This user guide is for Presenters, Producers, and Q&A moderators joining a Forums event, so they can learn how to interact with attendees and present effectively. In addition, you will learn about the additional presenting options for Forums. You’ll find system requirements, user roles, and an overview of all tools available for Forums.
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For presenters that don't have an ON24 platform login, review our free course on running a Forums event. |
System Requirements
As a general best practice, close all unnecessary applications and clear your cache before logging into each event. This will improve browser performance while ensuring all recent uploads and changes are visible.
| Operating System |
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| Browser |
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| Browser Configuration | Must accept cookies and have JavaScript enabled |
| Connection | A stable, high-speed internet connection is required |
| Connection Speed | 1Mbps or faster |
Troubleshooting Forums
- Confirm all presenters are using a supported browser (Chrome or Edge)
- Note: For the best performance, we do not recommend using Firefox when presenting or attending an ON24 Forum.
- Make sure ON24 has access to your microphone and camera within the browser - review troubleshooting for connecting to a live event.
- Try connecting with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). If the issue persists after troubleshooting, it is usually related to network configurations such as VPN or firewalls.
- All presenters should have a stable, high-speed internet connection.
- Refresh the page by pressing F5 (Command + R for Macs) or try another browser. Refreshing the page will not end the webinar.
- Clear cache/cookies to optimize browser performance.
- Close all unused applications and browser tabs. This is especially true of collaboration apps (Zoom, WebEx, Teams) because they will use all of the available Central Processing Unit (CPU) resources.
- Reboot the computer if time permits.
- Find more help in the Forums Troubleshooting article.
- If these tips do not resolve the issue, please contact Support so our team can work with you and your internal IT department to find a resolution.
Presenting from Elite Studio
This mode is the standard presentation format available to all Forum users.
Click on the tabs below to find more information for each topic.
Things to Know
- Forums accommodates up to 50 video participants and 200 additional audio-only participants.
- Presenters will appear once they have joined Elite Studio and will have a badge next to their names.
- Attendees will appear once the event has been started and they have entered via the Audience Console.
- All Forums will be recorded. By joining the event, both the presenting team and the attendees consent to being recorded. You can add an additional checkbox for attendees to confirm recording consent before joining the room if you'd like.
- Participants who have not allowed their browser to have access to their microphone will not be able to speak during the live event
- A red icon will appear next to their name with a message that their mic is blocked. The participant will need to allow access via their browser settings.
- Note: Presenters can mute all attendees and enable the microphones for all attendees (if the attendee has allowed their browser access to their mic), but due to privacy issues, presenters CANNOT unmute attendees. If a Presenter enables an attendee's mic, the attendee must then unmute themselves to speak.
Logging In to Elite Studio
Although Forums events can accommodate up to 50 video participants and 200 additional audio-only participants total, only a maximum of 10 presenters can connect to the event through Elite Studio. Elite Studio users can join the event in listen-only mode if the max number of video presenters has been reached.
At least one member of the presenting team must be on webcam.
Use the Presenter Link or the Launch Elite Studio link from the event Overview page to pull up Elite Studio. If you do not have ON24 account access, the Presenter Link will need to be shared by someone who has an ON24 platform login.
Enter your information and choose a language, if desired.
Choose a role - Producer, Presenter, or Q&A. See below for more information on each of the roles.
Roles
Presenters may log in as a Producer, Presenter, or a Q&A moderator. Below is a breakdown of user permissions for each role.
Important: Every Forums event must have at least one Producer logged in to Elite Studio to start and stop the event. If you are running an event by yourself, log in as a Producer.
Connecting to Elite Studio
Note: Your browser may ask for permission to use your camera and microphone - you must click Allow in order to connect to the event.
Your default webcam and microphone will connect automatically. If you have other options, they may be selected from the Camera and Mic drop-down menus.
If connecting by webcam, choose a Virtual Background by clicking on the person icon in the camera area.
If connecting by PC Mic only, choose None for the Camera setting in the drop-down menu.
After connecting, presenters will join a two-way video conference with other presenters and participants. Presenters and Moderators will have a badge by their name to identify who is hosting the Forum.
If only two people join the Forums event, the Media Player will display the two participants in Picture-In Picture mode until a third participant or presenter/moderator joins the event, even if they do not join by webcam.
Interface
This is the Elite Studio interface for Forums events.
This is the default view for those logging in as Producers.
The Main Stage will show the Live View window and the Media Player, with all those connected in a filmstrip view. Forums Specific Tools will be at the top of the Main Stage.
The Elite Studio Toolbar allows the presenting team to access the Connection Panel, Elite Studio tools to open in the Right Panel (such as Team Chat, Q&A, Attendee List), screen share, event details, and light/dark mode.
If not already in the Main Stage, The Live View or Q&A tools can be moved by clicking the arrow in the top corner of the tool.
Find more information on windows and tools in the Elite Studio User Guide.
Find more information on the general Elite Studio Interface.
Forums Specific Tools
Bulk actions allow you to update all presenters and attendees at once.
Click on the Participant List, then hover over All Participants and click the ellipsis to find the following actions:
- Mute All participants - both the presenting team and attendees
- Turn Off All Cameras
- Disable Attendee Mics
- Lower All Hands
You can also update individual attendees. Presenters, Producers, and Moderators can perform these actions by clicking anywhere on a participant's tile to see a list of actions, or by going to the Participant List, hovering over the individual you'd like to update, and clicking the ellipsis to access the following actions.
- Mute
- Turn Off Camera
- Disable Mic
- Lower Hand
- Share Screen
- Pass the Mic
Forums participants can raise a hand by clicking the small hand button. To lower your hand, click the same button again.
When another participant raises a hand, their border will momentarily flash yellow, and a yellow hand icon will appear in the panel for that participant. The raise-hand count will also increase by one, and a hand icon will appear next to their name in the Participant List.
To lower another participant's hand, hover over the individual, click the ellipsis, and choose Lower Hand.
Note: If you would like to use this feature, please reach out to your CSM.
If Request to Join On Camera is enabled during the event setup, attendees can be promoted to video during the live event.
- The event will start with only Presenters on camera - all attendees will join in listen-only mode and need to raise their hand to request to be promoted onto the video conference.
- Click on the raised hand icon, then click the three dots to find Connect Camera/Mic.
- Clicking here will promote the attendee to the video conference.
- The presenter team can choose to demote the promoted attendees at any time.
- Find instructions for your attendees in the Forums Attendee Guide.
If enabled, Presenters can grant permission to Attendees to share their screens. All attendees have screen share initially disabled. Attendees that have been given permission will see the screen share icon at the top of their screen.
Note: For iPads Beta Screenshare is available for IOS. This feature will be enabled by request only. Please contact Support for details The ON24 Screenshare app will need to be downloaded from the app store. Screenshare is not available on Safari browsers v15 and older.
Pinning allows you to always display one or more video streams in the video grid, even if they are not speaking. The other video slots will dynamically display based on voice activation.
Click the Pin icon next to their name in the Attendees list.
Spotlighting allows you to only display those who are pinned. For example, if three people are pinned and you enable Spotlighting, only those three people will display in the video grid.
To enable Spotlighting, click the Spotlighting icon in the header of the video window.
You can adjust the number of presenters in the video grid to prioritize key speakers and produce a more organized event layout.
Adjustments can be made on-the-fly during the event. The default view is 16 video tiles, but this can be changed using the Tiles Displayed to Audience drop-down menu. The tiles live to the audience will be outlined.
When playing a video clip during a live Forums event, presenters in Elite Studio can pause, restart, and seek the video. Hover over the video in the Live View window to access the video controls.
Starting and Stopping an Event
Start a Forum
When joining before the event has been started, all presenters in Elite Studio will be in a private video conference and can speak with one another "backstage."
The audience will not hear or see the presenters until Start Forum is clicked.
Fifteen minutes before the live start time, the Start Forum button will appear, alerting presenters the audience console is open.
During this time, the audience will be able to see what is in the Live View window via their Slides tool. We suggest pushing a title or opening slide for the audience to see while waiting for the event to begin. Attendees will also see a Waiting for presenter message in the Media Player.
Click Start Forum to begin the Forum, then Start Forum in the pop-up window. There will be a countdown from 5 on the screen and the event will start. This will admit all attendees into the video session and start the recording.
End a Forum
Once the webinar has reached its conclusion, click the End Forum button. Once End Forum is clicked, a confirmation window appears - clicking End Forum will disconnect the presenters from the live audience and stop the recording.
Note: Stopping the event permanently ends the Forum. Once a Forum has been stopped (even if it has been accidentally or prematurely stopped), it cannot be restarted.
Elite Studio will stay open 10 minutes after the event has been stopped. The audience will no longer see or hear the presenting team, but the team can stay connected to debrief.
Presenting from Audience Console
You will know you are presenting from the audience console if you see the registration page when you go to login.
Watch this video to learn how to present using both the Present from the Console and the Everyone is a Presenter configurations.
Click on the tabs below to find more information for each topic.
Things to Know
- This guide covers the following two forum configuration options; Presenting from Audience Console and Everyone as Presenter. See Setting Up a New Forums Event for more information on the configuration of your event.
- Presenting from Audience Console and Everyone as Presenter is not compatible with SSO/SAML accounts.
- If you want a recording/archive of the event, you must manually start and end the recording.
- Presenters will appear once they have joined.
- Attendees will appear once the event has been started and they have entered via the Audience Console.
- Participants who have not allowed their browser to have access to their microphone will not be able to speak during the live event
- A red icon will appear next to their name with a message that their mic is blocked. The participant will need to allow access via their browser settings.
- Note: Presenters can mute all attendees and enable the microphones for all attendees (if the attendee has allowed their browser access to their mic), but due to privacy issues, presenters CANNOT unmute attendees. If a Presenter enables an attendee's mic, the attendee must then unmute themselves to speak.
Logging in and Connecting
When you click on the link, you will be taken to the registration page. Once registered, you will see either the lobby page or the audience console if it is within 15 minutes of the event start time. When it is time for your event, you can select your connection options for Camera and Mic. Toggle on or off Display Name. Select your Virtual Background if desired. Make sure your browser has access to your camera and microphone. Click Join to enter the event.
Starting and Ending the Event
Once in the event, presenters have the ability to Start the session directly from the Audience Console.
When everyone is a presenter, the event will start automatically.
Settings and Start Recording/End Recording can be accessed from the three dots menu. Settings will display Connection options.
Note: If you want an archive of the event, manually Start Recording to create an archive.
End Event and Leave will display once the event has been started.
When the event has concluded, select End Event and a confirmation message will display. Once an event has been ended, it cannot be restarted.
Forums Presenter Tools
These tools are available for Presenters only. If everyone is a presenter, everyone will have access to these options.
Click on the Participant icon to open a list of participants.
Bulk actions allow you to update all presenters and attendees at once. Hover over All Participants and click the ellipsis.
You can also update individual attendees. Hover over the individual you'd like to update and click the ellipsis.
- Mute All participants - both the presenting team and attendees
- Turn Off All Cameras
- Disable Attendee Mics
- Lower Hands
- Allow Screen Share
- Remove From Meeting
- Pin
Participants can raise a hand by clicking the small hand button. To lower your hand, click the same button again.
When another participant raises a hand, their border will momentarily flash yellow, and a yellow hand icon will appear in the panel for that participant. The raise-hand count will also increase by one, and a hand icon will appear next to their name in the Participant List.
To lower another participant's hand, hover over the individual, click the ellipsis, and choose Lower Hand.
Note: This option will not be available if everyone is a presenter.
Pinning allows you to always display one or more video streams in the video grid, even if they are not speaking. The other video slots will dynamically display based on voice activation.
Click Pin next to their name in the Participant list to pin someone.
Note: This option will not be available if everyone is a presenter.
Spotlighting allows you to only display those who are pinned. For example, if three people are pinned and you enable Spotlighting, only those three people will display in the video grid.
To enable Spotlighting, click the Spotlighting icon in the header of the video window.
Presenters will be able share their screen using the screen share icon.
Note: Beta screen share is available for iOS. This feature will be enabled by request only. Contact Support for details. The ON24 screen share app will need to be downloaded from the app store. screen share is not available on Safari browsers v15 and older.
And if enabled, Presenters can grant permission to Attendees to share their screens.
- All attendees have screen share initially disabled
- Attendees that have been given permission will see the screen share icon at the top of their screen.
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