Conferences

Any video conference provides the following participants' rights:

• Owner

• Moderator

• Operator

• Speaker

• Interpreter.

Read the “User roles” section to learn more about the features available to registered users and guests during conferences.

Conferences with simultaneous interpretation can be created only in the scheduler, but not in the quick conference menu.

Connecting to a conference

You can join a video conference in the following ways:

• Call the conference owner

• Call the conference with its ID

• Choose a conference and click Connect to the conference in the conference scheduler

• Connect to the conference from its webpage

• Go to the conference page by entering its ID from the TrueConf Server guest page

• Go the conference webpage from the personal area. This option is available only to the conference owner.

• Enter the conference join URL in the search field of your client application.

Ability to join conferences depends on separate PRO licenses. This feature may be unavailable due to license restrictions on the video conferencing server. In this case you will see the corresponding message.

Creating a сonference

Go to the Conferences section in the main application menu or click on the button . Select the Meet now option in the left part of the window in the Conferences section. Then, enter the meeting name and select the conference mode: Smart meeting, Moderated role-based conference, All on screen or Video lecture.

In Smart meeting and Moderated role-based conference modes, you can select the maximum number of participants and presenters on the podium. To do it, click on the drop-down menu which is in the right-hand side of the conference mode section:

When you join a meeting by calling its owner, the owner receives a corresponding request by default. You can change this settings by enabling the Automatically approve join requests checkbox. In this case, a user who wants to participate in the meeting will automatically connect to the meeting when calling its owner.

You can also enable this box after creating the conference. To this end, go to Conference options in the conference control panel by clicking on the corresponding button .

To turn off participants’ cameras and microphones at the moment when these users join the conference, mark the corresponding checkboxes in the Other options section:

If Smart meeting mode is selected, the box Mute participants on entry will be checked by default. To learn more about the mechanism of filling the vacant spots on the podium in a smart meeting, check the corresponding section.

The button can be used to clear the meeting settings and create it from scratch.

After that, click on the Add participants button in the Participants section to open your contact list. Select the participants you would like to invite to a conference and click Add.

Conference ID

Every conference has its unique identifier (conference ID, CID). It is generated automatically when a conference is created. However, it can also be set manually. If you know CID, you can easily join the conference.

Quick conference template

You can use templates to start conferences with pre-defined settings.

All conference templates are locally stored on the user's computer and are not synchronized with other devices.

Click on the Add to templates button if you want the template to be displayed in the Conferences → Conference templates section. Later you can use this template at any time.

When selecting a template, you can start and delete a conference, change its name, mode and number of participants. You can undo all unsaved edits by clicking on the corresponding button. Once you have made the changes, you can save your template.

You cannot restore the deleted template.

Conference start types

In addition to a quick conference, there are 2 kinds of conferences that can be distinguished by the launch type: scheduled conferences and virtual rooms.

Scheduled conference is a meeting that will be started at a specified time. It is possible to create a recurring conference that will be started periodically. One can also configure reminders about this event.

Virtual room is a conference that does not require time settings and automatic start schedule. Participants can enter and leave this conference via conference ID anytime until the conference is hosted on the server.

Virtual room benefits:

• Instant meetings and messaging: you won’t have to spend your time on meeting setup. Create your own virtual room once and use it when you need it most.

• 24-hour access: your partners and customers will be able to connect to your virtual room at any time, from any place.

• Save money on meeting room equipment in your office.

Waiting rooms

When creating a conference (of any type), you can check the box Put participants in waiting room on entry; in this way, you can make sure that all participants except moderators are immediately directed to the waiting room. The user, who is put in the waiting room, will be unable to see or hear other participants (and vice versa). Additionally, this person will be unable to access collaboration tools. A participant can be moved to the waiting room only by moderators (including the owner).

The waiting room will be available only if you check the box Put participants in waiting room on entry when creating a conference.

With the help of waiting rooms, you can flexibly manage access to the meeting. To move a participant from the waiting room back to the conference:

1. Click on the in the upper right corner of the conference window.

2. In the list of conference participants, you will find the Waiting room section. Right-click on a participant and select the option Invite to conference in the drop-down list.

   

Similarly, you can send a participant to the waiting room during a conference: right-click on a user in the list of participants and select the option Put in the waiting room.

You can also invite all participants who are currently in the waiting room. Click on the button which is near the list heading and select the Invite all option in the context menu.

Creating a conference from a group chat

To call all participants of a group chat, click on the in the upper right corner. The button will open the menu for [starting an instant meeting] (#create-conference). All chat participants will be automatically invited to the new conference.

By default any group chat that is escalated into a conference will be linked to this conference. The conversation between participants will not be divided into multiple chats. You can unlink the chat and the conference with the button which is in the upper part of the Conference settings section.

Click on the Unlink button in the pop-up window. As a result, a new chat will be created for this conference.

Call-to-conference escalation

Sometimes, it may be necessary to involve additional participants into a discussion. TrueConf for Windows client application allows you to quickly transform your video call into a group conference in "all on screen" mode and connect new participants. There is no need to interrupt a call and start a new video conference.

To add a new participant to a conversation:

1. Go to the Contacts section in the main menu which is in the left part of the application.

2. Choose a participant you would like to invite and call this user in the way described in the corresponding section of this guide.

You can also connect an IP camera or other devices using call strings.

You can invite users to an ongoing call in a different way:

1. Click on the in the upper right corner of the video call window.

2. Add participants from the list of contacts or search for them by entering their names (here you can also connect a device by entering a call string).

When a video call is escalated into a conference, a group chat will be automatically created for this conference. This chat will be available to all conference participants. However, it will not include the messages from the private chat with the user participating in the initial video call.