Joining via a browser (Version 2, March 2017)
Download as PDFJoining a videoconference via a browser is easier than ever on our new conference interface, available in Chrome and Firefox.
Joining the room
If you or another participant has scheduled a meeting using Vscene, you will receive an email invite with the conference details. This email will include a link to join the videoconference via your browser. Open the link to join the videoconference; if using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, this will launch the new interface.
You can also join virtual rooms through the My Virtual Rooms page on Vscene.jisc.ac.uk. Click the ‘Join’ button next to a room to bring up the connection information window. Select the ‘Web browser’ tab and click ‘Join now’ to connect to the room. Find out more about this window here [insert link to page that doesn’t exist yet]
If you are not logged into Vscene, you will need to enter your name before you can join the room.
Once you have joined the videoconference, you will see any other participants in the video frame, and your own self-view in the corner.
On the left side of the screen is the sidebar. At the top of the sidebar, you can switch between three tabs: Setup, Screen Share, and Chat.
Setup
On the Setup tab, you can find information about the room or conference you’re in, with the room information and control panel buttons near the top. You can also change how other participants are displayed to you using the layout options, and change which camera, microphone, or speaker will be used.
Note that Chrome is only aware of devices that are plugged in when it first starts—if you do not see your device, close and reopen your Chrome window.
On Screen Share, simply click the screen share button to bring up Chrome’s screen sharing window. You can choose specific applications to share, or share your whole screen. Press the same button again to stop sharing.
Note that screen sharing is only available in Chrome; you will still be able to receive screen share content if using Firefox, but you won’t be able to share your own screen.
Chat
On the Chat tab, you are able to send messages to other participants. Click Group chat to send messages to everyone else in the videoconference. Otherwise, you can choose individual people to talk to in Private chat.
You will be alerted to new messages by orange notification boxes. Follow the notifications to see new messages in group or private chat.
Group chat is archived by day and can be accessed by virtual room owners. Archives are stored for 90 days and can be saved as downloadable .csv files, which can be opened in Microsoft Excel. Private chats are not archived.
Controls, and other features
On the bottom of the screen are the controls. From left to right, you can: disable your camera, microphone, and speakers, disable your self-view, make Vscene full screen, and disconnect from the call.
On full screen, you can press Escape to return to normal. Move your mouse to the bottom of the screen to temporarily show the controls.
Customise your layout with the tabs on both bars, to collapse and expand them.
Click the participants box in the top-right of your screen to expand a list of every participant in the videoconference. Note that you may not be able to see every participant at once, as how many you see is dependant on your computer’s network speed and processing power. Participants might also have disabled their video.
