A Meeting module as part of the gloCOM Desktop application allows organizing meetings that support features like audio conferencing, video conferencing, chat, screen-sharing, local recording, and much more. Meetings can be private (only invitees can join) or public (anyone with the number or link can join). Creating meetings within the gloCOM Desktop application requires a meeting license. Otherwise, joining an ongoing meeting can be accomplished by receiving a meeting invitation or joining by meeting number.
Without a license, the user can only join the meeting.
If users are experiencing issues with using the microphone, camera, or screen sharing during a meeting on macOS, they should check their security settings.
The gloCOM Desktop application needs permission for:
If necessary permissions for the Microphone, Camera, or Screen Sharing have yet to be granted, a pop-up dialogue asking for them will be displayed.
A red exclamation mark will also appear next to the icons in the option bar as a warning that permissions have not been granted.
To turn these options on/off, please navigate to System Settings -> Privacy & Security.
There are a few ways to start a meeting.
The first way is to click on the Meeting button within the navigation bar. A Meeting window will appear with various options. Through this window, a meeting can be created, scheduled, or joined. Also, meeting and recordings lists can be accessed.
Furthermore, when creating an instant meeting, users can decide whether the meeting should be private (only invitees can join) or public by checking the checkbox next to the "Public (anyone can join)" label.
An instant meeting can be started with or without participants, who can be added after the meeting begins. Participants can be added to the list by dragging contacts from the contact list and dropping them into the participants list within the Meeting window. To remove participants from the participant list click the X button. When everything is ready, click the Start button to start an instant meeting or the Close button to close the window.
The second way is to right-click on the desired contact within the contact list and select the "Start meeting" option from the drop-down menu, which will start a meeting instantly.
The third way to start or schedule a meeting is through chat conversation, which can be done by clicking the Meeting button within the navigation bar. Both one-to-one and group chat conversations support this ability.
When a meeting is started from the chat conversation, a meeting join link will be automatically sent to the chat. This link can be used to join the meeting quickly via web or mobile application.
This option is turned on by default. To turn it off, please navigate to Preferences -> Meeting and uncheck the checkbox next to the "Show meeting join link message in chat if meeting is started from chat window" option.
Finally, the fourth way is to start a meeting through an ongoing one-to-one/conference call by clicking the Meeting button within the call/conference window.
Join by number allows users to join a meeting by entering an existing meeting number. To do so, select the "Join by number" option from the drop-down menu within the Meeting window and enter the meeting number provided by the meeting organizer.
Schedule a Meeting allows users to arrange a meeting in advance. To do so, click on the Schedule meeting button.
While scheduling a meeting, the following information needs to be provided:
The search field and departments button can be used to filter contacts while scheduling a meeting.
A Recurring meeting is one that repeats every set time (every day, week, or month). For example, every week on Tuesday, you have a sales meeting. Users can edit recurring meetings to suit their needs.
Meetings can be scheduled from the chat. Clicking the Meeting button within the context bar will open a pop-up modal asking users whether they want to start an instant meeting or schedule a meeting with all chat participants.
Clicking the Schedule button within the pop-up window opens the Schedule Meeting window. Note that the participant list is pre-populated with all chat participants, so they do not need to be added manually.
It is also possible to add new ones and remove existing ones.
The meeting subject is also pre-populated with the chat name + Meeting (for example, Sales Meeting). This field is also editable.
When everything is entered and ready for scheduling, a user should press the Schedule button to confirm changes. The meeting will then be added to the Scheduled Meetings list, which can be managed like all scheduled meetings.
Besides the option to Schedule a meeting from the chat, the user is also able to:
As the name suggests, Schedule Meeting Notification shows the scheduled meeting notification N minutes before the meeting starts, allowing the user to start the meeting.
The N represents the value that depends on the settings set within the Preferences -> Meeting tab, within the gloCOM Desktop application (for example, 10 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, etc.). To disable the Schedule Meeting Notifications, please uncheck the checkbox next to the “Show scheduled meeting notification” option. By default, this option is enabled.
Pre-expiry notification is a feature designed to automatically notify all meeting participants ten minutes before the end of the maximum meeting duration based on the license/package type. This notification is a gentle reminder that the meeting is approaching its conclusion. If the message is not closed, it will countdown automatically until the end of the meeting. Also, if someone joins the meeting less than ten minutes before the end, they will get a message with the exact time remaining for that meeting.
This message pops up in front of all opened windows on your machine, even if the meeting screen on the desktop app is minimized!
To see the list of all ongoing, scheduled, finished meetings, or meeting recordings, please click the Meeting list button within the Meeting window.
Meetings can be searched within this window, and the Calendar URL can be copied and pasted into the user's calendar client.
Under the Scheduled tab, scheduled and in-progress meetings can be found. Scheduled meetings are all meetings planned for the future. In-progress meetings are a particular category of meetings that represents all currently active meetings to which the user has been invited.
The Meeting Details tab with the following information will be displayed for the selected meeting:
The user can copy the invitation link by pressing the "Copy link" label.
The Meeting Details will be displayed for the selected meeting.
Depending on the meeting type and meeting status, the user will be presented with different button options.
The following list shows the meaning of those buttons:
Under the Previous tab, all finished meetings can be found.
The Meeting Details, Chat Records, and Attendance tabs are available for the selected meeting.
The Meeting Details tab with the following information will be displayed for the selected meeting:
The Copy button allows the user to copy meeting. Pressing it will open the Schedule meeting window with copied meeting details.
Only the meeting organizer and Co-Organizers can copy the meeting.
The Chat Records tab displays all chat messages exchanged during the meeting, which can be helpful when something important is shared.
The meeting attendance report gives information about the meeting and is available only for finished meetings. To see it, please navigate to the Meeting List window, click on the Previous tab, and select the Attendance tab on the right side of the window.
After selecting it, the following information will be displayed:
The search field and the Export Meeting button are located below the info section. The search field allows for the filtering of participants, and the Export Meeting button can be used to create a CSV report containing information about the participants' engagement. The report should distinguish between participants who joined via audio-only, video, or both, offering insights into different modes of engagement.
And finally, below the search field is the list of participants who attended the meeting. Selecting one of them will display information about their Engagement and Presence.
Under the Recordings tab, all meetings for which recordings can be converted or have already been converted can be found.
The user can access recordings through the Meeting window by pressing the Recordings list icon or the Recordings tab within the Meeting list window.
Depending on the recording status, the user will be presented with different button options.
The following list shows the meaning of those buttons:
The meeting interface contains various options that can be used during a meeting.
The meeting interface consists of:
Users are able to change the participants' layout during a meeting by clicking on the Speaker/Grid layout button at the bottom right corner of the layout. They can switch between the Speaker and Grid layouts. The Speaker layout focuses on one video stream, either the person currently speaking or the one the user pins. It is also a default view when a screen-sharing session is active.
The three dots button in the upper right corner of the participant's video contains the following options:
The Grid layout shows participants in the grid and automatically changes the number of video streams based on the number of participants.
It follows the following conditions:
Participants will be sorted to have those who spoke last be among the first video streams.
The Meeting is now able to run 100 active video participants in one meeting.
The Meeting Recordings feature allows audio, video, chat history, and screen sharing to be recorded during meetings. While recording, the application stores the necessary information on a computer to generate a recording after the meeting ends. This way, the meeting can be held without fear that the converting process will interfere with the ongoing meeting.
To start recording, click the Record button in the far left corner of the toolbar at the bottom of the window.
Once clicked, the button will change its look. Two buttons, Pause and Stop, will appear, allowing users to pause and stop recording. To record their audio, users must use the option "Join by computer" otherwise, it will not be recorded.
The arrow next to the Record button lets users choose whether to record all services or just audio. Selecting the "Recording settings" option will open options related to recordings. Here, users can choose where to save their recordings. They can also decide whether to draw the duration timestamp on video, delete temporary files after converting them to video, or automatically convert recordings after the meeting ends.
Converting recordings requires significant computer resources.
Generated recordings can be found under the Recordings tab within the Meeting List window. After navigating to the Recordings tab and selecting the desired meeting from the list, the Recording Status will be displayed on the right side of the window. Depending on the recording status, the user will be presented with different button options.
The following list shows the meaning of those buttons:
By default, every meeting recording will be converted automatically. To turn off the automatic conversion, please navigate to Preferences -> Meeting -> Recording and uncheck the following option: "Automatically convert recordings after meeting is ended".
The Recording reminder feature reminds the user to record an important meeting.
To record a meeting, the user should press the Record button in the pop-up window, and the recording will start. The user should also choose the Cancel button if they do not want to record that meeting.
By default, this option is disabled.
To enable this option, please navigate to Preferences -> Meeting -> General and check the checkbox next to the "Remind to record on meeting join" option. When enabled, any time a user creates or joins a meeting, a pop-up window appears asking if the user wants to record the meeting.
Like audio and video files, chat history is now included in the recording output as a text file since it is an important part of the conference. This file will contain all data, such as links, emojis, text messages, etc, that participants exchange through the meeting chat.
Here, users can mute/unmute themselves, select a microphone and speaker devices, reduce background noise, switch phones, leave audio, and open audio settings related to audio devices.
In addition, they can mute themselves by pressing the Mute button. If the user is currently muted and attempts to speak, a prompt will appear to inform them that they are muted.
"You are muted" notification will appear when a user attempts to speak while muted.
Here, users can turn on/off their camera, blur their background, choose their virtual background, and open video settings related to the meeting.
In addition, they can turn on/of their camera by pressing the Video button.
Clicking this button displays a list of all meeting participants. Participants can be filtered through this list, and new ones can be invited using a contacts list, email, and phone.
Inviting new participants via phone cannot be done if users have joined their audio by computer.
When selecting new participants is finished, click the Invite button at the bottom of the list to invite them. Clicking the Back button cancels the invitation and displays the participants' list.
Organizers and co-organizers can mute all participants by pressing the Mute All button.
An organizer and co-organizer can assign other participants as co-organizers and mute them. They can also remove other participants from the audio and from the meeting. All this can be done by clicking on the participant within the list and selecting the desired option from the drop-down menu.
Only a meeting organizer can remove co-organizer privileges.
All participants can mute/unmute themselves and turn on/off their cameras through this list.
Participants can be re-invited to the meeting if they have left it.
Web and mobile users can now upload their avatar picture, which will be visible to all participants during a meeting.
For external users, uploaded avatars from the web client will be displayed on all other participants' clients (desktop, web, mobile).
An external user refers to any participant who joins the meeting via mobile, web, or a gloCOM desktop client connected to a different PBX.
If the user has the gloCOM extension, the corresponding gloCOM (desktop) user avatar will be displayed for desktop app users, not the uploaded avatar from the web client. However, uploaded avatars from web clients will be displayed for web and mobile participants.
Users can click the Share Screen button to broadcast their screen to the meeting participants.
After clicking the Share Screen button, several screen-sharing options will be displayed.
Options are as follows:
Once the desired area has been selected, click on the Share screen button to start screen sharing. When the screen sharing is started, the context bar with the previously mentioned options will appear.
Besides the options mentioned before, users have the ability to:
Under Options, the next options can be found as follows:
To enable this option, a remote control must be activated. Selecting the Share Clipboard option will allow the other side to copy the current clipboard text and paste it on the remote-control host while the remote control is active. The presenter can disable clipboard sharing anytime by selecting the Share Clipboard option again.
The presenter who uses the web application can not give remote control or enable clipboard sharing (to web/desktop users). In other words, it is impossible to take control of someone's computer and access their clipboard if they are in a meeting using the web app.
Only presenters who use the desktop app can turn on/off remote control and clipboard sharing (to web/desktop users).
While the screen sharing is active, the video window appears on the presenter's side. It shows the current speaker and allows the presenter to adjust what will be displayed within the window. In addition to displaying the current speaker, the list of participants and the screen-sharing preview can also be displayed by clicking the Show list and Show screen sharing preview buttons in the window's upper left corner, respectively. If the presenter wants to minimize/close this window, they can click the minimize/close button in the window's upper left/right corner, respectively.
When a presenter starts screen sharing, instead of a black screen on the viewer's side, a message notifying that the screen sharing is about to start (for example, "Nadine Brett has started screen sharing") will be displayed.
When a presenter starts screen sharing, a notification message "Participants can now see your shared screen" pops up, notifying the presenter that others can see their shared screen. This way, the presenter knows if other participants can see their screen without asking them.
A screen-sharing pause notification will be displayed to all participants when the presenter pauses their screen-sharing during a meeting.
The Raise Hand feature is a straightforward option for catching a speaker's attention without interrupting them during a meeting. Users can access it from the main meeting toolbar.
As soon as the Raise Hand option is activated, the icon color in the user's main toolbar changes to make the user aware that the option is active and vice versa.
The participant's raised hand is displayed in the upper left corner of their video stream within the meeting screen (in both carousel and grid view), and they are also listed in the participants list next to their names. Additionally, on the desktop application, the user will also receive a notification message in the lower right corner that someone has raised their hand.
Sound notification for this option is also presented. If users want to mute it, they can do it by navigating to Preferences -> Meeting -> General and unchecking the checkbox next to the "Play sound notification on raise hand" option. This option is enabled by default.
While in screen-sharing mode, the presenter will be notified when someone has raised their hand. The floating control bar will appear with a blinking raised hand next to the Participants button, changing its color from transparent to blue to inform the presenter that somebody wants their attention. The raised hand will also appear within the participants list next to the name of the participant who raised the hand. As long as at least one hand is raised, a blinking hand will be displayed next to the Participants button.
When the participant raises their hand, the organizer and co-organizers can lower it by clicking on the raised hand icon next to the participant's name in the participants list.
In-meeting reactions allow users to express themselves visually during the meeting by using reactions. Users can access this feature by clicking the Reactions button in the meeting's main toolbar. This will open the reactions menu, where they can choose which emoticon to use.
When the user clicks a desired reaction, an animated version of it will float upwards on the left side of the screen, along with the sender's name below the reaction.
Only one reaction can be sent at a time.
Suppose users want to hide reactions from other participants. In that case, they can navigate to Preferences -> Meeting -> General and uncheck the checkbox next to the "Show reactions" option.
Reactions are enabled by default.
To open the chat, click on the Chat button within the main meeting toolbar. The meeting window will expand with the chat on the right side, where users can exchange text and file messages during a meeting and send emojis. To close it, click the X button in the upper right corner of the chat. Alternatively, you can click on the Chat button again to close it.
Notifications for all received messages will be displayed at the top of the Chat button as a red badge with a number representing the total number of messages received within the chat, as shown in the picture above.
If users right-click inside a message bubble (gray or blue rectangle), a context menu appears with the Copy option, which allows users to copy a selected message, and the Select All option, which allows users to select a message.
Besides regular text messages, users can use the meeting chat to share files.
Files larger than 10 MB cannot be sent.
All files within the chat are displayed as thumbnails containing information like the file name and size. At the bottom of the file message is an icon used to open, download, show upload/download progress, or retry file upload/download, depending on the file status.
At the top right of the file message is a three dots button containing these options:
An input field at the bottom of the chat window is used to send text and file messages. After typing a message, press the Enter (Return) key on your keyboard to send a text message.
A folder icon allows users to send files. Clicking on it opens a dialog where the user can pick up to 5 files to be sent to the chat. The user can also send files by dragging them from Windows Explorer (Finder on macOS) to the messages area within the chat.
An emoji icon allows users to send emojis. Clicking on it shows an emojis window where they can browse through emojis separated into categories. At the bottom of the emojis window is a list of the most recently used emojis.
As the name says, it allows users to end/leave meetings.
After clicking on it, a modal dialog will pop up with the following options:
It shows additional options for screen sharing, video, participants, and the meeting.
Options are as follows:
Suppose a network connection problem affects audio quality. In that case, a notification will be displayed in the lower-left corner of the meeting window, informing the user about the cause of the bad audio.
Using the co-organizer role in Meetings ensures that there is more than one person that can manage important settings in a meeting. It’s a very useful role if the organizer will not be present and as a support to the organizer in terms of being able to co-manage.
One single Meeting can have multiple coorganizers. Meeting participants can be promoted to Coorganizers from desktop app as follows:
After adding participants to the meeting (While scheduling a meeting), right click on the participant name will open a drop-down menu that contains the Assign Co-Organizer option. Press this option to promote the participant to the Co-organizer role. Note that the participant has been added to the Co-organizers list in the Schedule meeting window.
If you mistakenly promote some participants to be co-organizers and want to remove them from co-organizers, it is possible by clicking on the X sign next to the co-organizer name. Co-organizer will be removed.
These co-organizer roles are also visible in corresponding Meeting details, in the Scheduled Meetings list:
Organizers have permission to assign co-organizers during the meeting. This is possible from participant list. Right click on the participant’s name will show all options for managing participants. Press Assign Co-Organizer option to promote selected participant to Co-organizer.
All co-organizers that join meeting via desktop app will have Co-Organizer label in meeting participants list, right below their name - the same way all other labels are added.
Once they are created, the Co-organizers themselves will be able to:
As a Co-organizer, you are able to Start, Edit and Delete meetings from the meeting list. To do so, navigate to the Meeting list and select meeting. These options are available the same way as you are the organizer.
While editing the meeting from Schedule meeting list, you are allow to add & remove participants and assign co-organizers as well.
In a meeting, Co-organizer has almost the same permissions as the organizer. Most of these options are available from the Participants list:
Outlook integration allows user to manage gloCOM Meetings from Outlook. This includes following:
Schedule a meeting
User can Schedule gloCOM Meeting from outlook main tab.
After cliking on to Schedule meeting, user should see an outlook meeting appointment window with a schedule settings dialog where can set the meeting private or public.
After confirmation, outlook appointment interface is filled out with meeting data.
A user is allowed now to edit this invitation - to change subject, body; set date and time, add participants, etc. When enter all necessary data, user should Send invite to participants.
Meeting then will be added to gloCOM Meeting list.
Starting instant Meeting with one or multiple contacts
User is able to Start Instant Meeting from outlook main tab if press gloCOM Start Instant Meeting icon. This will start instant meeting without any participants.
Another option is to Start Instant Meeting with one or multiple contacts, by selecting them from the contact list in outlook. Selected contacts will receive a Meeting invitation.
Cancelling a Meeting
In order to Cancel the Meeting, user should open that Meeting from the outlook calendar list, and choose gloCOM Cancel Meeting option.
After that, user should press Sent Update icon to inform all invitees about cancellation.
Meeting then will be removed from gloCOM Meeting list.
This option will only delete gloCOM Meeting. Outlook appointment will not be deleted.
Convert existing event to gloCOM Meeting
To convert outlook appointment into gloCOM Meeting, user should do the following steps:
Meeting is now added to gloCOM Scheduled Meetings list.
The limitations of the Meeting packages are as follows:
Starter package is defaualt one. This means that will be automatically assigned to all gloCOM Meeting users.
So, if user exceeds limitations for current package type, following info messages appears:
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