BLYNCLIGHT

Lighting the Way to Increased Productivity

An Embrava Blynclight can be placed on your desk and uses Embrava Connect software to represent your availability status to colleagues in the area. This is especially helpful in open-office environments to reduce interruptions and boost productivity. The Blynclight displays specific colors that silently and instantly let your colleagues know when you are available for conversation or in do-not-disturb mode.

Requesting a Blynclight

Submit a service request to SLE Digital Strategies and Services at dss.sle.msu.edu. There may be a charge to your department account for the equipment, so be sure to get prior authorization from your manager or fiscal officer.

Connecting a Blynclight

Blynclights are connected via USB to your computer, laptop or docking station. A technician will typically connect your device and install necessary software.

Confirming Software is Installed

If the Embrava Connect software is installed, you can see its icon (lowercase "e") in the Windows System Tray, by clicking the "show hidden icons" ˄ symbol near the date and time toward the lower, right corner of your monitor. 

If the icon is not present, Embrava is likely not installed. You can install Embrava Connect through the Software Center application, as described in this separate article on installing optional software. 

Configuring and Setting Your Blynclight Status

Note: Previously, Blynclights could reference your Outlook calendar events and Skype for Business presence to automatically update your status. However, MSU is decommissioning Skype for Business in favor or Microsoft Teams. Embrava is working to integrate with status settings for Outlook calendars and MS Teams in the future.

Meanwhile, you can set your Blynclight status manually through Embrava Connect: 

1. First, ensure your Blynclight is connected and software is installed.
2. Open Embrava Connect by finding and clicking its icon in the System Tray (as described previously), then clicking Open Embrava Connect.
3. When the application opens, click File, then Connections.
   
   
    
4. Make sure the only check-box selected in the Available Connections area is the Manual check-box. To deselect other connections, click their check-boxes.
   
   
    
5. Click Ok.
6. On the Manual tab menu, click the drop-down to the right of the "Light" setting, then select the color corresponding to your desired status.
   Your Blynclight should now reflect the chosen color.
   Note: You should only need to do steps 3-5 once. After that, you will simply need to open Embrava Connect and select a light color to update your status.
   
   
   
   The RHS recommended settings are:
   • Green - Available
   • Yellow - Unavailable or away from your station
   • Red - Busy
   • Purple - Do not disturb
      
7. For ease of reference and to reinforce office etiquette, hang a sign near your light.
   A sample office sign (PDF) is attached to this article.

Setting “Hotkeys” to Control your Blynclight

Configuring Hotkeys will let you use keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl + Alt + some other designated letter or number) to quickly change your Blynclight status. Follow these steps to define them:

1. Access the Embrava Connect software through the Windows System Tray, by clicking the lowercase "e" icon and selecting Open Embrava Connect. 
   
   
    
2. Ensure the “Active” box is checked and the device type is set to Blynclight Standard (pictured below). 
   Using the proposed settings, you can control your Blynclight colors by simultaneously pressing the “Ctrl” and “Alt” keys plus the chosen “Hotkey.”
3. For each hotkey you wish to define, type in a name, select a light color, then type in a hotkey (letter or number) of your choosing.
4. Check the box to the right of the line to activate the hotkey.
    
   Recommended configurations are shown below.
   • Name: Available, Light: Green, Hotkey: A 
   • Name: Busy, Light: Red, Hotkey: B
   • Name: Away, Light: Yellow, Hotkey: C
   • Name: Do Not Disturb, Light: Purple, Hotkey: D

You may now close Embrava Connect and try out your hotkey keyboard shortcut.