Share Pod: Sharing Screens and Applications

As a Host or Presenter, you can use the Share Pod to share your screen, and even let other Hosts and Presenters take control of your applications. You must have the Adobe Connect Plug-In installed (see Requirements under Getting Started) to gain full access to the Share Pod.

Activities that the Share Pod can be used for include:

• Content display and whiteboard: See the previous page, Share Pod: Sharing Files and Whiteboards under Using Adobe Connect.
• Screen sharing: In real-time, the Share Pod can display a desktop, window, or application that is open on the Host or Presenter's computer.
• Application sharing: Hosts and Presenters can allow another Host or Presenter to take control of their desktop, window, or open application.

Screen Sharing: Displaying a Desktop, Window, or Application
From a Share pod, Hosts and Presenters can broadcast a desktop, window, or application to all Attendees in a meeting room. For meeting Attendees to see the shared item, it must be in full view on the Host or Presenter's screen. Any changes that the sharing Host or Presenter makes to the application are visible to the Attendees, including related windows such as dialog boxes. Overlapping windows from applications not selected for sharing appear as a blue cross-hatch pattern.

Note that screen sharing requires a very high amount of bandwidth and should be used cautiously. Even users with high-speed, wired internet connects may have trouble viewing a shared screen in real-time.

To start sharing a screen:

1. Click the “My Computer Screen…” button in the middle of a blank Share pod. The Screen Sharing Window appears.
2. Select whether you want to share a desktop, window, or application. If your computer system has two monitors, select the display you want to share. (We have found that it works best to share your Main Display and move your Adobe Connect meeting window to your second monitor.)
3. Select the item(s) you want to share and click the “Share” button.

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Screen Sharing Window

After sharing your screen, the following actions occur:

• If you are sharing an application or window, it comes to the front of your desktop. If you are sharing a desktop, Adobe Connect is minimized.
• The Macromedia Adobe Connect icon appears on the application task bar tray in Windows or on the icon bar on the Macintosh.
• The shared screen appears in the Attendees' Share pods in the meeting room.

To stop sharing, click the Stop Sharing button in the bottom bar of the Share Pod.

Bandwidth Considerations
Screen sharing requires a very high amount of bandwidth (requiring a connection speed of at least 350 Kbps) and should be used cautiously. Even users with high-speed, wired internet connections may have trouble viewing a shared screen in real-time. Suggestions for screen sharing include:

• Reducing the shared screen to the smallest reasonable resolution
• Allowing users to view content locally on their computers. For instance, instead of screen sharing to browse websites together, use the Web Links pod to open them in the participant’s browser; then tell the participants to look at the sites

Previewing your Shared Screen
When sharing a desktop, window, or application, you can select the Preview option to show the same view that Attendees see in their Share Pod. Click the Preview Icon (a pair of glasses) in the bottom bar of the Share Pod.

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Preview Icon

With the Preview option, you can share an application and preview it at the same time. If you are using a single monitor, you will need to resize your windows so that the shared application and the Preview Pod do not overlap. Otherwise the covered areas of the shared item appear as a blue cross-hatch pattern on the other attendees' screens.

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Blue Hash Marks

Application Sharing: Passing Control to Another Host or Presenter
While screen sharing, you can pass control of the shared desktop, window, or application to another Host or Presenter. The controlling Host or Presenter can now use the shared desktop, window, or application as if it were on their own computer.

To pass control of a shared screen to another Host or Presenter:

1. Start sharing the desired desktop, window, or application
2. Wait for the Host or Presenter to request control. When the message box appears, click Accept.

To take control of a shared screen, a Host or Presenter must first request control. To request control, click on the Request Control button at the bottom of the Share Pod.

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Request Control Button

As the sharing Host or Presenter, when someone requests control from you, you will see a message in the lower-right corner of your main screen, asking if you want to decline or accept the request for control. If you grant control to another Host or Presenter, a "Stop Sharing" button appears at the top of the desktop, window, or application. To take back control of your shared screen, click the Stop Sharing button.

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Stop Sharing button in Windows

Alternatively, you can stop sharing by clicking the Adobe Connect task tray icon in Windows and selecting "Stop Sharing."

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Stop Sharing Task Tray Icon in Windows

As the requesting Host or Presenter, if your request is accepted a message informs you that you have been granted control of the screen. In the bottom bar of the Share Pod, the "Request Control" button will then become a "Release Control" button. To release control of the shared screen, click the Release Control button.

Annotating a Screen Capture
While sharing a screen or application on a computer running Windows, a Host or Presenter can take a "snapshot" or screen capture of the shared window. This screenshot is then placed on a whiteboard for annotation (for details on whiteboards, see Share Pod: Sharing Files and Whiteboards under Using Adobe Connect).

To create a screen capture of your shared window, make sure the window you want to capture is visible, then choose one of the following methods:

• Click the pull-down menu next to the "Stop Sharing" button of the shared window. Select "Pause And Annotate." (Note: this method is not available when sharing the entire desktop.)
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  "Stop Sharing" Pull-Down Menu Pause
• Alternatively, in Windows, click on the Adobe Connect icon in the task tray. Select "Pause and Annotate."
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  Adobe Connect Task Tray Pause

After a few seconds, a snapshot of the window will appear on the whiteboard, to be annotated as desired.

When finished annotating, click "Resume" in the control strip at the bottom of the Share Pod. Note that the whiteboard will disappear when "Resume" is clicked.