User Guide 1
Meet how you want. When you want. FREE. Audio Conference Host a free audio conference call by phone with up to 400 people at a time. Web Conference with Video & Screen Share Host an online meeting from your web browser with up to 10 people at a time. Free online meetings include up to 3 live video feeds & screen sharing. Increase your limits with bundles. 2
Table of Contents Introduction Account Details Conference Limits Technical Requirements Call Recording p. 4 p. 5 p.6 Phone Conferencing How to Connect International & Toll Free Numbers p. 8 p. 9 Web Conferencing How to Connect Online Meeting Room Video Conferencing Screen Sharing Text Chat & Document Sharing Changing Views p. 11 p. 12 p. 13 p. 14 p. 15 p. 16 Conference Controls 3 Mute Modes Phone Conference Controls Browser Conference Controls p. 18 p. 19 p. 20 How to Record Calls Download & Share Recordings p. 22 p. 23 Scheduling a Conference How to start on-demand How to schedule in advance Optional Settings Invitations & Reminders Address Book p. 25 p. 26-27 p. 28 p. 29 p. 30-31 After your Conference Call Summaries Call History Transcription p. 33 p. 34 p. 35 Other Settings & Features Conference Setting p. 37-38 PIN-less Entry & SMS Notifications p. 39 Mobile Apps p. 40
Your Account Details Dial-In Number: This is the number you would dial into to access the call. You are assigned a default dial-in, which you may change to any of the other available dial-ins through your account settings. Access Code: Unique code for your participants to use when joining your conference call by phone. Moderator PIN: Unique code for you to manage the call, mute and unmute participants, and toggle your settings by phone. Online Meeting Room: Unique URL to host your online meetings. Simply visit your Online Meeting Room via web browser to start your conference. Note: Your account details always stay the same (unless you change them) and are yours to use anytime. 4
Conference Limits FREE 9.99 24.99 34.99 400 400 400 400 Connect by Web 10 15 20 25 Live Video Feeds 3 5 5 8 Screen Sharing Included Included Included Included International Numbers Included Included Included Included Toll-Free Numbers N/A Included Included Included Call Recording N/A Included Included Included Connect by Phone Looking for more? Calls with 400+ are available. Learn More! 5
Technical Requirements Feature Hardware Software Connection Phone Conference Landline or Mobile N/A Any Phone Plan Microphone Chrome 25+ Firefox 40+ Safari 9+ Internet Explorer 11+ 0.1 megabyte upload speed for broadcasting video 0.1 megabyte download speed per video feed Microphone and Webcam Chrome 25+ Firefox 40+ Safari 9+ Internet Explorer 11+ 1 megabyte upload speed for broadcasting video 1 megabyte download speed per video feed Webcam Chrome 25+ Firefox 40+ Safari 9+ Internet Explorer 11+ 1 megabyte upload speed for broadcasting video 1 megabyte download speed per video feed Web Conference Video Conferencing Screen Share 6
Phone Conferencing 7
How to Start & Join a Phone Conference 1 Provide your participants with dial-in number(s) and access code. 2 At the time of the conference, all parties call into their preferred dial-in number. 3 Participants: Enter your access code followed by the # key. You: Enter your Moderator PIN followed by the # key. TIP! Everyone enters the same call, no matter which dial-in they choose, as long as they enter the same access code. 8
International and Toll-Free Numbers Give your participants additional numbers to choose from when connecting by phone, including free international numbers, premium international numbers & toll-free numbers. They ll be happy for the convenience and the savings. Free International Numbers Free dial-ins are available in countries all over the world, including, but not limited to: Australia Germany Canada United Kingdom Premium International Numbers Toll-Free Numbers Subscribe to any bundle, starting at just 9.99, and offer your participants additional numbers to choose from, such as: Pick up the tab with toll-free numbers when you upgrade to any paid bundle, available in: Japan China Israel India Full list of both Free and International Plus Numbers and rates 9 United States United Kingdom Canada
Web Conferencing 10
How to Start & Join a Web Conference 11 1 Provide your participants with your Online Meeting Room URL. 2 At the time of the meeting, all parties visit your Online Meeting Room via web browser. 3 Select your preferred audio device: Call by Internet or Call by Phone. 4 TIP! Up to 400 people can participate by phone in the audio portion of your meeting by Enter the Online Meeting Room. using your dial-in and access code.
Your Online Meeting Room 12 Record Audio Video Chat Screen Share Upload a Document Text Chat
Video Conferencing Once in your online conference room, each participant can toggle their video on and off by pressing the VIDEO icon at the top of the tool bar. Your FREE account includes up to 3 live video feeds. Need more? Check out our bundles! 13
Screen Sharing 1 2 3 Select the Share icon in the toolbar located along the top menu of your Online Meeting Room. Select Share Screen. A new window will pop up asking what you would like to share with your participants: Your entire desktop or a specific window. From the pop-up choose what you d like your participants to view. And your screen will start sharing. Note: for Screen Sharing to work you must have a web camera installed. 14
Text Chat & Document Share Text Chat is great for asking questions or sharing specific information. To access the Text Chat feature select CHAT in the toolbar at the top of your Online Meeting Room. Text Chat logs are saved in your conference history and sent with your post-call summary email. Document Sharing allows you to instantly send and receive documents during a conference call. Open the Text Chat feature in your call window and select the icon in the bottom right corner. 15
Change your views Full screen is activated by clicking on the four arrows and will enlarge the video to the entire screen. Expand screen hides the lower tiles, enlarging the main video to fit the window. Pin Video is a way to select which tile will display in the main area on your screen. Hover over the tile and click Pin Video. 16
Conference Controls Mute/Unmute, Mute Modes, Name Announce, Entry/Exit Chimes, End Conference 17
Mute Modes Mute Modes is a handy feature that lets the Moderator mute and unmute callers in large groups. There are 3 available settings: Conversation Mode: Everyone can speak and be heard. Q&A Mode: Participants are muted, but can unmute themselves via phone or web browser. Presentation Mode: Participants are muted and can only be unmuted by Moderators. The default is set to Conversation Mode. To change the default muting mode, go to Settings and select Moderator Add-On. 18
Conference Controls from your phone Participant Controls Moderator Controls 19
Conference Controls from your browser Invite Participants: Select Add participants under the Menu tab to open your Contacts list Toggle Mute Modes: Select Moderator Controls under the Menu tab to change the call s muting configuration Mute/Unmute Participant: Hover over that person s tile and select Mute or Unmute Remove participant: Hover over that person s tile and select Remove End Conference: Select Moderator Controls under the Menu tab and click End conference Start/Stop Recording: Select RECORD under the toolbar tab Raise your Hand: Select Raise Hand under the Menu tab at the top to alert the Moderator of your request to unmute your audio 20
Call Recording 21
How to Record Your Conference Calls Call recording is a premium feature available when you upgrade to any bundle. Currently, recording is only available for the audio portion of your conference call. From Your Phone: Start or stop call recording by pressing *9. Note: Make sure you ve joined the conference using your Moderator PIN if you re going to initiate call recording by phone. From your web browser: Start or stop call recording by clicking Record in the toolbar at the top of the screen. You ll know recording is in progress when you see the recording button pulsing red. 22
How to Download & Share your recordings Share your call recording, download, or playback by phone. Call recordings are stored in your individual call history or can be accessed from the right sidebar of your dashboard. TIP! Did you know that you can have your call recordings transcribed? See page 35. 23
Scheduling a Conference 24
How to Start a Conference On-Demand To start a conference call or online meeting instantly, simply share your conference details. No advanced scheduling is required. Conference details can be accessed from your: Welcome email Dashboard Online Meeting Room 25
How to Schedule a Conference in Advance STEP 1: Pick a Date 26 STEP 2: Set if you want to repeat
How to Schedule a Conference in Advance STEP 3: Invite Participants TIP! Save time and create groups in your address book for large groups of participants that attend regular meetings. See page 31 27
Optional Settings When scheduling a call you will be prompted to choose optional settings such as: Toll-Free Call Automatically Record Audio International Call You can also choose to skip this step. 28
Invitations and Reminders Invitations and Reminders are automatically sent to everyone invited to the conference call. Reminder emails are sent to all invitees 15 minutes before the call begins. TIP! Activate SMS reminders and get text message notifications about your call. See Page 39. 29
Address Book Setting up meetings can be a cinch when you upload contacts to your address book and create groups in advance. To access your Address Book, click on the Menu icon from your dashboard and select Address Book. 30
Address Book From your address book, you can import Google contacts, CSV files, and vcards. Create groups to save time on setting up meeting invitations. 31
After your Conference 32
Call Summaries Call summaries are sent to the Host with the following details, as soon as the call is complete: 33 Length of Call Rating Recording Attendees Chat Log
Call History Complete conference details from previous calls can be accessed at any time from your account dashboard. Click on Past in your dashboard to view your call history. 34
Transcription Sometimes recordings just aren t enough when it comes to keeping accurate, secure and easily shareable meeting notes. That s why we offer secure call transcription to meet any record-keeping need. All of our proofreaders hold advanced degrees in English. Each transcript is reviewed by a professional proofreader to ensure accuracy and consistency. You can find rates and order a transcription from this page: http://www.fftranscription.com/freeconference 35
Other Settings and Features 36
Conference Settings Waiting Room (Hold Music) The waiting room has two settings: 1. Music will play until a Moderator joins using the Moderator PIN. 2. Music will play until a second person joins the call, either with the access code or Moderator PIN. Entry/Exit Chimes When a person enters or exits a call, chimes will play to indicate the change. Name Announce When a person enters a call, their recorded name will be announced. 37
Conference Settings You can customize or edit a number of conference settings to fit your needs, including: Profile Picture Time zone Default Dial-In Access Code Moderator PIN These features are located under the Settings tab in the top toolbar of your dashboard. 38
PIN-less Entry & SMS Notifications Register your phone number with FreeConference.com to receive: PIN-less Entry: Our system will recognize you based on your phone number and automatically connect you to the right conference call, without having to enter your Moderator PIN or Access Code. SMS Notification: Receive reminder text messages 15 minutes before your call. Also receive text messages if someone has joined the call before your arrival. 39
Mobile Apps Take FreeConference.com on the Go! FreeConference.com mobile app turns any phone or tablet into your mobile conference call meeting hub. Start or schedule free conference calls on the go instantly. Easily manage your meetings and connect with anyone, anywhere, for free. 40