Setting session options and customizing a greeting

Some training sessions require specific features be turned on in the session room. If you'd like to adjust those features prior to the start of the session, scroll down on the Schedule Training Session form to Session Options. The available features, or the default features, are listed in the field. To edit those, click the Edit Options button and you'll bring up a window that looks very similar to the Assign Privileges window that you see once you're logged into WebEx.

You can see that the participants have the ability to chat, to use the File Transfer function, and to see video. Under the Attendee Privileges section, you might want to allow participants to record the session that you're presenting, send their own web camera video, and either see or not see the number of attendees or the names of the attendees listed in the Participant Panel. Also, you can allow participants to save or print the files that you load into the WebEx session.

You can allow them to display thumbnail views of your slides or to control the movement to the next or previous page. If you'd like them to be able to use the annotation toolbar, you can click Annotate, and when they join, the annotation toolbar will be displayed. If security on the session is a concern, you may choose to exclude passwords from email sent to attendees. If you want to be sure that your participants are only people who have an account on your WebEx server, click Attendees must have an account to this service to attend session.

Universal Communication Format relates to special content like audio, video, Flash. If you'd like participants to be able to share those types of files within the sessions, keep the Allow attendees to share checked. So as you can see, changing Session Options allow privileges and features to be available to participants or you can remove features and privileges that are inappropriate for the session. Click on Save to confirm your changes.

In addition to the Session Options, the features available within the WebEx session, you can also set up a destination URL. For instance, if you'd like participants to go to a website and complete an assignment after the training is over, set the Destination URL, and when they finish the session, that window will automatically open. So I might send them to more training at www.lynda.com. Customizing a greeting is a way to be friendly and give instruction as participants join.

When you click Customize greeting message, you see the default text is already filled in. You can change that to show whatever text you'd like. Be sure that you click the checkbox at the top of this window: Display this message when attendees join the session. The greeting is not turned on by default. And of course, remember to click on OK. So these Session Options allow you to create a WebEx session that suits your needs and gives the information that you need to give to your participants.