Navigation, Tools and Controls

Main Application Menu

The basic application functions are accessible from the menu panel at the top of the main application screen:

View:
Normal Mode
– default screen size.
Full Screen
– maximizes the image to full screen.
Compact Mode
– shrinks the video display window to thumbnail size and allows the user to work with other applications.
Terminal view
– full creen view of the client application main window.
Stay on top
– holds application window a top of all other windows.
Self View
– enables your self-view image in a smaller picture-in-picture window during the conference.
Address Book
– opens Address Book window.
Directory Search
– opens Directory Search window.
Call History
– opens a list of recently missed, placed and received calls.

Tools:
Create Group Conference
– opens a Create/Join a group conference dialog box.
Chat
– opens an instant messaging dialog box.
Slide Show
– summons the Slide Show dialog box to enable the slide demonstration.
Screen Sharing
– initiates the transmission of your desktop picture.
Record
– opens a dialog box for recording and playback of the recorded videoconferencing files.
Import contacts from an e-mail program…
– enables the import of address book from an e-mail client.

Setup:
Note: you can find more information on the program setup in the chapter Application Setup
Configuration Wizard…
– allows to complete configuration of the application.
Hardware…
– allows user to change audio/video hardware configuration.
Network…
– allows user to configure the way the application connects to the network.
Preferences…
– allows change of user preferences.
Languages
– allows user to change the interface language.

Help:
Help Topics…
– opens application help with detailed usage instructions and recommendations.
Online Help
– opportunity to fill out the request form and send it to TrueConf Support.
About
– information about TrueConf Client application.

Address Bar (Call to:)

During a One-on-One conference the Call to: bar is used to enter the e-mail address or a TrueConf ID of the person you need to call. For your convenience, the addresses of the last 10 placed calls remain in the drop-down list, which opens after a click on the arrow-button.

Network Quality Indicator

At the top right corner of the main application window over a Toolbar (a vertical line of buttons with icons) there is a connection quality indicator, which consists of several bars.

While not being in a conference the latest automatic Network Test results are displayed by indicator. If it’s grey than there wasn’t any Network Tests accomplished before. For proper application setup we recommend to fulfill the Network Test using Setup > Network.

During a conference the indicator is active and displays color bars which correspond directly to a conference quality you can expect. Based on different bandwidth and network load the indicator can become green, yellow and red for good, normal and bad conference quality respectively.

Audio/Video Controls

Audio and video control panel is located under the main video window. Using this panel you can adjust, turn on and off the sound volume, microphone sensitivity, as well as turn off the camera and adjust its brightness.

Audio Volume Control
Click on the button with the speaker icon to switch the speaker sound on or off or with the help of hotkeys Ctrl+F5. When the speaker is off, the icon is marked with a red X, your counterpart audio information is not received. Drag the slider by the speaker icon left to decrease or right or increase the sound volume.
Microphone Sensitivity Control
Click on the button with the microphone icon to switch your microphone on or off or with the help of hotkeys Ctrl+F6. When the microphone is off, the icon is marked with a red X, and your audio information is not broadcasted. This gives you privacy. Move the slider on the right side of the microphone icon left to decrease or right to increase the microphone sensitivity.
Video Control
Click on the camera icon to switch the video on or off or with the help of hotkeys Ctrl+F7. When the video is off, the icon is marked with a red “X”, and your conference party will not see your video stream. In most cases, a still picture of yourself will be displayed to your conference party. The slider next to the camera icon allows the user to control the color saturation of the picture.
Camera settings
You can also change the settings of the camera being used at the moment by clicking on the arrow situated on the right to the camera icon:

In the opened menu, click on “Camera settings”. In the opened window, you can change brightness, contrast, saturation and other settings of the image.
Desktop Sharing
This option allows broadcasting video from your screen to the other speaker, instead of the camera image. To activate this option, choose “Screen capturer” from the list camera setting (click on the arrow by the camera icon):

“DISPLAY” – broadcasting the dialog window of an application to the conference.
“Application Window” – broadcasting the image of the window of the selected application.

Instant device selection
Next to the keys of turn on/ turn off the device are the keys for device selection . Devices can be changed at any time including during the conference:



HQ Mode

HQ Mode allows acceptance and transmission of high quality video. During the conference this mode can be marked by the “HQ” sign in the application status bar. It means that the video stream is being transmitted in DVD quality with resolution of 640×480. The video properties depend on a user’s computer processing power, connection speed and webcam capabilities.

ED Mode

Unlike the previous mode ED Mode makes it possible to accept and transmit wide-screen video in enhanced definition. If you see the sign “ED” in the application status bar, it means that video stream is being transmitted in DVD quality with resolution of 854×480. Computer processing power, connection speed and webcam capabilities influence the video properties.

HD Mode

HD Mode presupposes acceptance and transmission of high definition video. When HD Mode is on, you will see the “HD” sign in the application status bar. In this case resolution of the transmitted video is 1080×720. The video properties depend on a user’s computer processing power, connection speed and webcam capabilities.

Full HD Mode

Full HD” mode allows to receive and transfer high definition videos with resolution 1920×1080. In this case during the conference the sign appears in the status line of the application .

Application Screen Size Control

The application enables the user to control the size of the main application window in several ways:

» Using the View section of the main application menu;
» Per right-click anywhere in the video area of the main application window.

Normal Mode
Use this mode to set the default size of the main window.

Full Screen
To display a full screen image, select the option View –> Full Screen, double-click on the Windows title bar above the menu panel, or click on the button in the top right corner. While in a call, Full Screen mode represents the person you are talking to. When not in a call, you can see yourself in the video window.

Compact mode
To shrink the video display window to thumbnail size, select View –> Compact Mode, or double-click on the image. This action provides access to other application screens. In Compact Mode conference video kept on top of all other windows. That enables you to maintain a video contact with your conferencing party while doing something else on PC. To restore Normal View, double-click anywhere on the video area of the main application window. To use Compact Mode again, double-click anywhere on the Normal View Window.

Terminal view
Full creen view of the client application main window.

Stay on top
This option allows displaying TrueConf Client main window on top of all opened windows and applications.

Self View
Having activated this option, in the dialog window of the program, you will see only your reflection.

Application windows placement on desktop

You can move TrueConf Client window over your operating system desktop, by clicking on its title bar and dragging to other location of your desktop. Other applications can be opened on your desktop. To keep TrueConf Client on top, select Stay on top option from the View menu.

Self View Control

During a One-on-One conference you can see yourself in a smaller picture-in-picture window. To enable this option, select the option View > Self View. During the conference, you can switch this option on and off using the arrow icon at the bottom right corner of the main image, or by right-clicking anywhere in the main screen. If you click on the picture-in-picture window and keep the mouse button pressed, you can drag it to any other part of the larger window.

To read more about the ways of managing windows you can refer to Use of the Application section, A Conference Participant view Video Window.
Note: Self View is not available in Compact Mode.

Application Toolbar

On the right side of the video screen, you can find the main Application Toolbar with a set of buttons:

Call phone
– Making calls to mobile phones from the application window.
Group conference
– Create group conference.
Chat
– Allows exchanging text messages with other conference parties.
Show/hide address book
– Show/hide address book.
Address Book
– Provides a list of your contacts.
Directory Search
– User search among the ones registered on the server.
Call History
– Provides a list of missed, received and placed calls.
Add a new contact
– Adding a new contact in address book.
Record and playback video
– Record and playback of video conferences. Making a video recording of yourself outside the conference. Video mail.
Take picture
– Instant photo. The resulting photo can be saved to any folder or used as an avatar in the Personal area.
Slide Show
– Allows a slide Show presentation to the remote site while in a video call or group conference.
Screen sharing
– Allows sharing screen to remote site in a video call or group conference.

Call phone

This option allows to perform calls to cell, home or work phone numbers straight through client application TrueConf Client both during the conference and outside of it. In order to call any user’s phone, it is necessary to click the icon “Call phone” that is located in the upper part of the program screen.

After the click the dialer screen “Call phone” opens, where you will see the list of users from your address book that entered their phone numbers:

In order to call one of these users, it is necessary to double click with the left button of the mouse on his name or click “Call” button .

If it is necessary to dial the phone number of participant who is not in your address book, just enter all the necessary numbers with the dialer buttons or using the normal computer keyboard.

If nothing is entered to phone number field, “Call” button will be locked.

In the process of entering the phone number will be executed the search for the previously entered numbers and the users will be filtered based on the match of the numbers entered.

In order to finish the call, use the button “Disconnect” .

To add credit to the account, use the (Add credit) button on the bottom of the dialer. Clicking button will take you to the payment page. If you are in the corporate group you cannot add money. Only group administrator can do that.

How to add phone numbers?

In Address book in “User info” tab there is “Telephones” section, which allows to indicate users’ cellphone, work and home numbers using the button . After clicking you can edit phone numbers. Enter the number in the field and click “Save” . To undo the changes, click on the cross pic on the left from the Save icon.

Group conference

By clicking the group event icon, you will see the window in whick you can create a conference:

» Write the topic of your conference: Enter the name of your conference in the Topic box. E.g.: ‘Marketing Department Meeting’.
» Select the conference type – Symmetric, Asymmetric or Role Based: In a Symmetric conference, all participants can see and hear each other; in an Asymmetric conference only the Host can see and hear other participants; in a Role Based conference there can be 6 simultaneous Speakers on screen, other participants are Viewers. The set of available conference types and the maximum number of participants depends on your Service Plan.
» Auto accept participation requests – put a checkmark in this box if you want participants to be able to join your conference without you having to accept their requests manually.
» Select the conference paricipants: Select users you want to participate in your conference from the left list. Use left mouse button to select desired users from the left list and put them to the right list using the arrow button.
» Start the conference using the Start button.. Click the Cancel button if you want to reset all settings.

Address Book

The Address Book automatically opens when you successfully log in to the system. By default it displays a list of users available online.

To open the Address Book manually, click on the corresponding tools button, or choose View > Address Book.

A double-click on a user name automatically places a call to that user.

The color icon at the left of each user name shows the current user status:

(Green round indicator)
– The user is online, available to receive a call.
(Yellow round indicator)
– The user is currently in another conference and cannot receive a call.
(Blue round indicator with star)
– The user is hosting a Group Conference and you may request to join.
(Chessman shaped blue indicator)
– User is a moderator in a group conference and has conference owner rights.
(Red round indicator)
– The user is offline and cannot receive a call.

By right-clicking on the record you make the following options available from the drop down menu:

Call
– call a user for a video connection session.
Call phone
– call the user by phone. This option opens as the list of the phone numbers for the user selected. When the user does not have phone numbers the option is blocked. When specific number is selected from the phone number list the call starts instantly. In the group conference option “Call phone” is changed to “Invite by phone”.
Chat
– send a text message to an on-line user from your contact list. A separate tab with this user’s name and status appears in the chat window. Your text messaging will be displayed there.
Chat history
– view the history with the user.
User Information
– here you can find additional information about a user.
Rename
– change a user name. The resultant changes are displayed only in your address book, but in the system this user name remains unchanged.
Block user
– allows to add the user into the list of the blocked ones. After that you do not receive messages or calls from them anymore.
Delete user
– deletes the user from your address book.
Group
– shows all groups the user is in.

Directory Search

If you wish to call someone, but do not know the valid e-mail address, you can search for it using the Directory Search function.

To open the Directory Search window click on the corresponding tool button, or choose View > Directory Search.

For your search, select one of the following options:
» By name;
» By TrueConf ID;
» By e-mail.

The search brings results only in case of a full match with the search parameters.

Type the search data(two or more characters) into the upper text line, and then click on the Search button to execute the search and display its results. Double-clicking on the found contact automatically places a call to that user.

Double-clicking on the found contact automatically places a call to that contact.

You can also:

» click on the Add to address book button to add the found contact to your Address Book.
» click on the User info button that is placed in the bottom part of the window to see more details about the contact.

If you do not find the contact you need, try changing the search criteria or consult your system administrator.

Call History

This feature allows you to see the list of your most recently Missed, Placed and Received calls.

To open the Call History window, click on the corresponding button in the toolbar, or choose View > Call History.

The call records are displayed in the chronological order starting from the last:
» Missed;
» Placed;
» Received.

If there is a missed call the application automatically in shows a notification. Besides, special notification is sent directly to the user’s e-mail.

To make a return call, please double-click the chosen name.

By right-clicking on the call record you can make the following options available from the drop down menu:
Call
– to call a user for the video connection session.
Chat
– send a text message to an on-line user from your contact list. A separate tab with this user’s name and status appears in the chat window. The tab displays your text messaging.
Chat history
– that is where your chat history with this user is stored.
Add to Address Book
– enables you to add the user’s address to your Address book. You can also do it by clicking on the Add button under the detailed user information block.
User information
– here you can find additional information about a user.
Block user
– allows to add the user into the list of the blocked ones. After that you stop getting messages or calls from them anymore.

Add new contact

Adding new users to the address book.

Clicking on this icon opens a window where you need to indicate TrueConf ID or email of the user you wish to add to your Address book:

Users Groups Option

All users in your Address book can be subdivided into separate groups. This option is very convenient when you need to open a certain group of users quickly or invite a big group of users to a conference (for more detailed description of this option see Inviting a Group of Users to a Conference section):

On the right from the icon for adding new contact there is an arrow, which opens Group settings window:

In the new window enter a group name, and choose Ok. If you do not want to create a new group, choose Cancel:

After the creation of a new user group you can add a new user to it. For this right click on the user name. In the context menu choose Group>Your group name.

If it is necessary one user can by added to several groups.

To rename the group, right click on its name, choose Rename Group and input a new group name.

To delete the group, right click on its name and choose Delete Group:

Record and playback video

Application enables Video Recording and Playback in different modes:
» recording of own video and sound outside of the conference;
» recording of own video and sound in process of conferences of all types;
» recording of party video and sound of discussion with party (sound of both user and party are recorded) in the process of videocall;
» recording of all the conference members video and discussion during a group conference. You can record only one video simultaneously – yours or your parties.

Video record is saved as file with a predefined filename, which contains the user name and time of the recording. User can rename files and, i.e. send them as attachment.

When all the participants get recorded the recording name contains either the video conference name or a random user name.

Video recording window can be opened using Record button of main window toolbar or by selecting the Record button from the Tools menu.

Video Conferences Recording
When the window is open the application is ready for recording. To do that follow these steps:

– choose the user(-s) in the Recording source drop-down list. Your own image is marked as Self video recording;

– click on the Begin Recording button .

Outside the conference only your own image can be recorded.

During a personal video conference you can record your own video, your party or all the participants simultaneously.

During a group video conference only those participants who exchange their own video and audio with other participants of the conference are present in the drop-down list.

Recording of a person during a video conference both in a personal, and in a group one is always carried out with their consent, that is automatically requested by clicking on the Begin recording button Begin Recording button and thus sending the following request: Your party requests your consent to record the current video connection session. Do you agree? The same question is automatically sent to you when your party attempts to record you.

Thus if you select All users for recording but not all of them agree only those who give their permission are recorded.

Permission to record is valid till the end of a personal videoconference or till you leave a group conference.

To approve automatic video recording choose Always allow video recording option presented in the request window. If you need to change the setting afterwards, you can do it by using the Settings Dialog (see the Setting recording parameters section).

Being recorded by your party, you can see the icon in the upper left corner of your picture. By clicking on it you can summon the list of those who are recording at the moment. The list displays the name of the file where the record is being saved and the recording time in the recording dialog. As for the recording made during a conference, the recording start time is the moment of acquisition of consent to record.

The recording can be stopped anytime by clicking on the Stop button .

Video Playback
When the recording ends the file automatically becomes available for playback.

Please note: video files can be played back only outside the conference. All the dialogs associated with playback are disabled during the conference. Upon completion of the conference the file with the latest recorded video will be uploaded automatically, ready for playback.

The name of the recorded file is displayed in the record dialog.

Playback controls become enabled again after the end of the conference. In the application main window there is displayed the first still and in the left upper corner above the video there appears the icon .

To start the playback of the uploaded video file you need to click on the Play button . In the window there is also shown the recording total duration time and the time, that has passed since the recording started. The playback starts in the main window and in the left upper corner above the video you can see the icon . To stop the playback and return to the beginning of the record you need to click on the Stop button.

To pause the playback without changing its current position click on the Pause button . In the application main window the last shown still is displayed and in the upper left corner above the video the icon appears.

To resume the playback of the file you need to click on the Play button once again.

You are also free to choose the starting point of the playback by moving the cursor along the scroll bar which is available in all file playback modes: stop, play, pause.

In order to get back to making new recordings and release the uploaded file you need to click on the Release current file button . And the window becomes ready for recording.

Please, note: Work with the current video file is stopped automatically at the start or joining a video conference of any type, as well as at the video recording toolbar closing.

You can also replace the file uploaded for playback by another one anytime when the window playback options are available. For that you need to click on the Open… button .

To save the file uploaded for playback under another name or in another catalog you need to click on the Save as… button .

Writing Video Letters
The application gives you additional way to send video files by using e-mail client programs like Outlook or The Bat, chosen on your computer as default ones. For that you need to click on the Video mail button .

Please, note: it is also possible to write a video letter during a videoconference. Right after the recording is completed you can send the video file by e-mail without leaving the conference.

When you click on the button Video Letter dialog appears. It contains information about the size, name and exact location of the video file.

The group of fields Template enables you to make samples for the theme and contents of the video letter according to your wish. The following macros, (which are replaced by the real values in the application video letters), can be used in these fields:
– %name your name(of the application current user);
– %callBack your name and address in the TrueConf videoconferencing system (the application current user).

To save the changes and write a new video letter you need to click on the Create Mail button. In your e-mail program a new letter is created. Here you need to indicate the addressee(-s), adjust the theme and the text of the letter and send it. For more detailed description see your e-mail client program guide.

To refuse to write a letter or cancel the introduced changes you need to click on the Cancel button.

Recording parameters adjustment
To change the parameters for video conferences recording you need to click on the Recording settings button . After that a Preferences dialog appears on the screen, where you can change the following options:

Recorded files folder
This catalog is always used for saving recorded video files. You can start a new catalog by indicating the full way to it right in the entry field or choose a catalog by choosing the Browse… button.

Who can record me
This parameter enables to give an automatic answer to your party request for record permission during the video conference, depending on the user group (All users, Users from my address book, Upon request, None). Select one of the proposed options and selected users start getting an automatic approvals to their request in accordance with the chosen variant. If the user has selected the “Users from my address book” status the client application automatically sends the confirmation to the users included into the Address Book. All the others get a standard request.

Take picture

This option allows to make an instant photo and save it as an avatar in the Personal area or in any folder on your hard drive:

Slide Show

This option enables you to show your conference party a slide-show presentation consisting of pictures, photos, diagrams, etc. You should prepare the actual slides before you start the conference call and keep them available on your computer. You can use the Slide Show window even when the application main screen is minimized.

To open Slide Show click on the corresponding toolbar button, or choose Tools > Slide Show.

To use Slide Show create a list of slides in Slide Show window using buttons Add slide and Delete slide on tool panel in upper part of Slide Show window and click on Start session button.

To send first and next slides click on the Next Slide button in the lower part of the Slide Show window. Currently transferring slide appears in the main area of Slide Show window. Double click on the slide name also transfers the slide to your party or parties.

You can preview slide before sending in main windows area by single clicking slide name in the list.

Set Fit to window checkbox to scale too small or too big slide to whole size of main area of Slide Show window.

You can edit a slide list or change slides order in the process of slides presentation. You can add slides, move them with your mouse or by using the Up and Down buttons (on the top of the list), and remove slides from list.

You can save a slide list using Save button .

Use New Slide Show button to create a new list of slides.

You can prepare your Slide Show in advance. This can be done in client application or in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003-2007. To prepare presentation in TrueConf Client, create a slide list and save it as a separate file. To start slideshow session of the previously saved presentation use the Open button .TrueConf Client Slide Show file uses *.vpl extension, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003-2007 files use *.ppt extension. Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003-2007 need to be installed on computer to be able to open PowerPoint presentations in TrueConf Client.

Only one Slide Show session can be started simultaneously. Close the previous session with the Stop session button for the other user to be able to start a new slideshow session.

If a slideshow session is already initiated in a group conference, then users receive suggestion to join the session when trying to open the Slide Show tool.

Screen Sharing

Screen Sharing function allows of demonstrating conference participants computer screen.

To open Screen Sharing, click on the corresponding toolbar button, or choose Tools >Screen Sharing. If screen sharing computer has several displays, display choice dialog appears on Screen Sharing session start. You should choose which display image you want to transfer to the other side.

In group conference Screen Sharing starts immediately and all the participants have the possibility to view a shared screen. User who shares a screen is marked with the respective icon in conference members list.

Main application window is minimized when the screen sharing starts.

The screen sharing user can see a notification in the corner of his/her screen.

In process of viewing of someone’s screen you can use Fit to window checkbox to scale received image.

Here:

– the Stop button immediately stop the screen sharing session.

– the Break control button cancels the transfer of desktop control by the user on the receiving side.

While viewing of someone’s screen you can use the Fit to window checkbox to scale received image.

You can also get control over the remote desktop. To do this click on Get Control button and wait for a positive response from the sharing user. Anyone who does not have the control over other remote desktop at the moment can send request for control.

Release Control button returns the control to a sharing user.

Note: Screen Sharing is available only if screen sharing components are installed. Screen Sharing viewing is possible without screen sharing components.