Open Office Communicator from Web page

Question

Is there a way (html or JavaScript preferred, but VBScript, Flash, Silverlight ok too...) to open an application like Office Outlook, Office Communicator or Lync directly from a Web page?

I don't need to start an e-mail or open a chat with a specific user, but rather access the application's general menu.

Of course, a user could directly open the application from his/her desktop menu. But the purpose is to have a Web page that provides some context and guides the user to the right tool depending on the needs.

Answer 1

Lync does have some command-line parameters you can call, which will activate Lync, provided it is installed on the machine.

TechNet has the full list here - however, they all perform some action, none of them just activate Lync.

The closest thing I could find was the callto function - which doesn't initiate a call, but opens the dialog. It seems to be the call that "does the least":

callto:sip:[email protected]

I've tested that you can call this from the Start > Run window. Therefore, I think you should be OK to include this as a HREF link: especially if you are running the page in a trusted zone (as I assume this is an intranet application).