What is a conference session?

A conference session is a virtual format to communicate and interact with other participants of the event. Here you can participate in the conference with video and sound.

A conference is therefore suitable for interactive exchange in smaller groups. In contrast, a livestream session does not require video/audio, but allows tens of thousands of participants.

Your functions as a participant

During a conference, you as a participant have many functions that you can perform. 

If certain icons/functions do not appear, this is intended by the administrator of the session and has been configured in this way in Backstage (concerns microphone, video, screen sharing).

Conference view for participants:

Sharing permissions

Depending on the configuration by the organiser in Backstage, you as a participant may not be authorised to activate the microphone and video or to share the screen when you enter the conference. 

In the course of the conference, the presenter can grant release authorisations for individual participants. 

For you as a participant, the granting and revocation of sharing authorisations is apparent as follows: 

Participant is not authorised to share content:

Participant is authorized for audio and screen sharing:

Participant is authorized for all functions: 

Conference functions

The conference functions for participants are described in detail below. 

Switching the camera on and off

You can switch your camera on or off during a conference by clicking on the icon with the camera and thus be visible or not visible to other participants.

Description of symbols:

• Icon with camera crossed out = video off - other participants can't see you
• Icon with camera not crossed out = video on - other participants can see you

By clicking on the arrow next to the camera symbol, you can decide which camera is to be switched on. Mostly the integrated camera is used, but an external camera can also be connected.

It is also possible at this point to combine the background of the camera you are using with a blur filter. To do this, also click on "Start blur" to activate it or on "Stop blur" to deactivate it.

Mute / Unmute

You can mute yourself during a conference by clicking on the icon with the microphone at the bottom of the bar. Muting means that other participants in the conference cannot hear you.

You can be automatically muted when you enter the conference - depending on the configuration. The speaker can also mute all participants during a conference. In both these cases, you must actively unmute.

Description of symbols:

• Icon with microphone crossed out = mute activated - other subscribers cannot hear you.
• Icon with microphone not crossed out = mute deactivated (unmute) - other participants can hear you

By clicking on the arrow next to the microphone symbol, you can select microphones and loudspeakers.

Share your Screen

You can share your screen during a conference which is then visible to all the other participants in the conference. 

By clicking on the "Share your screen" icon on the lower left corner of the screen, a pre-selection window opens.

On this you can select what exactly you want to make visible to the other participants.

Either the entire screen, an application window or a Chrome tab can be shared. During sharing, your mouse cursor will be visible on the shared window for the other participants. To do this, you need to click on one of the three tabs on the pre-selection window and then on the corresponding window/tab, etc.

Description of the three sharing options:

- Entire Screen: 

• The other participants in the conference can see your entire screen. You can switch back and forth between windows and tabs without exiting the "Share" function.

- Application Window:

• Only a specific open window can be shared with the other participants. If you switch between windows, only the shared window will still be visible to the other participants.

- Chrome Tab

• Only a specific Chrome Tab can be shared with the other participants. If you switch between tabs or windows, only the shared tab is visible to the other participants.

Share audio while sharing screen

If you want to share your screen with audio (e.g. when sharing a video), you need to check the "Share audio" box in the bottom left corner.

Finally, you need to click on the "Share" button to start sharing the screen. This button can be clicked on only after you have selected the window to be split within a tab.

While you are sharing your screen (no matter which of the three sharing options), there is a red frame around your window so you can see what content you are sharing.

To cancel the sharing function, you can press "Stop sharing" in the selection window which is visible for you while sharing. Your screen will then no longer be visible to other participants. You can also make the selection window disappear by "Hide".

Raise hand

During a conference you can raise your hand by clicking on the hand symbol "Report". This function is always possible - even if you are unauthorised for functions.

If you have raised your hand, the speaker will see a hand next to your name and the functions that have been activated for you, which he or she can then respond to in the conference.

While you have raised your hand, the hand symbol is highlighted.

You can lower your hand again yourself by clicking on the hand symbol again ("Lower hand"). Only you can do this yourself.

Network Quality Indicator

Green full bars indicate a good enough network quality to perform a conference call.

Red empty bars indicate bad network quality. 

If you move your mouse over the quality display, additional information on the network receive quality and the network send quality is displayed.

A distinction is made between good, poor and bad.

Functions for other video tiles

Click on the three dots to the right of the name of the corresponding participant to activate further functions. 

Pin

You can pin other conference topics for your own view by clicking on "Pin". This means that it is visible to you as a large picture. All other video tiles are lined up below. Your own video is always visible at the bottom right. If several participants are pinned, the videos are divided in the large picture. 

If a conference theme is pinned, a pin is visible next to its name. 

If you want to detach the participant again, you can click on "Unpin" in the settings. 

Fit video into frame

You can decide for each participant whether they want to fit their video into a frame or whether they want to fill the previewed video frame with their video.

Please note that this function is only possible if the participant has switched on his/her camera. 

To do this, click on "Fit in frame" or "Fill frame".

Video fit in frame: 

Video fill frame: 

Mobile view

We recommend joining the conference from a laptop or other large screen device to actively participate.

To join the conference on your smartphone, click Join Conference after the warning message.