Minimum System Requirements
What do I need to host or attend a meeting using Microsoft Windows?
What do I need to host or attend a meeting using Mac OS?
What do I need to host or attend a meeting using Solaris?
What do I need to host or attend a meeting using Linux?
What do I need to host or attend a meeting using Citrix?Hosting, Joining, and Setting Up Meetings
How do I schedule meetings using Microsoft Outlook?
What happens if I invite people who are not using Outlook or are not in my organization?
Do I have to download software to host a meeting?
Can I use Meeting Manager for Windows if I am a restricted user running Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP?
How do I install and uninstall the Meeting Manager manually, with the MSI installer?
Performance
What affects the performance of my meetings?
I have a high-speed Internet connection. Does that help?
What can I do to speed things up?
How can I test performance?Sharing, Editing, and Annotating
What's the difference between document sharing and application sharing?
What types of files or applications can I share?
Does everyone in a meeting need the file or application that I want to share?
How can I modify documents that I'm sharing?
Can I share more than one document or presentation at a time?
Can I save annotated documents or presentations and view them offline?
Can I save annotations made during application sharing or desktop sharing?
Can I show animations and slide transitions in presentations?
What happens if people in a meeting have displays of different sizes or resolutions?
Why do attendees sometimes see a yellow crosshatched pattern during application sharing?
Can I use my keyboard keys to remotely control an application running on a different platform?
I'm using a Mac, can I share a Keynote presentation?
Recording and Playback
For questions and answers about recording and playback, see the Recording and Playback FAQ.
WebEx One-Click
For questions and answers about WebEx One-Click, see the WebEx One-Click FAQ.
Teleconferencing
Can I use Internet phone (VOIP) for audio in a meeting?Universal Communications Format (UCF)
For questions and answers about UCF, see the UCF FAQ.
Other
Which video cameras are supported?
Why can't I bookmark some pages on my meeting service Web site?
How can I prevent uninvited attendees from joining my meeting?
Why don't email notifications show the meeting time in the attendee's time zone?
Can I use Mozilla's Firefox browser?
How come I can't join a meeting with Mozilla browser, when it's supposed to be supported?
I really like the new look and features of WebEx, how come I don't have any of the new floating panels and new color themes from my Mac, Linux or Solaris machine?
How can I get more information?
What do I need to host or
attend a meeting using Microsoft Windows?
Minimum requirements to host or attend fully interactive meetings using Meeting Manager for Windows:
What do I need to host or attend
a meeting using Mac OS?
Minimum requirements to host or attend fully interactive meetings using Meeting Manager for Mac OS:
What do I need to host or attend a meeting using Solaris?
Minimum requirements to host or attend fully interactive meetings using Meeting Manager for Solaris:
What
do I need to host or attend a meeting using Linux?
Minimum requirements to host or attend fully interactive meetings using Meeting Manager for Linux:
What
do I need to host or attend a meeting using Citrix?
Minimum requirements to host or attend fully interactive meetings using Meeting Manager via Citrix:
How do I schedule meetings using Microsoft Outlook?
You can download the installer from the Support page, and install it. You will need administrative privileges to install it on Windows NT, 2000, and XP. You can then use Outlook to schedule WebEx meetings, invite attendees, and start WebEx meetings. Attendees whom you invite can join the meeting from their Outlook Calendars.
A user's guide that contains instructions for scheduling meetings is available on your site's Support page.
What happens if I invite people who are not using Outlook or are not in my organization?
These invitees receive a normal invitation email message, which contains a link that they can click to join the meeting.
Do I have to download software to host
a meeting?
To use all of the interactive features in a meeting, you must run Meeting Manager on your computer. Meeting Manager lets you or anyone in the meeting share most types of documents or applications. Unlike the old methods of installing software from a disk or downloading and installing it manually over the Internet, your meeting service automatically downloads and sets up Meeting Manager for you. In fact, each time you participate in a meeting, Meeting Manager maintains itself by checking for the latest version and automatically updating itself, as necessary.
For first-time users,
the Meeting Manager for Windows download is approximately 1.0 MB. Meeting Manager
then downloads only updated components as needed.
When scheduling a meeting, you can choose to use the Java Meeting Manager, which
downloads only a small Java applet. The Java Meeting Manager is most appropriate
for a one-to-many presentation, because it supports fewer interactive features
than the fully interactive Meeting Manager. Compare the differences.
Can I use Meeting Manager for Windows
if I am a restricted user running Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP?
Yes, administrator privileges are not required to install Meeting Manager
How do I install and uninstall
the Meeting Manager, with the MSI Installer?
For instructions on installing the Meeting Manager manually with the MSI installer, please see the Support page, under Assistance in the Left Navigation Menu. To uninstall, simply re-launch the installer and choose the uninstall option.
What affects the performance of my
meetings?
Because WebEx meetings
provide real-time collaboration and sharing over the Internet, performance depends
on both the Internet itself and the WebEx service. WebEx constantly
monitors service and network performance, and continually enhances its infrastructure
to keep WebEx meeting services highly available and reliable.
Some of the factors that affect performance are the following:
I have a high-speed Internet connection.
Does that help?
Although you may have a high-speed connection to the Internet, there can often be congestion or packet loss on the Internet, between you and the WebEx servers on the WebEx Interactive Network. You usually can't do much about such problems, other than to inform your network administrator or Internet service provider. Problems are often transient and resolve themselves over time. However, you should report serious, persistent problems. Of course, more bandwidth usually allows more throughput—but not always. For example, a clear 56K modem connection can perform well, while a congested "high speed" T1 connection can seem terrible. Furthermore, a good connection won't help an attendee in a meeting if the presenter has a poor connection. Thus, it's most critical that the presenter have a good connection.
What can I do to speed things up?
First, get the fastest
connection that you can. ISPs are rapidly deploying DSL, cable modem, and T1
connections. Dial-up modems can do the job, but anything less than 56K is probably
too slow. Even with a 56K modem, your actual connection speed may vary.
Next, try using document and presentation sharing instead of application or
desktop sharing. Document and presentation sharing uses less bandwidth. Also,
sharing documents or presentations that contain fewer graphics can improve performance.
Also make sure the presenter has a fast connection. It doesn't help if the attendees
are all on T1 connections and the presenter is on a slow modem connection.
Finally, you can test your connection to determine what is causing the problem.
The Trace Route utility on your computer can help you to determine where problems are occurring between your computer and the WebEx server. On Windows, open a DOS prompt or a Command prompt window, then type
tracert your_siteURL
where your_site_URL is the address for your meeting service Web site. Ensure that you include a space after tracert.
When running Trace Route, your computer sends packets of information across your connection to measure the amount of time it takes to for the packets to reach the meeting server. Ideally, packets should take between 1-60 ms to reach the server. If packets take between 60-100 ms to reach the server, your connection is slow and may be noticeable in a WebEx meeting. Times longer than 100 ms are likely to seem unacceptably slow. If you continue to experience poor performance, consult your network administrator.
What's the difference between
document sharing and application sharing?
Document sharing
uses a printer driver (the WebEx Document Loader) to create an image of your
document, which is then presented for review and markup in the Meeting Manager
content viewer. This image is much like a printed document or fax—that
is , you cannot edit it. This image requires relatively little bandwidth and
thus works well at slower connection speeds.
On the other hand, application sharing sends images of the application in real-time,
allowing you to edit documents as well as show all of an application's features,
such as menus and tools. This type of sharing is much more powerful and requires
more bandwidth.
What types of files or applications
can I share?
You can share virtually any document or application. However, applications with streaming content may not work well, because such content is not streaming directly from the source to attendees. However, if you want to share a Web page with streaming content, you can use Web content sharing, which opens a browser window on each attendee's computer and streams the content directly from its source.
Does everyone in a meeting need
the file or application that I want to share?
No. Only the presenter in the meeting must have the file or application on his or her computer. Other attendees in the meeting need not have the file or application on their computers.
How can I modify documents that
I'm sharing?
In document sharing, you can annotate documents, but not edit them, because the content is an image much like a PDF document or fax. However, you can use application sharing to edit documents as you share them in a meeting, and save the final version in the native application format. Application sharing lets all the attendees see the changes that you make, or edit the document themselves, if you grant them remote control.
Can I share more than one document or presentation at a time?
Yes, you can share as many documents or presentations as you like in the content viewer. Each document or presentation that you open appears on its own tab in the content viewer. Because Meeting Manager automatically labels each tab with the title or name of the document or presentation, you can quickly locate the document or presentation that you want to share with attendees.
Can I save annotated documents
or presentations and view them offline?
Yes! To save any document or presentation in a file on your computer, choose Save on the File menu. To view the saved file offline, simply double-click it. The document or presentation appears in the WebEx Document Viewer, which is part of Meeting Manager.
Can I save annotations
made during application sharing or desktop sharing?
Yes. To do so, you can record your meeting. A recording captures all annotations and other actions that you make during application or desktop sharing.
Can I show animations and slide transitions
in presentations?
Yes! If you share a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, attendees can see animations and slide transitions in their content viewers. Alternatively, you can show animations and slide transitions by using application sharing to share your slide-authoring application, then open the slides in that application.
What happens if people in a
meeting have displays of different sizes or resolutions?
In a WebEx meeting, all of the attendees' views automatically display the meeting content, even if they have different display resolutions. No matter which resolution attendees' monitors are set to, attendees' views automatically follow the presenter's mouse pointer. Thus, the presenter should always keep the mouse pointer near the content under discussion. For best results, the presenter should set his or her monitor to 800 x 600 pixels, because this resolution is the most common. To change your monitor's display resolution for Windows, use the Settings tab in the Display Control Panel. For Mac OS, use the Monitors Control Panel.
Why do attendees sometimes see a yellow
crosshatched pattern during application sharing?
The crosshatched pattern is the shadow of a dialog box or window that is in front of the shared application on the presenter's screen. Once the presenter closes this dialog box or window, the pattern no longer appears.
Can I use my keyboard keys to remotely
control an application that is running on a different platform?
Yes. If you are remotely controlling a presenter's application, desktop, or Web browser and your computer's operating system is not the same as the presenter's, Meeting Manager automatically maps your keyboard keys to the presenter's keys. For details, look up "keyboard shortcuts, using to remotely control software" in the Index in the online Help for your meeting service Web site.
I'm using a Mac, can I share a Keynote presentation?
Currently, WebEx does not support sharing Keynote presentations in its native format due to Apple's use of their Quartz technology. There are several alternatives that allow you to share a Keynote presentation. For static presentations, you can export your presentation to Adobe's PDF, and then share the PDF using document or application sharing. For presentations that use animations and transitions you can export your presentation to Apple's QuickTime format and then share the QuickTime using either document or application sharing.Can I use Internet phone (VOIP) for
audio in a meeting?
Yes, Internet phone—also called Internet telephony or voice over IP (VOIP)—is available. To use Internet phone, ensure that your computer has the following:
If your computer
is running Microsoft Windows, you can determine whether it supports Internet
phone by creating a short voice recording using Windows Sound Recorder. If the
recording is successful, you can use Internet phone during a meeting.
To use Internet phone during a meeting, the meeting host must select Internet
Phone under Teleconference when scheduling a meeting or starting
an instant meeting. Once the meeting starts, the host can start the Internet
phone conference by pointing to Internet Phone on the Tools menu,
then choosing Start Conference. An invitation to join the conference
then appears in the Meeting window for each attendee whose computer has a sound
card.
Which video cameras are supported?
You can generally use any video camera, or webcam, that connects to either a USB or parallel port on your computer.
WebEx has tested
the following video cameras for Windows and found them to be compatible with
Meeting Manager for Windows:
WebEx has tested the following video cameras for Mac OS and found them to be compatible with Meeting Manager for Mac OS:
Why can't I bookmark some pages on my
meeting service Web site?
Your meeting service Web site dynamically generates many of its pages, which you cannot bookmark. Please bookmark only the home page.
How can I prevent uninvited
attendees from joining my meeting?
The following are several ways that you can prevent uninvited attendees from joining a meeting:
See the Security page for more information about WebEx security features.
Why don't email notifications
show the meeting time in the attendee's time zone?
In email notifications, Meeting times automatically appear in the host's time zone. A host can change his or her time zone on the Preferences page. Although your meeting service cannot determine each attendee's time zone and adjust it automatically for each email notification, attendees can easily view meeting times in their time zones on your meeting service Web site by selecting a different time zone on the Preferences page.
Can I use Mozilla's Firefox browser?
Yes. Below are some helpful hints when using Firefox.
These
pages when opened will end the Meeting Client session.
Please update your Firefox preferences to open links in a new window
or a new tab. These options can
be found under Tools > Options > Advanced > Tabbed Browsing
How come I can't join a meeting with Mozilla browser when it's supposed to be supported?
If you are using Mozilla as your browser on a UNIX based operating system such as Solaris or Linux or Apple's Mac OS X platform, you will need to make sure that the Java plug-in is installed on your workstation. Mozilla does not ship with the Java Plug-In by default on these platforms. The following web sites provide instructions for the associated operating system:
Linux: http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/linux.html#Java
Solaris: http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/solaris.html#Java
Mac OS X: http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/OSX.html#Java
On UNIX based systems, there is a symbolic link that is required. The example below is based on a Red Hat Linux environment:
$ cd /usr/local/mozilla/plugins
$ ln -s /usr/java/j2sdk1.4.2_04/plugin/i386/ns610-gcc32/libjavaplugin_oji.so
libjavaplugin_oji.so
I really like the new look and features of WebEx, but how come I don't have any of the new floating panels and new color themes from my Mac, Linux, or Solaris machine?
The new user interface you see on a Windows platform contains WebEx's newest set of user experience improvements. Currently, the new look and feel as well as new features is not available on any other operating system. However, users on non-Windows operating systems can still host and attend the same meetings as their Windows counterparts. The new look and features are being planned for Mac, Solaris and Linux operating systems in a future release.
How can I get more information?
If you have any questions that we did not answer here, please refer to your site's online Help and the Release Notes on your site's Support page. If you still can't find an answer, please use the feedback form to send us your question.
Updated on September 19, 2005