Frequently Asked Questions [This information is currently under development] What is an online meeting? What is a conference? How do I join an online meeting?

What happens when I join an online meeting?

How do I schedule a conference?

What if I'm early to an online meeting?

Why can't I join a conference?

What if I miss an online meeting?

What if I'm disconnected from a conference?

Can I invite someone else to an online meeting?

How will I know when the conference is supposed to end?

Can I rejoin a conference after I've left?

What if a conference needs to run longer than scheduled?

What is a resource?

What does "Change Resource" mean?

How can I see the conference agenda?

What is a conference profile?

What is an online meeting?

An online meeting is an appointment you schedule from Microsoft Outlook to be held online. Outlook 2000 defines three types of online meetings:

- Microsoft NetMeeting. This type of online meeting creates a peer-to-peer NetMeeting conference that allows coworkers to share a single Office document.
- NetShow Services. This type allows you to announce a Web-based event. For example, PowerPoint allows you to broadcast a slide presentation.
- Exchange Conferencing Service. This type of online meeting allows you to schedule a collaborative session between two or more coworkers. The format of the session is defined by the resource you invite to the meeting and the services provided by the conference technology providers associated with the meeting. Technology providers offer services such as video conferencing, data conferencing, and telephone communication. Exchange Conferencing Service also allows users to share applications, such as Microsoft Word, to produce collaborative work.

What is a conference?

A conference is an instance of an online meeting. The format of the conference is defined by the resource you invite to the conference. The conference experience is defined by the specific technologies associated with the resource.

Each conference has a specific start and end time and is controlled by the person who schedules the conference (the conference organizer). A conference is identified by its conference URL, a unique address that contains a base URL (for example, http://conferencing.microsoft.com) and an ID that identifies a specific occurrence of the conference. Conference URLs are typically distributed by e-mail calendar invitation. Conference URLs can also contain a password, if one is required to join the conference.

How do I join an online meeting?

To join an online meeting, you use your Web browser to navigate to the conference URL, which is sent to you by e-mail or published as a Web link. If you are using Outlook 2000, you can join a conference automatically by selecting Join Conference from the reminder popup or by opening the invitation in your calendar and then clicking Join Conference. Or, another attendee can send you the URL which can be pasted into the address portion of the browser window, or simply clicked on in an Outlook message.

What happens when I join an online meeting?

When you join an online meeting, you connect to the Exchange Conferencing Service and then request participation in the meeting. In most cases, you will be allowed to join the meeting automatically, although a secure confernce will require a user to authenticate before joining. If you are allowed access to the meeting, you will receive a Web page that, depending on the associated conference technologies, will add you to the meeting.

How do I schedule a conference?

You schedule a conference from your Calendar folder in Outlook 2000. For more information, see Schedule a Conference.

What if I'm early to an online meeting?

When you try to join an online meeting that has not started, your browser directs you to a Web page that displays the number of minutes remaining until the meeting starts. When it is time for the meeting to begin, your conferencing client program, depending on the conference technology provider, will start automatically and add you to the conference.

Why can't I join a conference?

Here are some typical reasons why you might be unable to join a conference:

- You used an invalid or incomplete conference URL.
- You tried to join a conference that has been canceled.
- The conference requires a password, or you tried to join using an invalid password. The password cannot contain spaces or any of the following characters: the pound sign (#), the plus sign (+), the percent sign (%), or the ampersand (&).
- You tried to join a private meeting that you are not authorized to join.
- The technology provider that is supposed to host the conference is not available.
- Your computer cannot communicate with Conference Management Service. This can be caused by a bad network connection, a router or other network device that cannot resolve or forward your IP address, or a port or address restriction imposed by a firewall.
- The conference is being run within the context of a specific scope, such as LAN only.

What if I miss an online meeting?

You can join the conference if it is still in session.

What if I'm disconnected from a conference?

Try to rejoin the conference by navigating to the conference URL or by clicking Join Conference again from your Outlook 2000 calendar. If you are disconnected from only a portion of the meeting (for example, the data conference), the technology provider may offer a way to reconnect to that portion.

Can I forward a meeting request for a conference to someone else?

Yes. For a public meeting (one that allows external attendees), forward the URL or invitation to the person. For a private meeting, the meeting organizer must add the person to the meeting attendee list and send a meeting update.

How will I know when the conference is supposed to end?

The scheduled end time is shown in the meeting invitation. For a conference that is in session, the end time is displayed in the conference profile.

The Conference in Session page also displays a live countdown timer that indicates how much time remains. Five minutes before a conference is scheduled to end, the Conferencing Service notifies all attendees that the conference is about to end.

Can I rejoin a conference after I've left?

Yes. Navigate again to the conference URL from your Web browser or click Join Conference again from your Outlook 2000 calendar.

What if a conference needs to run longer than scheduled?

If you are the conference organizer, you can change the time that the conference is scheduled to end. This allows the organizer to accommodate conferences that run longer than expected.

1. From the Conference in Session page, click Extend Time. If this is a public conference, you will be required to log on and identify yourself as the organizer.

2. In the Time Extension Request dialog box, change the conference end time, and then click OK.

   Your request may not be successful if any of the technology providers involved in the conference cannot accommodate your request for additional time.

| IMPORTANT The Conferencing Service administrator must explicitly allow the modification of conference end times.

What is a resource?

A resource is an Exchange mailbox account that was designated as an Exchange conferencing resource when it was created. When scheduling an online meeting, the conference organizer invites the resource to the meeting.

The resource is like a virtual conference room: it defines the format of the meeting (for example, which technology providers will host the meeting) and any administratively defined properties such as size, which can represent the number of client connections reserved for the meeting.

What does "Change Resource" mean?

Changing a resource is what the conference organizer does to request a change in the resource properties with respect to the format of the meeting. For example, changing a resource defines new properties, such as size, to allow additional client connections.

How can I see the conference agenda?

You can see the agenda from the meeting invitation or from the Web pages that appear before, during, and after a conference. To see the agenda, click View Agenda in the left pane.

What is a conference profile?

The conference profile is what identifies a particular instance of an online meeting. The profile displays the subject of the conference, the times when the conference is scheduled to start and end, the e-mail address of the conference organizer, the resource used, and the agenda. The profile is displayed in the Web pages that appear before, during, and after a conference.