Essentials: What You Must Do

Before you create a scheduled meeting, make sure that you are logged on to Sametime. If your system administrator requires you to log on to Sametime when you schedule meetings, the logon dialog box or page appears automatically. If the logon dialog box or page does not appear automatically, click "Log on to Sametime" in the upper right corner of the Meeting Center. When the dialog box or page appears, enter your user name and password and click OK.

Choosing a Meeting Type

The meeting types in Sametime provide different levels of interaction. The following table will help you choose the appropriate meeting type for your meeting. (Understanding the available tools and permissions is also useful when choosing a meeting type.)

Meeting Type

When to Use

Tools Included

Collaboration

For small meetings with two to five participants
For highly interactive meetings with several presenters and frequent communication

All tools except audio, video, and telephone are included by default.
You can remove tools on the Tools tab of the New Meeting page.

Moderated Presentation or Demo

For a large presentation, structured meeting or seminar with 10 or more participants
For moderately interactive meetings with a few presenters

All tools except audio, video, and telephone are included by default.
You can remove tools on the Tools tab of the New Meeting page.

Broadcast Presentation or Demo

For a large presentation or demonstration where most participants only need to watch and listen

Note The administrator determines if you can schedule a broadcast meeting.

For presenters, all tools except audio, video, and telephone are included by default.
Most participants in the meeting only watch and listen; they cannot interact with others. (See "Participating in a Broadcast Meeting" for more information.)
You can remove tools on the Tools tab of the New Meeting page.

Tip Once a meeting begins, you cannot switch to another type of meeting. However, the Moderator can use permissions to change the level of interaction in a Moderated Presentation or Demo or Collaboration meeting to effectively switch to the other meeting type.

Naming the Meeting

Enter a name for the meeting. You can use any characters in the meeting name, including letters, numbers, spaces, and symbols. Try to choose a name that other participants will recognize. (When participants attend an unlisted meeting, they must enter the meeting name exactly as it is entered on the Essentials tab.)

Choosing a Moderator

The Moderator conducts the meeting and controls participation during the meeting. The Moderator can grant and remove permission to:

Draw on the whiteboard.
Share a screen.
Control a shared screen.
Transmit computer audio and video.
Start instant meetings from the Participant List.

When you create a meeting, you are the Moderator by default. You can choose another Moderator for the meeting so that someone else conducts the meeting and controls permissions for the meeting. For example, if you are scheduling the meeting for someone else, you might want to choose that person as the Moderator.

Expected Participants

If your version of Sametime includes an "Expected participants" field on the Essentials tab, enter the number of participants that you expect to attend the meeting. When you save the meeting, Sametime checks to see if there is enough space on the server for your meeting:

If there is enough space for your meeting, the meeting is saved and the Meeting Details page appears.
If there is not enough space for your meeting, your meeting cannot be scheduled at your preferred time. Return to the Essentials tab and choose a new time for the meeting or select fewer participants for the meeting.

Tip If some of the participants in your meeting are at the same location, you might want to suggest that they meet in the same room. When you schedule the meeting, you can count this group of people as one participant.

Scheduling the Meeting

Do one of the following:
- Choose Start Now to begin your meeting immediately. Go to step 4.
- Choose Schedule to choose a future date and time for your meeting. Continue to step 2.
If you chose Schedule in step 1, use the following controls to choose a date for the meeting to start:
- Double arrows: Change the month of the meeting.
- Single arrows: Change the day of the meeting.
  Tip You can choose any present or future date for your meeting. You can also enter the date directly in the Date field.
If you chose Schedule in step 1, choose a time for your meeting to start. You might see any of the following controls:
- Double arrows: Change the time of the meeting in increments of one hour.
- Single arrows: Change the time of the meeting in increments of 15 minutes.
- A calendar icon : Choose any month and day for the meeting. The date you choose appears in the Date field on the New Meeting page.
  Tip You can choose any present or future time for your meeting. You can also enter the time for your meeting directly in the Time field.
Choose a duration for the meeting. You might see any of the following controls:
- A Duration field with double and single arrows on either side. Use the double arrows to change the length of the meeting in increments of an hour. Use the single arrows to change the length of the meeting in increments of 15 minutes. You can also enter the duration directly in the Duration field.
- Separate fields for hours and minutes. Use the arrows next to the "hours" field to change the length of the meeting in increments of one hour. Use the arrows next to the "minutes" field to change the length of the meeting in increments of fifteen minutes. You can also enter the duration directly in the "hours" and "minutes" fields.

Tip You can also enter the duration directly in the Duration field. If you use am and pm, you can type 3p to jump to 3 pm. If you use 24-hour time, you can enter the time without the zeros. For example, enter 15 to schedule for 15:00.

Repeating the Meeting

You can repeat a meeting that you are scheduling. For example, you can repeat the meeting every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. for two months. When you repeat a meeting, the Moderator for the first meeting is the Moderator for every meeting in the series.

Recording the Meeting

You can record the meeting by selecting the "Record this meeting so that others can replay it later" check box. You might want to record the meeting if a large number of people are unable to attend but would benefit from viewing it at a later time.

Choosing Presenters for a Broadcast Presentation or Demo

If your meeting is a Broadcast Presentation or Demo, you can choose presenters for the meeting. Presenters in the meeting can use all tools in the meeting and can interact during the meeting.

If you are finished scheduling your meeting, click Save. Otherwise, proceed to the appropriate tab to enter more information for the meeting.

Caution If there is not enough space on the server for your meeting, the meeting is not scheduled after you click Save. Return to the Essentials tab and choose a new time for the meeting.

Note If your system administrator has configured Sametime so that all meetings require a password, you might need to enter a meeting password before you can save the meeting. See "Security: Protecting the Meeting" for information about the meeting password.

See also:

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