Joining a meeting
Joining
You can join the meeting with any up-to-date web browser on your computer, tablet or smartphone. We recommend that you use earphones with a microphone, or a headset, so that the other participants do not hear an echo of their own voice.
You can join a Meeting via the meeting link you have received from the organizer of the meeting. In an invitation sent from the platform, you can also click the ‘Join meeting’ button.
By clicking on this link, you will be redirected to the join page of the Meeting platform.
You can also open the login page of your platform, choose the ‘Join meeting’ tab and enter the meeting ID or the meeting link under ‘Meeting id or meeting link’.
You can set your preferred language by choosing from the different options in the top right corner of the window. This will also affect the language settings in the Meeting Room itself.
Please enter your name, e-mail address, and if required a password, and then choose from the following options in the drop-down menu: ‘Video and audio’ or ‘Audio only’. You will still be able to change these in the Meeting Room itself.
| Field | What you enter |
|---|---|
| ‘Your name’ | The name the other participants see |
| ‘Your email (optional, to receive the meeting summary)’ | Your email address, if you want to receive the summary of the meeting. Some meetings require it; the field is then called ‘Your email address’. Some meetings do not ask for it at all. |
| ‘Meeting password’ | Only shown if the meeting has a password. You find the password in your invitation. |
| ‘Join with’ | How you take part, see the table below |
The options under ‘Join with’:
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| ‘Video and audio’ | Others see and hear you |
| ‘Audio only’ | Others only hear you |
| ‘Video only - I dial in by phone’ | Others see you in the browser and hear you through your phone |
| ‘No audio and video - I dial in by phone’ | You use the browser for the tools only, and talk through your phone |
The two phone options only appear if the meeting has telephone dial-in. The dial-in numbers are in your invitation and in the meeting room.
In some meeting types, choosing ‘Audio only’ shows the checkbox ‘Receive video from other participants’. Untick it if you want to save bandwidth and only hear the others.
The picture button next to ‘Join with’ opens the ‘Virtual background’ settings, so you can choose your background before you enter. See Video effects.
If the meeting has language channels for interpreters, you also choose your ‘Speaking language’ and your ‘Listening language’ here. See Language channels.
Below the fields you may find links to the privacy policy (‘You can read our privacy policy here.’) and to the ‘Imprint’ of your platform. If your platform has terms and conditions, tick ‘I agree to the Terms and Conditions’ before you join.
Please tick the checkbox with ‘I agree…’ and click on the button ‘Next’ (or ‘Join meeting’ if the device test is switched off). After the device test, click on ‘Join meeting’.
The ‘I agree…’ checkbox only appears if your platform asks for this consent.
Device test
The checkbox ‘Run a device test before joining.’ decides whether the device test runs when you click ‘Next’. Untick it to skip the test; the join page remembers your choice for next time.
The device test guides you through these steps:
- Speaker: press ‘Start’ to play a sound. If you hear it, click ‘Next’, otherwise check the sound settings of your computer.
- Microphone: say something and check that the grey volume bar reacts. If it does not, choose another microphone above the bar.
- Camera: check that you see yourself. If you do not, choose another camera. This step is left out when you join with ‘Audio only’.
- Connection: press ‘Start’. On the left you see your image directly from the camera, on the right the image received from the server. You should see yourself on both sides.
- Result: if all tests were successful, click ‘Join meeting’. If you had problems, ‘Download Test Report’ saves a report you can send to your support team.
Optional: By clicking on the ‘Test’ tab you can also run a test of your available devices and connections before entering the Meeting. Just hit the ‘Start test’ button and follow the steps.
You can run the same test at any time, without a meeting: add /test-environment to the address of your platform. The invitation email also has a ‘Start test now’ button under ‘Prepare yourself for the meeting’.
Meetings with an access check
Some meetings check who you are before you can enter.
Meeting password
The ‘Meeting password’ field appears on the join page. You find the password in your invitation.
Identity check
If only invited participants may enter, a window ‘Identity check’ opens.
- Enter the email address your invitation was sent to under ‘Your email’.
- Click ‘Request passcode’. You receive an email with your personal passcode.
- Enter it under ‘Passcode’ and click ‘Verify passcode’.
Members only
If only members of the platform or of the meeting organizer's account may enter, a ‘Login’ window opens. Log in with ‘Your email’ and ‘Your password’, or with the single sign-on of your organization if your platform uses one. ‘Keep me logged in’ (if available) keeps you logged in on this device.
Lobby
If the meeting has a lobby, you wait after you click ‘Join meeting’. The page shows ‘Someone in the meeting should let you in soon.’ As soon as a moderator lets you in, you enter the meeting room. If the meeting room is not open yet, the page says so and tries again automatically.
Sign-in page of another service
Some meetings send you to the sign-in page of another service first. That service decides whether you may enter.
Messages on the join page
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| ‘The meeting has not started yet. It is scheduled for … The meeting room will be opened 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.’ | It is too early. Leave the page open: it checks again every minute. |
| ‘The meeting has been completed’ | The meeting is over |
| ‘The account has expired.’ | The account of the meeting organizer is no longer active |
| ‘Meeting not found’ | The link or meeting ID is wrong |
| ‘This meeting is being recorded’ | The meeting is recorded |
| ‘This meeting may be recorded. You will be notified 10 seconds before the recording starts. You can leave the meeting before the recording starts or ask the moderator not to record it.’ | The moderator can start a recording during the meeting |
| ‘This meeting is confidential, we don't store any meeting content on the server. Remember to download the meeting summary before you leave.’ | A confidential (off-the-record) meeting. See Leaving the meeting. |
For an always-open room (if available), the page says ‘Enter room’ instead of ‘Join meeting’ above the fields.
Before the meeting
Registration form
Some meetings ask you to register first. The registration link opens a page with the topic and time of the meeting and a form. Fill it in and send it; the page confirms with ‘You have successfully registered for this meeting.’ Depending on the meeting, you receive the invitation by email right away, or the meeting organizer sends it later.
Finding a date
An organizer can ask you which dates suit you before the meeting is scheduled. The link opens the page ‘Please choose your available meeting times.’ Enter your email address, tick every date that suits you and click ‘Select chosen dates’.
Entering the meeting room
Once you have completed the steps above you will enter the Meeting Room.
Depending on the number of participants present in the meeting room the video screens will add up and divide automatically.
We advise you to immediately configure your settings for camera and microphone if you haven’t done this already via the test tab when logging in (see point: Settings).
If you are organizing meetings yourself, see the meeting organizer hand book.
