>>Go to main voloCONFO Support page

Using the Web Moderator Interface
This document describes how to use the Web Moderator interface. Using the Web Moderator, you can monitor and control your conference over the internet, create and use a phone book of participants for dial-out, end the conference, and perform any other action that the subscriber can perform with touchtone commands. The Moderator interface is typically used by the subscriber; however, a subscriber can delegate this function to someone else.

Opening the Web Moderator Application
To use the Web Moderator application, you need a compatible Java-enabled Web browser. We recommend version 4.06 or later of Netscape Navigator or Communicator or version 5.0 or later of Microsoft Internet Explorer. The functionality available to you depends to some extent on the capabilities and configuration of your browser. For instance, you may or may not be able to use the TAB key to move from field to field. If keyboard navigation does not work for you, use the mouse. Note: You can open the Moderator application at any time, either before starting your conference or during the conference.

To open the Web Moderator:
Step 1 Launch your Web browser and point it to the correct address (URL) for
the application (for example, http://www.moderator.volocommunications.com).
The Moderator login page appears.


fig-1

Step 2 In the Conference Phone Number field, enter the Access Phone Number for your conference. Enter only the digits, with no punctuation, spaces, or leading 1. For example, enter 8885551234.

Step 3 In the Conference Access Code field, enter the unique Access Code that identifies your conference’s subscriber account. If your account does not have an Access Code (because your Access Phone Number is private, not shared), leave this field blank.

Step 4 In the Subscriber Password field, enter your subscriber account’s Subscriber Password.

Step 5 Click the Login button.
The Moderator page appears (Figure 2).


Figure 2

Note: Proxy servers and some network firewalls may block users from downloading certain applications. If you receive a “Failure to connect to conferencing server” warning, please contact your system administrator.

Note: You can log into the Moderator before your conference starts. However, after several minutes with no conference active, the system displays a warning that the Moderator will close in sixty seconds. If you do not confirm that you want to remain connected, the system logs you out.

Using the Moderator, you can perform all the conference control actions that the subscriber can perform with touchtone commands. In addition, you have access to enhanced functions that are available only through the Moderator. For instance, you can set up a phone book and use it to dial out to people easily. You can even create preset groups of conference participants and easily dial out to all of them.

The sections that follow describe the controls and functions available to you in the Moderator application.

Working with Your Conference
The Moderator interface offers a visual, point-and-click alternative to using touchtone commands for controlling your conference and changing account options. The Moderator interface provides some capabilities not available through the touchtone interface, and it offers enhanced participant information and control . Figure 3 shows the upper section of the Moderator main page.

Figure 3 Upper section of Moderator page

This section contains twelve buttons and a check box that let you control the conference and access the Moderator application’s advanced functions. They are:

• Mute All — Mutes all conference participants except the subscriber (and operator, if present).

• Unmute All — Unmutes all conference participants except the subscriber (and operator, if present).

• Lock Conf — Locks the conference so that no one else can join (not even an operator). When the conference is locked, this button becomes Unlock Conf.

• End Conf — Disconnects all participants and ends the conference. A dialog box asks you to confirm.

• Operator — Requests help from an operator.

• Roll Call — Plays the roll call list of conferees and the count of anonymous participants to the subscriber. Available only if the account’s Roll Call Name Record option is turned on so that he system prompts participants to record their names when they arrive. See “Changing Account Options”.

• Phone Book — Opens the phone book, where you can store names and phone numbers and create groups. See “Using the Phone Book”

• Dial All — Dials all participants in the Participant Information list who are not already in the conference. Available only if the account’s Dial Out option is turned on. See “Dialing All Participants”.

• Adv. Features — Opens the Advanced Features dialog box. Available only if your service provider offers (and your subscriber account is configured for) advanced features. See “Using Advanced Features”.

• Help — Opens the Moderator’s online help page.

• Exit — Logs you out and closes the Moderator interface. You can exit at any time without affecting a conference in progress.
Note: Do not close your browser to exit the Moderator interface. You must select this button to properly exit from the system.

• Options — Opens the Options dialog box, where you can change the entry announcement option for this conference and, if your account permits it, some of the options for the subscriber account. See “Changing Account Options” below.

• Conference Continuation — Selecting this check box enables the current conference to continue after the subscriber leaves. The conference does not end until the last participant disconnects. Available only if the account’s Conference Continuation feature is turned on.

Working with Participants
The Moderator interface offers far more capabilities for working with participants than is possible with the touchtone interface. The additional capabilities derive mostly from two Moderator features, the Phone Book function and the Participant Information area.

Using the Phone Book
The system provides a private phone book for each subscriber account. It lets you store the names and phone numbers of conferees and organize them into lists. Click Phone Book on the Moderator main page to open the Phone Book.

Lists help you manage recurring conferences involving the same participants. For instance, if you have a weekly marketing conference call with the same eight participants, you can create a list called Marketing that contains the participants’ phone book entries. If your subscription includes dial-out capability, you can use the list to call everyone from the Moderator. Your lists appear in the pane on the left. If you select a list, its members appear in the pane on the right. The first time you open your Phone Book, the left pane contains a single item, Personal. This is your master list. You do not have to add people directly to this list (although you can). Instead, you create new lists under it and add members to them. Everyone you add to another list automatically appears in your Personal master list as well. Creating a New Phone List

To create a new phone list:
Step 1 In the left pane of the Phone Book, make sure Personal is selected.
Then click the New List button (or select New List from the File menu).
A dialog box asks you to name the new list.

Step 2 Enter a name for the list and click OK.
The system puts the new list under your Personal master list in the pane on the left.

Step 3 With the list selected, start adding members to it. To create a new member entry manually, click the New Member button (or use the File menu).
A dialog box asks you for the member’s name and phone number


(Figure 4).

Step 4 Enter the new member’s first name, last name, and phone number. Enter the phone number as digits only, without dashes or other delimiters. Include the area code if necessary. Then click OK. The system adds the entry you created to the list.

Step 5 To move or copy a member from another list to the new list:
• Select the source list and then select the entry you want to move or copy.
• On the Edit menu, select Cut (to remove the member from the
source list) or Copy (to leave the member in the source list).
• Select the destination list. Then, on the Edit menu, select Paste.
The system adds the member to the destination list.

Step 6 To add the participants in the current conference to the list, click the Import button (or use the File menu). The system adds all the entries in the Participant Information area of the main Moderator window to the list.

Step 7 Continue adding members to the list until it is complete. Repeat this procedure to create additional lists.
Note: Lists can be nested in hierarchical fashion. To create a new list under your Personal master list, select Personal before you select New List. To create a new list that is subsidiary to some other list, select that other list before you select New List. After creating multiple lists, select your Personal master list and notice
that the members of all lists appear in it.

List members are initially sorted alphabetically by first name. To sortthe entries by last name or phone number, click that column heading.To change the order of the columns, drag the headings left or right.

Copying Multiple List Members
If you need to copy all (or most) of the members from one list to another, there is a shortcut to doing so one at a time:

Step 1 Select the source list and click the Export button (or select Export from the File menu). the system puts all the list members into the Participant Information list in the main Moderator window.

Step 2 Select the destination list and click the Import button (or select Import from the File menu). The system imports all the entries from the Participant Information list into the selected Phone Book list.

Step 3 If there are any members who do not belong in the new list, delete
them using the Delete button.

Using Participant Information
Figure 5 shows the Participant Information section of the Moderator main page. Here, you can view and manage the participants in the current conference or dial out to participants and organize the conference.


Figure 5 – Participant Information

The participant list appears on the left. It contains:
• ID — The participant’s identification number. Participants are numbered sequentially in order of arrival.

• Status — The participant’s status:
» Conf — Participant is in conference.
» Dial Out — Subscriber is dialing out to a participant.
» OpConf — Participant is in private conference with an operator.
» Menu — Participant is interacting with the call flow or on hold,
waiting to joining the conference.
» Menu OpR — Participant is interacting with the call flow or on
hold, waiting for operator assistance.
» Conf OpR — Participant is in the conference, waiting for
operator assistance.
» Discnt — Participant has disconnected from conference.

• Phone — The participant’s telephone number. If the participant dialed into the system, and if the telephone network
provided the information, this is the number from which the participant called. If you added the participant to the list from the Phone Book and/or dialed out to the participant, this is the number at which the participant can be or has been reached.

• Name — The participant’s name. If you added the participant to the list from the Phone Book, the name comes from there. For participants who dial into the conference, you can assign names to their entries by clicking the Name field and typing the name into it.


The controls to the right of the participant list are:

• Dial — Dials out to someone.
• Disconnect — Disconnects the selected (highlighted) participant from the conference.
• Mute — Places the selected participant into listen-only status. This does not remove the participant from the conference.
• Remove — Removes the selected participant from the participant list. Available only if the participant is not in the conference.
• Play Name — Plays the selected participant’s name to the subscriber. Available only if the participant is in the conference and the Name Record option is turned on.

Dialing Out from the Moderator
If the account’s Dial Out option is turned on, you can dial out from the Moderator interface. The Moderator interface supports the same simple dial-out process that is available using touchtones, which is most often used to add another participant to an existing conference. When combined with the Phone Book function, however, the Moderator’s dial-out capabilities let you do far more. You can completely organize and start a conference from the Moderator interface, dialing out to all participants including the subscriber.

Adding a Participant
To add a participant to a conference that is under way and to which the subscriber is connected:

Step 1 If the person you want to add is in your phone book, open it, select the person, and click Export. The system adds the person you selected to the list of participants in the Participant Information area of the Moderator page.

Step 2 On the Moderator page, select the new participant and click Dial. Or, to manually dial someone (not using a phone book entry), just click Dial. The Dial Out dialog box appears (Figure 6). If you selected a phone book entry, the dialog box already contains the participant’s name and number.


Figure 6 – Dial Out Dialog Box


Step 3 If you are manually dialing someone, enter the name and phone number. Then click Dial. the system connects the subscriber to an outbound line and dials the participant. The Dial and Cancel buttons become Connect andDisconnect. When the call is answered, the Connect button becomes available. The subscriber can speak to the called party, leave a message, and so forth.

Step 4 To add the called participant to the conference, click Connect. To disconnect the line, click Disconnect.

Note: Alternatively, the subscriber can connect or disconnect the line using touchtone commands. In any case, the subscriber rejoins the conference.

Dialing All Participants

Most system users conduct meet-me conferences. The subscriber distributes the time, date, and access information to the participants, who dial into the conference. However, using the Moderator interface, you can easily conduct dial-out conferences if the account permits dialing out. Phone Book lists make the process especially quick and easy.

Note: You can set up a dial-out conference entirely manually, using the procedure described in the previous section for each participant.

Except for a small, one-time conference, however, using a Phone Book list is more convenient. If you are the subscriber, you can dial into the the system system, log into the Moderator interface, and then dial out to all the other participants. If you are performing the moderator function on behalf of the subscriber, you can log into the Moderator and dial out to everyone, starting with the subscriber.

the system supports two modes of dialing all:

• Progressive — the system dials each person on the list in turn, starting with the subscriber if not already in conference. Each participant called is connected to the subscriber. Each call can be handled individually in this mode, either connecting the line into conference or disconnecting it. You can stop the dialing process at any point by clicking a check box in the Dial Out dialog box.

• Blast — the system dials everyone on the list simultaneously, including the subscriber if not already in conference. Participants are placed into conference without any intervention on your part.

Progressive Dialing

To dial all participants one after another:

Step 1 Add all the participants to your phone book and create a list that contains them. See “Using the Phone Book”.

Step 2 In the Phone Book window, select the list and click the Export button. The system adds the members of the list to the participant list on the Moderator page.
Note: The subscriber should not be in the list. If the subscriber needs to be called, the system prompts you for the subscriber’s number. See the next two steps.

Step 3 On the Moderator page, click Dial All.
If the subscriber has not already dialed in, the Dial Out dialog box prompts you to dial out to the subscriber first (Figure 7).


Figure 7 Dialing out to the subscriber

Step 4 To dial out to the subscriber, enter the phone number in the dialog box
and click Dial. The system dials the subscriber. The buttons in the dialog box become Connect and Disconnect. When the call is answered, the Connect button becomes available.

Step 5 To connect the person you reached to the conference as the subscriber, click Connect. To disconnect the line, click Disconnect. A dialog box asks you if you want a passcode (Figure 8).


Figure 8.

Note: If the subscriber dials in, the system prompts the subscriber to set up theoptional passcode, but if you dial out to the subscriber, the Moderatorapplication prompts you instead. If you are not the subscriber, be sureyou know whether the subscriber wants to require a passcode andwhat it is. The passcode, if chosen, affects only participants who dial in;
they must know it to join the conference. Participants to whom you dialout are not prompted for the passcode. Figure 2–14 Conference Security Passcode dialog box


Step 6 To use a passcode to control dial-in access to the conference, enter the passcode and click OK. Otherwise, click None. The system sets up the conference. Then, it dials the first participant in the list and connects the subscriber to the outbound line. The Dial Out dialog box shows you the call’s progress. When the call is answered, the Connect button becomes available.

Step 7 To add the called participant to the conference, click Connect. To disconnect the line, click Disconnect.

Note: When you use the Moderator’s Dial All function, the subscriber cannot use touchtones to disconnect the line or join it to the conference. You must use the Moderator for these functions. If you are not the subscriber, it is helpful if you can communicate with the subscriber during this process.

The system either adds the participant to the conference or disconnects the line. Then it dials the next participant in the list
.
Step 8 Repeat the previous step for each participant in the list. If the dialing all process fails to reach some participants and you have alternate numbers to try, dial them individually as described in “Adding a Participant” .

Blast Dialing

Note: This procedure assumes the subscriber is already in conference. If not, you are prompted for the subscriber’s phone number and then for a passcode, as in progressive dialing. Although everyone is dialed simultaneously,
other participants may wait on hold for a time until the subscriber enters the subscriber password and is placed into conference.

To blast dial all participants:

Step 1 Add all the participants to your phone book and create a list that contains them. See “Using the Phone Book”.

Step 2 In the Phone Book window, select the list and click the Export button. The system adds the members of the list to the participant list on the Moderator page.

Step 3 On the Moderator page, click Dial All. The Dial Out dialog box appears. It contains the name and phone number of the first person in the participant list. Figure 9 Blast dialing all participants


Figure 9

Step 4 Click Blast Dial.
The dialog box closes, and the system dials everyone in the participant list simultaneously. Each participant who answers hears a message explaining that the call is for a teleconference and prompting the participant to press 1 to join the conference. Participants who press 1 are placed into conference.
Note: The passcode, if any, affects only participants who dial in; they must know it to join the conference. Participants to whom you dial out are not prompted for the passcode.

Resolving Moderator Problems

If you have trouble logging into the Moderator interface, verify that:

1 Your computer has access to the Internet.
2 You are using a supported Web browser (we recommend using version 5.0 or later of Microsoft Internet Explorer or version 4.06 or later of Netscape Navigator or Communicator).
3 You entered the correct Access Phone Number, Access Code, and Subscriber Password in the login dialog box.
4 Your browser has its Java capability enabled.

If this fails, contact your conferencing service provider or your system administrator for help.

Note: Proxy servers and some network firewalls may block users from downloading certain applications. If you see a “Failure to connect to conferencing server” warning, please contact your system administrator.