# Conference management

# Managing an event in its information card

Before the conference starts, you will have access to a number of features in the card of this event (if you are the owner). You will be able to:

Go to conference analytics
Start the event
Join the conference from its web page (for a virtual room) or add it to your calendar (for a scheduled event)
Open the conference editing menu
Delete the event.

All other participants (including moderators) will only be able to join the event (for a virtual room) or add it to their calendar (for a scheduled conference).

When the conference starts, the list of features will change, and the owner will be able to view analytics, access the real-time meeting management section, and set or change PIN.

# Real-time meeting management

You can change the video layout and control participants’ devices during an ongoing conference right in your personal area. To do it, use the real-time meeting management tool.

This feature is available in one of the following cases:

You are the conference owner.
You are a conference moderator.
You have the operator rights which means that you automatically become a conference moderator.

In the last two cases you have to be connected to the conference from a browser (via WebRTC) or in your client application and added to the list of invited participants before the start of the meeting; otherwise, this event will not be displayed in your personal area.

To go to the real-time meeting management section, select a conference in the Meetings or Virtual rooms section and click Conference manager in the panel that will be opened on the right side.

On the new browser tab, you will see the real-time meeting management tool, namely, the layout management page. In the upper right corner, one can check the conference name and its current duration. The button opens the menu where a user can find the list of participants while the button /docs/server/media/info_button/en.png leads to additional settings (PIN, ID, etc.).

# Changing video layouts

The order of participants’ video windows in the layout (all participants in “all on screen” mode and presenters in a moderated role-based conference or a smart meeting) is determined in the following way by default: the windows are displayed in the order in which participants joined the conference. The layout is filled from left to right and from top to bottom starting from the upper left corner.

In case of a smart meeting, it is impossible to manage layouts since the group of presenters displayed in the layout is formed automatically. So, you will immediately see the list of participants with buttons for managing their devices.

If layouts have not been configured yet, you will see the list for adding them after accessing the real-time meeting management section. Select the layout mode that you want to apply:

for all participants
for SIP/H.323 and WebRTC users
individual video layout for a specific meeting participant.

Layout management is unavailable in video lecture and smart meeting modes.

After that you will proceed to the layout control panel.

/docs/server/media/rtm-layout-setting/en.png

Click on each video window and select its type in the pop-up menu displayed on the right side. If a window is supposed to be reserved for a certain fixed user, select a participant. You can drag any video window with your mouse and enlarge (prioritize) it with a double-click.
Select the type of video layout (arrangement of video windows) in the lower part of the menu.
Specify the number of video windows in the layout.
Choose the location of the video conference participants' names in their video windows: at the top, at the bottom, or choose not to display them.
Click to open advanced settings:
- forbidding users to change the video layout
- filling in the layout automatically
- clearing the layout (the number and location of video windows will not be changed)
- deleting the layout.

After setting participants' video windows and changing their position in the layout, click on the Apply button. In case of a moderated role-based conference, the participants added to the layout will be automatically invited to the podium.

The number of available podiums in all video layouts will be displayed in the upper panel. For more details, refer to the rules for reusing unique slots.

To switch between layouts or add a new one, click on the Layout button in the meeting control panel:

/docs/server/media/rtm-change-layout/en.png

If you want to enable meeting participants to decline the layout you have applied, select Enable users to change layout in the additional settings when creating the video layout.

# How to rename a participant

You can change the name displayed in the video layout for any participant. This change will apply only to the current layout and will not affect the user’s name in the address book.

Click on the button in the participant’s video window to access the additional menu.
Select the Change display name option.
Enter the new name in the pop-up window and click Save.

Renaming is also possible when a participant is replaced in the video window.

# How to add a content window

To add an extra video window where shared content or slideshow will be displayed, just select a slot and set its type to Content.

# Managing participants' audio and video devices

You can control participants’ devices right after adding them to the layout with these buttons:

— enable/disable camera

— mute/unmute microphone

— increase/decrease microphone gain (displayed when clicking on the arrow icon which is on the right side of the microphone)

— open the additional menu where you can:

remove a participant from the podium or invite him/her to the podium (available only in a moderated role-based conference)
rename a participant in the layout
replace a participant in the video window with a different one
set up audio and video devices (choose and set up camera, audio capture and playback devices, adjust microphone sensitivity)
select the audio output channel for this participant (only in a conference with activated simultaneous interpretation mode);
assign a moderator
set an individual layout for a participant
spotlight a video window or make it smaller (in the layout with a spotlighted window)
clear the video window.

To select multiple participants, check the box in the upper right corner of the video window for each participant. In the toolbar at the bottom of the screen, you can turn off cameras and microphones of multiple meeting participants and remove them from the conference. In a moderated role-based conference there will be an additional button for removing the participant from the podium.

/docs/server/media/rtm-select-participants/en.png

Click next to the conference name if you need to hide participant management buttons or display the list of users who were not added to the layout. You will be able to use the following options for managing each participant:

# List of conference participants

You can also go to the full list of participants by clicking the button and selecting the Participant List option. In this list, you can remove some users from the conference, invite new participants, and control their devices.

To return to the video layout management, click the button and select the Layouts option. In moderated role-based conference mode, there will also be buttons for inviting /docs/server/media/invite_podium_button/en.png and removing /docs/server/media/leave_podium_button/en.png users from the podium.

/docs/server/media/rtm-device-management-via-menu/en.png

By clicking the button , you will open the menu for changing the display mode: as a list or as tiles.

# Add a new participant to a conference

You can invite users to an ongoing conference. To do it, open the list of participants and click the /docs/server/media/add_users/en.png button which is on the right side of the search bar.

The window for adding users will open. There you can select users in the same way as you would when creating a conference.

One can also invite users to the conference in the layout management window, if participants, who are not added to the layout, are displayed.

# Conference time extension

If conference time extension was activated when creating a scheduled meeting, all moderators will be able to increase the duration of the event. One can do it in two ways in the real-time meeting management section:

/docs/server/media/conference_prolongation/en.png

Click the button in the upper right corner and select the Extend conference time option.
If the reminders about upcoming conference ending were activated (check the corresponding box), the notification with the Extend button will be displayed in the lower part of the control panel.

# Conference information

In the real-time meeting management section you can check information about the conference by clicking the button /docs/server/media/info_button/en.png and selecting the Conference details option. A new menu will open: here, one can view detailed information about the event and end it with the corresponding button:

/docs/server/media/conference_info/en.png

UDP Multicast address and RTSP streaming are displayed only if the corresponding settings were configured when creating a conference by the administrator in the TrueConf Server control panel. The HTML code of the widget is additionally displayed for public conferences to embed it in your website.

# Changing the conference PIN and ID on the fly

It is possible to change the PIN (needed for joining the meeting) and ID (unique identifier) of an ongoing conference. For example, when all invited participants have joined the conference, you can protect this meeting against unwanted connections. This feature is available in the same cases when real-time meeting management is available.

To change PIN or ID:

Go to the real-time meeting management section.
Click on the button .
Select one of the options and specify the new value of PIN or ID. One can also generate a PIN automatically or set a new one if it was not specified before.

The owner can also set the PIN code in the card of a conference available in the list of scheduled events or virtual rooms.

# Locking a conference

A moderator can lock a conference for new participants either temporarily or up until its ending. The conference can be locked in one of these ways:

Select an ongoing conference in the list of meetings in your personal area, and click Lock conference in the card of this conference.
Go to the real-time meeting management section, click the button and select Lock conference.

When a conference is locked

it can be joined by:
- Moderators (including the owner)
- Users who will be explicitly added by the moderator (including those who were previously invited, but did not join).
it cannot be joined by:
- Authorized server users who were not explicitly invited by the moderator after the conference was locked
- Users who were added to the list of invited participants before the conference started, but did not join before the conference was locked
- Guests (in case of a public conference).

Each time when a conference ends, it automatically becomes unlocked which is the default status.

One can make a conference accessible to new participants in the same section where the conference can be locked. Select the option Unlock conference in the conference card or in the real-time meeting management section.

# Waiting room management

A conference moderator can control the waiting room (enable or disable it) during the meeting. To do it:

Go to the real-time meeting management section.
Click on the button .
Depending on the current state, select Enable waiting room or Disable waiting room.
When the waiting room is disabled, you will see a pop-up window where one can choose the actions for the participants in the waiting room: they can be invited to a conference or removed from it.

/docs/server/media/rtm-waiting-room/en.png

Each time when a conference is ended, the status of the waiting room is reset to the value specified on the Advanced tab before the start of the conference.

# Conference recording

As the owner, you can start video recording not only when creating or editing a conference, but also when this meeting has already started. To do it, take these steps:

Go to the real-time meeting management section.
Click on the button .
Select the Recording option.
In the opened window start or stop recording (if it was started previously).
If recording has already started, click the button which is next to the conference duration timer.

A conference can be recorded only if this feature was previously activated by the administrator of your TrueConf Server.

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