User types

TrueConfAbout 11 min

User Types

TrueConf Server It supports flexible role separation for users and administrators working with our video conferencing system. Below, we will outline the features available for each role.

User roles

All users connected to TrueConf Server are divided into the following categories:

If a user is registered on the server, but is not currently authenticated, he/she will not be counted as one of online users whose number is limited by the license.

Please note that a conference can be created only by users authorized in the client application or in the personal area.

  • Guest – an unauthorized user who joins a TrueConf meeting. Guest access is only supported in public web conferences (webinars) only. Guests can join the meeting via a link or after preliminary registration. Guest can be assigned with a moderator or speaker role. These roles are described below.

When creating a public conference, you can restrict guest permissions, prohibiting them from sending messages, audio, and video.

Unlike authenticated users, guests can only see TrueConf ID (login) and the display name in the cards of other conference participants. This restriction is set due to security reasons and cannot be removed by the server administrator.

  • SIP, H.323 and RTSP devices – SIP/H.323 endpoints that participate in a meeting (but are not registered on the VCS), and RTSP streams (for instance, for IP camera broadcasting).

For more information on how connection to TrueConf Server for each type of user is licensed, refer to the "Licensing TrueConf Server" section.

User ID

Each user of the TrueConf Server video conferencing server (as well as the TrueConf Online online service) must have TrueConf ID.

TrueConf ID is a unique TrueConf user identifier designed for authorization in client applications and participation in video calls and conferences.

TrueConf IDIt typically takes the form <user_id>@<server>, where <user_id> represents the username provided during registration, and <server> is the server name TrueConf.

Examples:

User with the name maria on the corporate TrueConf Server named server.example.com:

maria@server.example.com

Despite the use of the @ symbol, TrueConf ID is not an email address. If you send an email to the user's TrueConf ID, it will not be delivered.

Participant roles in a conference

All registered users and guests (in public events) attending a TrueConf conference are referred to as participants. In addition to video conferencing, they can interact with each other through chat, reactions, and audio remarks (in a moderated role-based conference). Each participant is visible to everyone else in the conference participant list and cannot be hidden. They also have additional rights depending on their role.

Moderator

A moderator is a conference participant who manages the event. This user is allowed to:

  • Invite users to the video conference

  • Remove participants from the event

  • Invite attendees to the podium during a moderated role-based conference

  • "Pin" speakers on the podium during a smart meeting

  • Control the devices of any other conference participant

  • Сhange the video layout

  • Select an audio track for participants in a conference with simultaneous interpretation

  • Change the PIN code and ID for an ongoing conference

  • Lock an ongoing conference for new participants

  • Manage the waiting room and send participants to this room

  • End the conference.

Unlike the owner, there can be multiple moderators in a TrueConf conference. Moderators can be appointed by the conference owner or any other moderator.

A guest or a participant from another TrueConf Server, with whom your federation is set up, can also be appointed as the moderator.

Owner

The owner is either the user who created the conference or was given the owner role by the administrator when the event was scheduled or edited. When this user joins the conference, he/she receives:

  • All moderator rights listed above

  • Access to event analytics

  • The right to manage video recording on the server side

  • Ability to download video recordings of this conference stored on the server.

A moderator cannot remove the owner from the conference.

Operator

An operator is a user who is automatically given the moderator rights in all video conferences that this person joins on his/her server. This role can be helpful if it is necessary to appoint an experienced person who can assist in conference management.

In addition to moderator rights, an operator can:

  • Join any conferences protected by a PIN code without having to enter it

  • Join locked conferences.

Operator rights, unlike moderator rights, are not transferred via federation. This means that if you are an operator on your TrueConf Server, you will not be an operator when joining a conference hosted on a different server (with a different address).

Speaker

A speaker is a conference participant who is allowed to make a presentation to other participants.

Depending on the selected conference mode, the role of a speaker can be given to:

  • in an "everyone on screen" mode conference – each participant;

  • In video lecture mode – only one participant (teacher), who can be heard and seen by other participants (students). However, it is possible to add another speaker by giving the selected participant the moderator role. This person will also be displayed in the layout.

  • In a moderated role-based conference, any participant can become a speaker after sending a special request for the podium. Additionally, a moderator can invite a participant to the podium. The number of spots on the podium has to be specified when creating the conference.

  • In a smart meeting – any user who starts speaking or sharing content. This person will be displayed in the layout instead of the participant who keeps silence longer than others or who started content sharing earlier than others (if his/her microphone is muted). The number of spots on the podium is limited and can be specified when the conference is created. A moderator can “pin” any participant on the podium so this person is displayed in the layout even if he/she is silent.

Translator

An interpreter is a conference participant who is allowed to translate the presentations of other participants simultaneously in conferences with corresponding settings. The interpreter selects the language from the language pair assigned to him/her (e.g., English-Spanish). All attendees, who select the translated language, can hear the interpreter, although they do not see the interpreter in the video layout (in the participant list, the interpreter is displayed in the separate Interpreters section).

Administrative roles

In TrueConf Server, there are two types of administrators based on user groups that are automatically added to the OS during the server installation.

Administrator with full access

An administrator with full access is a role that offers complete control over TrueConf Server settings via the control panel. This role is given to a user of the OS where the video conferencing server is installed. The user has to be added to the special OS group:

  • TrueConf Server Admin on Windows

  • tcadmins on Linux.

To manage server settings, you need to log in to the control panel with this user's credentials (username/password).

Security Administrator

A security administrator is a role that provides limited read-only access (without modification) to certain data in the TrueConf Server control panel: event reports, connection data, conference and call recordings (if available), and chats. This role is given to a user of the OS where the server is installed. The user has to be added to the special OS group:

  • TrueConf Server Security Admin on Windows

  • tcsecadmins on Linux.