@bigantsoft.com for more information.
  7. How to disable users from sending file?
    Launch BigAnt Console, click User Management>>All Roles, click the default everyone to open its properties window. Switch to Basic Permission, check the option Send file size limits, and enter 0 KB for the file size.
  8. How can we configure BigAnt only to see the users in their corresponding groups?
  9. How to import user profile from .TXT file?
    1. Create a new.TXT document. Enter the user account information following format below, save the TXT document.

      Account[tab key]Username[tab key]mobile[tab key]email[tab key]jobtitle[tab key]department

      Amy[tab key]Amy Smith[tab key]090[tab key]ada@aol.com[tab key]Sales[tab key]manager[tab key]Sales Department

    2. Launch BigAnt Console, click Import>>Import User from file, browse and import the TXT document.
  10. How to add extra tab on BigAnt client main window?

    For example, we will add a tab to enable users to browser web page through BigAnt interface directly.

    Create a Notepad, and input the following code, save it as MyWeb.Addin.

    <BODY>

           <BigAntVAddin Name='My Web' Site='1' Flag='2' TargetType='3'>

                  <Target>

                  <![CDATA[/im/demo.html]]>

                  </Target>

                  <DisplayName>My Web</DisplayName>

                  <Desc>

                         <![CDATA[This is a test]]>

                  </Desc>

           </BigAntVAddin>

    </BODY>

    1. You can replace the URL in <![CDATA[/im/demo.html]]> with your website URL.
    2. The <DisplayName> is the tab name that will appear on client side, you can change it as well.
    3. <Desc> is the description for the webpage
    1. After editing and saving the MyWeb.Addin. Please launch BigAnt console, on the left pane, please click Advanced Settings >> Plug-in
    2. On the right window, please click Plug-in Info button to open a new window, then click Import button to browse and insert the MyWeb.Addin.
    3. Please restart the BigAnt server, so the client will logon again, the newly added tab will appear on the IM interface.

Trouble Shooting

  1. When I logon my BigAnt client, get a message of Connect error?
    Please click the trouble shooting button on logon window to view the full error message,Make sure the server port, server address are correct.
  2. I have assigned Roles with different Organizational Permission to different user accounts, but seem not getting to work?
    Launch BigAnt Console, click Advanced Settings > System Manager, check the option Enable OU permissions when assign a role to users accounts. Click Save button for changes to take effect.
  3. I get a register failed message when enter my registration code.
    Please check the version of BigAnt Console by click Help>>About BigAnt Console, please make sure using the latest version of BigAnt Console.