User guide - client software

Transcription

1 User guide - client software Introduction Installation Update Getting started Application overview Screen sharing User list Set language Eco mode (low bandwidth settings) Selecting camera, microphone and speaker Advanced settings System requirements & Network settings Last updated on June 13, alfatraining Bildungszentrum e.k. 1

2 Introduction The alfaview client software is part of the alfaview video conferencing platform alfaview.com. alfaview can be installed without administrative rights on any modern computer running a Microsoft Windows or Apple macos operating system. It is designed to be launched from a web browser and leads the user directly into an online meeting. The multilingual user interface shows all participants with their camera image including an audio connection. Depending on the individual permissions of the participant, additional features like screen sharing or document upload are available. 2

3 Installation Download Download the alfaview software from the downloads section on the alfaview platform alfaview.com/downloads. Installation on Microsoft Windows To start the installation process, double-click the setup file. Follow the instructions in the installer dialog. Installation on Apple macos Open the disk image file with a double click. To install, simply drag the application icon into the Applications folder. 3

4 Update Update on Microsoft Windows A blue notification bar will appear at the top edge of the application when a new version is available. Click on the link in the notification to start the update process. The application will quit, update, and relaunch automatically. The whole process usually takes less than a minute. Update on Apple macos Currently, updates for the macos version will not be announced inside the application. Check periodically for new versions in the downloads section of the alfaview platform. The update procedure for macos is the same as described under installation. 4

5 Getting started Step 1: Login & application launch The application can only be launched from within the alfaview platform. Log in on the alfaview platform alfaview.com/login. Make sure the alfaview application is installed. Click on the Join button of a room in the room list of your alfaview account. The alfaview application should launch instantly. Upon first launch of the application, the following steps have to be considered: Your internet browser will prompt you to select the application that should be associated with the Join button. Choose the alfaview application and tick the option to remember your choice. A window will present the terms of use. Read the terms carefully and confirm your acceptance. The terms of use can also be found in the downloads section on the alfaview platform alfaview.com/downloads. Step 2: Activate microphone & camera When the application launches, you will see and hear all other participants in the meeting room. Plugin your headset and select it as source for microphone and speaker in the settings panel. Activate the microphone by clicking on the microphone symbol in the main menu. The microphone must be activated manually. To reduce ambient noise, you can adjust the microphone sensivity in the settings panel. The attached or built-in camera should be selected and activated automatically. 5

6 Application overview Main menu The main menu in the upper center of the application controls the main functions: Microphone Camera Screen sharing It also displays the name of the meeting on the left and optional informational icons on the right. Video area The video area shows the video streams of all participants in a meeting: Each video element holds the name of the respective participant in its bottom left corner. When a participant is speaking, a blue border will appear around the video element. Moderators will appear at the top of the video area. If a participant does not enable the camera, a user symbol or the user s initials will be shown instead of the video. Videos are sorted by the names of the participants. 6

7 Stage area The stage area shows shared media such as screen sharing streams, whiteboards or documents. If the stage area is active (e.g. screen sharing active), the video area is compressed and moved to the left. If multiple media items are shared, a preview item appears at the bottom of the stage. Each preview item shows the name of the participant that shares the media. To switch between multiple shared media, the preview item can be activated on click. The active preview item shows a blue border. Sidebar The sidebar currently incorporates the user list, chat functionality and application settings. Each tab in the sidebar represents a group of functions. The sidebar appears when clicking on a sidebar icon and disappears when clicking outside of the sidebar. You can also use the bottom arrow icon to open and close the sidebar. Each sidebar tab can be configured to stay open by clicking the triple dot icon in the upper right corner of a sidebar tab, then PIN. The sidebar itself can be displayed at the left or the right by clicking on the bottom sidebar icon. 7

8 Screen sharing Screen sharing can be initialized from the screen share button in the upper main menu. Start screen sharing Click on the screen sharing icon in the main menu to trigger the blue area selection frame. The selection frame sets the boundaries of the shared area on your screen. Drag the frame to the desired location you want to share. Adjust the frame size by dragging each border to the desired position. You can see the pixel size of the captured area in the title bar of the screenshare frame. Activate screen sharing with the blue START button. All participants will see the screen sharing after a few seconds. Stop screen sharing To stop sharing your screen, you can either click the main menu s screen share icon again, or the red STOP button in the screen share frame. 8

9 Pause / Resume screen sharing To pause screen sharing, click on the FREEZE button in the screen share frame. When screen sharing is paused, participants will see a freeze frame. This can be used to resize or reposition the screen share frame without the participants watching the process. It can also be used to save bandwidth when sharing content that does not change. When screen sharing is paused, the screen share frame color will change to amber. To resume screen sharing click on the UNFREEZE button in the screen share frame. Drawing mode (beta feature) This feature is currently in development and subject to changes in form and function. To activate the drawing mode, click on the DRAW button in the screenshare frame. To start drawing, simply hold the mouse button and move the mouse inside the screenshare frame. Release the mouse to stop drawing. The drawing will be seen instantly by all participants. Only the participant who launches the screen share can draw. You can choose from four basic colors in the title bar of the screenshare frame. While in drawing mode you cannot access the underlying application. Click on the CLEAR button to remove the drawing and exit the drawing mode. Multiple screen sharing (beta feature) 9

10 This feature is currently in development and subject to changes in form and function. If multiple participants share their screens, preview elements of each screen share become visible. Click on a preview element to show a screen share on the stage. Each participant can decide individually which shared screen to display on the stage. 10

11 User list Click on the user icon in the sidebar to display the user list. All active participants in a meeting will be listed in the user list. Participants will be listed with their initials, name, and location. Edit these values in your personal profile page on the alfaview platform. The circular avatar element shows the participant s initials or a user icon if no initials were set. When a participant is speaking, a blue border will appear around the avatar element. Moderators will appear at the top of the user list and are tagged with a star icon. Use the search field at the bottom of the user list to find specific participants. The user list allows for additional configuration: Click on the triple dot icon in the upper right corner of the user list. The user list elements can be displayed in a more compact way using the SLIM button. You can also define which sorting method should be applied to the user list by toggling the sort button between CITY or NAME. Like every sidebar element, the user list can be configured to stay open using the PIN button. However, this will reduce the amount of screen real estate available to, for example, the video area. 11

12 Set language To set the language of the application, click on the settings icon in the sidebar. You will find a dropdown list with all available languages in the upper settings section. Currently, English and German are available. The default language after installation is English. 12

13 Eco mode (low bandwidth settings) To activate the eco mode click on the settings icon in the sidebar. You will find this option in the upper settings section. When the eco mode is active, participant videos will be turned off. Only moderator videos, screen sharing streams and your own video will remain visible. Your own video will be transmitted at a lower quality. All other functions like e.g. audio remain unaffected by this setting. This is especially useful in low bandwidth situations or when experiencing an unreliable internet connection. To save additional bandwidth, turn off your camera in the main menu. An informational icon will be displayed on the right side of the main menu when this setting is active. 13

14 Selecting camera, microphone and speaker To select either camera, microphone, or speaker, click on the settings icon in the sidebar. You will find a dropdown list for each in the devices section. Any device, whether built-in or external, will be listed in the dropdown menus. Select the desired camera, microphone, or speaker in the respective dropdown list. All changes are being saved. Device changes may take a moment before taking effect. 14

15 Advanced settings To configure advanced settings, click on the settings icon in the sidebar. You will find the following configuration elements in the advanced settings section: Microphone sensitivity To adjust microphone sensitivity, you need to activate the microphone in the main menu. Click on the settings element to access the sensitivity slider. Speak a few sentences. The slider indicates the microphone input level. While speaking, adjust the slider to be just within the indicated input level. A good starting value is slightly to the right of the center. Push-to-talk Push-to-talk allows you to activate the microphone manually at the press of a key. This is especially helpful when operating at a place with a lot of ambient noise. Activate the push-to-talk settings element. Activate the microphone in the main menu. The microphone button now turns amber instead of green and shows a strike through microphone icon. While speaking press and hold the <CTRL> key on your keyboard. The microphone button now turns green and shows a normal microphone icon. Additionally, you will see a blue border around your video to indicate microphone activity to all participants. Release the <CTRL> key when you are done speaking. 15

16 Mute speaker To mute the whole application, toggle the mute speaker switch. This setting is not being saved. The application always starts unmuted by default. An informational icon is displayed on the right side of the main menu when this setting is active. HQ video To broadcast your video in high quality, activate the HQ video switch. Quality and frame rate will be increased. Be aware that this setting consumes more bandwidth of your internet connection. An informational icon is displayed on the right side of the main menu when this setting is active. Mirror local video This setting does not affect the way your video is seen by others. Only you will see the video in a mirrored version. Use this setting if you are more comfortable with having the same effect as if looking into a mirror. Dark theme Activate this setting to switch to a dark theme. This is useful when working in dark environments. Experiments This switch activates an additional sidebar tab. Settings in the experimental section will not be described in this user guide. 16

17 System requirements & Network settings Operating System Windows 7 or higher (64-bit only) Mac OS X (Yosemite) or newer Linux (unsupported, not available yet) Hardware 1.5 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 64-bit (x64) processor at least 2 GB of RAM Microphone and speakers (headset recommended) Webcam Internet connection Cable or DSL connection with 6 MBit/s downstream (16 MBit/s recommended) Network A wired network connection is preferred over a wireless one. Port 5380 Data service (TCP) Port 5387 Audio serivce (UDP) Port 5388 Video service (TCP) Port 5389 Realtime event channel (TCP) Until further notice we recommend to open the port range (outgoing, TCP & UDP). 17