VISUAL QUICK START GUIDE ADOBE CONNECT PRO 8 Getting started with Adobe Connect meetings Create and Access Your Meetings 1. Navigate to : https://brookdalecc.adobeconnect.com in your web browser. 2. Log in with your Adobe Connect username and password. If you don t know your password, click the Forgot your password? link. 3. Once authenticated, you are taken to the Adobe Connect Central home page. Click the Create New Meeting button to begin the Meeting Wizard. 4. Enter a meeting name (which is the only required field) and an easy to remember custom URL, such as your course code or meeting topic, new with your initials. The Summary, Start and Duration times are optional and are not required to be filled in to create a meeting. Although, it may be useful to fill in these fields for future reference. Please proceed to steps 5 and 6, do not click Finish yet. Page 1
5. The additional fields to the left require some explanation. The Access fields allow you to decide who has access to your meeting. Registered guests are those that have Adode connect acoounts. Selecting that option restricts others, those who have access to the URL to join you meeting. Note that you can always overide these setting once you have started your meeting. You may also use Adobe invite feature that allows you to send email Invitations to outside users or guests (see Inviting Attendees, below) at any time during the meeting. 6. The last choice is the Audio Conference Settings. By default, Do not include an audio conference radio button is selected. The other option, Include audio conference details with this meeting is used when you will control the audio segment via a telephone conferencing bridge. You will be using the (VoIP) for audio communications (you will communicate through your computer s audio and microphone). Now click Finish TIP: The meeting room you have created is always available at the URL you specified. It is a good idea to bookmark your meeting room for quick and easy access NOTE: Install the Adobe Connect Add-in If you have never hosted an Adobe Connect meeting before, you will be prompted to install the Adobe Connect Add-In. Click Install and follow the instructions. You will only need to install the Add-in once. Page 2
Starting the Meeting - Sharing your screen 1. Click the Share My Screen button in the Share pod. 2. In the Start Screen Sharing dialog, choose how you would like to share your screen. Desktop: Share all applications on your desktop. Windows: Choose specific, already open windows to share. Applications: Share one or more applications along with related windows. After selecting your desired option, click Share. 3. An Adobe Connect icon appears in your system tray (Windows) or your toolbar (Mac & Linux) while you are sharing your screen. Click on this icon to view a menu where you can stop sharing or access other available options. TIP: If you choose to share your entire desktop, it is recommended that you set your screen resolution to 1024 X 768. Reducing the number of applications running will also provide a better experience for your user. Page 3
Sharing Files Saved on your Computer 1. Click the right arrow beside Share My Screen and select Share Document. 2. Click Browse My Computer to select a file from your system. In the Browse dialog, locate the file you would like to share and click Open. The file is automatically uploaded and converted. 3. Once the file has been converted, it will appear in the Share pod. Use the Next and Previous controls to navigate through your presentation. Using voice-over-ip (VoIP) for audio communications 1. Voice-over-IP allows you to communicate with meeting attendees using your computers microphone and speakers. If you intend to use this feature, it is recommended that you first run through the Audio Setup Wizard. To do this, begin by selecting Meeting > Audio Setup Wizard... 2. The wizard guides you through four steps in which you are asked to test your speakers, select a microphone, and optimize the audio. If you ve never used Adobe Connect before, you may see a Flash Player settings box asking for permission to use your camera and mic. Selecting Remember will skip this prompt in the future. Page 4
3. To begin using VoIP, locate the Microphone button near the top of the application. Click the button once to activate VoIP. You can use the arrow beside the icon to mute your mic or adjust your volume. TIP: If you re having problems with the VoIP audio, you can enable the Speex codec in Audio Preferences> Select Meeting> Preference>Audio Sharing webcam video 1. You can easily share webcam video with meeting attendees. To do this, make sure your webcam is plugged in and click either the webcam button or the Start My Webcam button on a Video pod. 2. The webcam will give you a preview of what will be shared. If you are happy with the preview, you can click Start Sharing to broadcast your webcam to all participants. The Video pod will accommodate multiple webcams and scale the images appropriately; you don t need to open a separate pod for each presenter. 3. If you d like to adjust the settings for your webcam to increase or decrease the quality based on available bandwidth, click Preferences from the Video pod options menu, or select Meeting > Preferences > Video. Page 5
Inviting attendees 1. You can invite attendees to your meeting by sharing the meeting URL in an email, chat message, or even verbally over the phone. From within a meeting, you can invite attendees by selecting Meeting > Manage Access & Entry > Invite Participants. 2. In the Invite Participants dialog, click Compose e-mail. An e-mail appears in your default e-mail client with meeting information pre-populated. Simply add attendees by entering their e-mail addresses in your E-mail client and send the invitation. 3. When attendees arrive to the meeting, a notification window may appear asking you to accept or decline their request to enter. Click the checkmark to accept the request. You can also accept multiple requests by choosing Allow Everyone. Page 6
Managing Attendees 1. Meeting attendees fall into three roles: Host: Organizes and facilitates the meeting. Presenter: May assist in meeting facilitation, presenting content, or sharing their screen. Participant: Largely a spectator in the meeting who can chat, respond to polls, and change their status. 2. There are two easy ways to change any participant s role. Hovering over a participant s name will bring up a hover menu with several options giving you the ability to choose a role for the individual, as well as individually control their audio, video and chat options 3. Additionally, the Attendees pod supports drag and drop functionality. Click and drag users from one role to another. Page 7
Working with Pods Pods are the display panels, similar to windows that are present in a meeting room. The sizing buttons in the upper right corner of each pod will either close or maximize the pod. You can move a pod on the screen by dragging it by its title bar. To resize a pod, drag the lower-right corner. You can have multiple pods open during a meeting and control which pods participants can view at any time during the meeting. Only Hosts can control the layout and view of the pods. Pods are dynamic and contents of the some of the pods can be exported. Types of Pods: Share enables a host or presenter to display their screen, a document or a whiteboard. Attendee shows all participants in a meeting and their role. Camera and Voice shows webcam output (video) for those who can broadcast Chat instant messaging location; content can display to everyone or presenters only; can email the contents of a chat pod to preserve its content. Note location for note-taking that all attendees can see Poll used to create multiple choice or multiple answer questions for participants. File Share- location to upload files that can be shared with meeting attendees V Page 8
Web Links location for web addresses so that the host can force attendees browsers to open a designated URL to be viewed during the meeting. Q & A a pod that can be linked to the chat pod. Attendee can ask a question in the chat pod and presenter can answer in linked Q&A pod. When presenter answers, the question and answer appear paired in the chat pod. Add a Pod 1. In the menu bar, select Pods and select the type of pod. 2. From the submenu, select Add New <pod name>. Show/Hide a Pod 1. In the menu bar select Pods. A check mark appears next to all pods that are currently visible in the meeting. 2. To hide a pod, select the pod name to remove the checkmark. You can also hide a pod by simply clicking the Pod Options icon in the upper-right corner of the pod itself and choosing Hide from the menu. Types of Pods: Delete / Rename a Pod 1. In the menu bar, select Pods > Manage Pods 2. To delete: Select the pod in the list that you want to delete and click Delete. 3. To rename: Select the pod in the pane on the left and click Rename. 4. Click Done. Page 9
Share Control of your screen with another Presenter 1. The other presenter must request control of the screen first (by clicking the Request Control button on the Share pod title bar). 2. The host (you) will see a request message in the lower-right corner of the meeting room window. 3. Click Accept. Re-take control of a shared screen 1. Click the menu button in the upper-right corner of the share pod and choose Stop Control. Release Control of a shared screen 1. Click the Release Control button on the Share pod control strip. Screen Views When sharing, you can force participants to see certain pods option so that you can see the same view in their share pod as you have on your screen. Click the icon in the upper-right corner of the share pod and choose Force Participant View Full-Screen mode 1. To display your share pod at full-screen size, click the Full Screen button in the Share pod title bar. Click the button again to return to normal size. This button is available, by default, to all attendees. Each attendee can choose whether or not to view the pod in full screen mode. Synchronize option By default Connect synchronizes documents so attendees see the same frame that the presenter sees. A host or presenter can click the Pod Options icon in the upper-right corner of the pod and uncheck Sync to turn off this synchronization so that attendees can move through presentations or simulations at their own pace. When synchronization is off, controls for presentation playback appear at the bottom of the share pod. Page 10
Advanced Management of Roles for Participants and Meeting Options Block incoming attendees 1. In the menu bar, select Meeting > Manage Access and Entry > Block Incoming Attendees. 2. If you want attendees to request entry, select Incoming Attendees Can Request Entry. 3. (Optional) In the text box, edit the message for incoming attendees. Click Save Message. 4. Click OK. Changing attendee roles 1. Select a participant s name from the Attendee pod 2. From the fly-out menu that appears, select a role (Participant, Presenter, Host). 3. Notice that the icon next to the attendee will change and their name will appear under the appropriate category in the attendee list. Remove an attendee from a meeting 1. Select the name of the participant to be removed in the Attendee pod. 2. Click the Pod Options icon in the upper-right corner of the Attendee pod and choose Remove Selected User. Enhance a participant s rights Hosts can change participant s rights to give them control over selected pods. For example, if a participant would like to be able to add notes to a Note Pod, rights can be extended for access to this pod only. 1. Select the name of the participant from the Attendee pod. 2. Click the Pod Options button in the Attendee List pod. 3. Choose Attendee Options. 4. Select Enhanced Participant Rights. 5. In the dialog box, select the pods that you want the participant to control and click OK Page 11
Place a meeting on hold Block access to a meeting room temporarily. Hosts and presenters can still enter and work in the room but all other participants are on hold. 1. In the menu bar, select Meeting > Manage Access and Entry > Place Participants on Hold 2. Revise the Message for Participants and click OK to place meeting on hold and display the message. (You can also revise this message while the meeting is in progress and click the Save button to have it ready to use at a later time.) Restarting a meeting 1. To re-start the meeting for participants, go to Meeting > Manage Access and Entry > uncheck Place Participants on Hold. Ending a meeting 1. In the menu bar, select Meeting > End meeting 2. Revise the message and click OK to end the meeting and display the message to all participants. Open vs. Closed Rooms You may leave the meeting room open or closed between meetings. If meeting rooms are left open, people with the URL can enter and exit at any time to view what you have posted there. (See Blocking Incoming Attendees if you don t want the meeting room to be left open.) Page 12