ePresence Server User Guide

ePresence Server is a web application that provides the web-based user interface for streaming and watching multimedia archives.

NOTE: These instructions are written for ePresence Server 5.0.

1. Manage Content

1.1 Live

In order for webcast viewers to be able to login and watch a live webcast, an event must be created on your ePresence Portal.

1.1.1 Create

To create an event you need an account with administrative privileges. Go to your ePresence Portal and click on the Login link. Enter your administrator username and password.

An Admin link will appear next to the Login link. Click on the Admin link and the Create Live Event webform will appear.

Complete the form by filling in the event information, i.e., Title, Presenter's name(s), date, and the event start and end time, and choose the appropriate template (choose Default for webcasts that include video, audio and presentation material). If you like you may also include a brief description of the event. Click the Create button at the bottom of the form when you're finished.

1.1.2 Manage

You can edit or make changes to previously scheduled events here in the Manage section.

To edit or correct previously scheduled event information click on the Manage link. A list of scheduled events will appear. Click on the event you want to edit.

In the example below, there is a spelling mistake in the event title. Click on the event title text box, and edit the title. You can also change the date, time, and description information.

When you are finished editing, click on the Save Changes button at the bottom of the form.

1.1.3 Stream using Web Capture (New in version 5.0)

Note: The Web-based capture application is restricted to Flash as a video format and MS PowerPoint as a presentation format. Please consider a stand-alone Capture Software solution or a Capture Station hardware solution for multiple media and presentation formats, as well as screen or VGA capture options.

There is a Flash-based presenter tool built in to ePresence Server 5.0 for personal webcasting. It is designed for an individual presentation sessions for remote audiences. Typical scenario is one presenter sharing the talk with a distributed group of participants from an office or a hotel room. Any computer with Flash Player 10 and High speed internet connection must be sufficient for this type of production.

Click on Web Capture link in front of your event title

If you are presenter then Click "Start Presenting" button. If you are an administrator in charge of accomodating a presenter then copy and paste the "Share" URL to the invitation email.

In order to start the webcast presenters should upload power point and click Start button. To advance the slides presenter must click on the slide frame or select one from the thumbnail bar. Finish button will stop the webcast and recording.

1.1.4 Publish presentations recorded with Web Capture (New in version 5.0)

When the webcast is over the Publish option will appear in front of your event in the administrative area. Click Publish to make event available for on-demand access.

2.1 Archived

2.1.1 Manage Folders

Manage Folders allows you to create and edit folders to better manage and organize your archives.

To create a folder click on Manage Folders.

Enter the folder name in the text box, you may also enter a password in the adjecent text box if required.

Click Create New Folder.

The new folder will appear in the Manage Folders list:

To edit the folder name, or to add or change a password, click on the event name in the list, and change the information in the text box.

You can delete the folder by clicking on the red 'x' to the right. You can also change the order of the folders by dragging the arrow up or down the list.

A Folders list appears on the Published Events page.

2.1.2 Manage Presentations

Manage Presentations allows you organize to organize and manage your archives.

To edit archive information or change an archives' ranking in a folder, click on Manage Presentation

Go to the Folders drop down list to locate the folder where the presentation is saved.

Select the folder, the list of presentations appears.

You can drag the presentation up or down the list using the arrows on the left, edit the text of the presenation by clicking on the title, see how many times a presentation has been viewed, or delete the presentation by clicking on the red "x" on the right.

Go to the Published Events page, click on your folder and the list of presentations contained in the folder will appear.

2. Manage Server

2.1 Community

Communities allow you to organize your events and customize the way they are presented to different groups of users. If you have multiple distinct groups using the ePresence server, creating a community for each group provides two advantages:

• Communities ensure that each user group and can only access its own events.
• Each group's ePresence community homepage can have its own look and feel.

2.1.1 Creating a New Community

To create a new community, follow the steps below:

1. Click the Create link under the Community heading in the sidebar. The Create Community webform will appear.

2. Fill in the fields in the Create Community webform:

Name	A name for your new community.
Owner	The name of the community's owner.
Alias	A community's alias determines the URL that will be used to access it. For example, if your server URL is  http://www.myserver.com, and you choose the alias 'my_community' for your alias, then that community can be accessed at http://www.myserver.com/my_community.aspx.
Admin Password	The password for the community's administrator. See section 2.2 Users for more details on user accounts.
Moderator Password	The password for the community's moderator. See section 2.2 Users for more details on user accounts.

You can click on Additional Details to enter more details about the community and its owner. The following fields can be filled in:

Description	A description of the community.
Owner Homepage	The URL of the community owner's homepage.
Owner Address	The community owner's street address.
Owner Email	The community owner's email address.

You can also click on Pointers to change your community's publishing points. [more information needed?]

3. When you are satisfied with the information you have entered into the form, click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the form. Your new community has now been created.

You can view your new community at http://serverURL/alias.aspx, where 'serverURL' is your server's base URL, and 'alias' is the name you entered in the Alias field.

2.1.2 Managing Existing Communities

To modify or delete an existing community, follow the steps below:

1. Click Manage under the Community heading in the sidebar. A list of the communities on the server will appear.

2. To modify a community, click on its name (the name listed under the "Long Name" field). You will be presented with a form similar to the one for creating a new community; see section 2.1.1 for a description of the meaning of the form's fields.

3. To delete a community, click the red "X" located to the right of the community entry you would like to remove. You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the community.

2.2 Users

2.2.1 User Access Levels

There are six user access levels on the ePresence server:

• No Account
• Basic
• Moderator
• Manager
• Admin
• Super-Admin

No Account means the user has not registered for an account; the other access levels are for registered users. The following chart details the priveledges for each access level. An asterix (*) indicates that the access level has the indicated priveledge.

No Account		Basic	Moderator	Manager	Admin	Super-Admin
Watch live events or archived events that do not require login.	*	*	*	*	*	*
Watch live events or archived events that require login.	*		*	*	*	*
Moderate live events.	*			*	*	*
Pre-schedule live events, modify archived events, create/modify event folders.	*				*	*
Manage user access, website customization, and Capture Station automation for one particular community.	*					*
Manage user access, website customization, and Capture Station automation for any community.	*
Create and modify communities.	*

2.2.2 Creating User Accounts

User accounts are created through presentation portals, not through the server administration panel.Here are the steps for a user to create an account:

1. Click the Join button at the top of any page on the presentation portal.

2. A form where account information can be filled in will pop up.

Fill in the form fields. Only the Email, Username, and Password field are required.

3. Click the Join button at the bottom of the form.

4. Your account is created, and you are automatically logged in.

Accounts created in this way are by default Basic accounts. For an explanation of how grant a user account a higher access level, see section 2.2.3 below.

2.2.3 Managing User Accounts

1. Click Manage under the Users heading in the sidebar.

2. A list of user accounts will appear.

For each user account, the username, email, and access level are listed. You can change the order in which the accounts are displayed by clicking on one of the headings. For example, to sort the accounts alphabetically by username, click the Username heading.

3. To modify a user account, click on its username in the list. A form containing the user's account information will appear.

4. To delete a user account, click the red "X" located next to the user account you want to delete. A dialogue box will pop up asking you to confirm that you want to delete the user.

5. You may change the account information by modifying the text in the appropriate field. To change the account's access level, select the desired level from the Access drop-down menu.

6. When you are satisfied with the new account information, click Save Changes.

2.3 Customization

The customization functions on the sidebar allow you to change the appearance of your presentational portals. Each community on your server has its own appearance settings. If you have multiple communities, follow the instructions in section 2.1.1 for logging into communities to ensure that you are customizing the correct presentation portal.

2.3.1 Changing Your Header Image

You can replace the header image that appears at the top of your presentation portals with your own image. To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Prepare your image file. Your image should be 760 pixels wide, and at least 35 pixels high. If the image is wider than 760 pixels, the right side of your image will be cut off past 760 pixels.

2. Click the Header link under the Customization heading in the sidebar

2. Click the Choose File button, and select your image file on your computer.

3. Click the Add button.

4. Your new header image will appear in the Preview area below and at the top of the page. If the new header image is not displayed at the top of the page, try refreshing the page. If the new header image is still not displayed, clear your browser's cache and refresh the page again.

2.3.2 Changing Your Style (Colors and Fonts)

The set of colors and fonts used by a presentation portal is defined by its theme. You can customize the themes used by your presentations portals by following the steps below:

1. Click Style under the Customization heading in the sidebar.

2. A list of themes will appear. The theme that is currently in use will appear at the top of the list; the other entries in the list are themes that can be used or edited. The two small colored squares located to the right of a theme's name show the primary and secondary colors used by the theme, and give a general idea of what the theme will look like. Themes are available to all the communities on the server.

3. To switch the current theme, click the Use link next to the theme you would like to use. The page should be updated to reflect the new color scheme and fonts.

4. To modify a theme, click its Edit button. A page will appear allowing you to modify the theme's properties. You can change the theme's name by changing the text in the Name text box under the Meta heading. ![...]

5. If you would like to create a new theme, you can duplicate an existing theme, and then modify it. To duplicate a theme, click its Duplicate button. A duplicate theme will be created, and then you will be brought to a page where you can modify it. See above for instructions on how to modify a theme.

6. To delete a theme, click the red "X" located next to the theme you would like to delete.

2.3.3 Advanced Settings

For advanced users, ePresence supports additional advanced customization. Please refer to our advanced server customization guide.

2.4 Automation

ePresence Capture stations include advanced automation features that enable the Capture Stations to be controlled by the Web server. The automation feature allows you to deploy multiple stations for such situations as webcating multiple classes across a campus. The stations can run multiple recording sessions without the need for an operater to be physically present at the site.

Configuring your Capture Station

1. Before you begin you must ensure a stable highspeed Internet is availible.

2. Click the Options button and select the Server Tab

3. Under the Automation heading enter a unique Station or room ID in the Station ID field

Scheduling an Automated Event

1. Navigate to your ePresence server and enter the admin area by entering your username and password.

2. Under the Manage Live heading, click the Create link

3. Enter the title, presenter's name and description

4. Select the Webcast template

5. Specify the start and end date / time for your presentation. Your station will automatically start and end capturing your event at these specified times.

6. Click the Automation drop menu.

To have your presentation webcast live automatically click the Stream Event Live checkbox. If this option is not selected the station will autmotaically record the presentation to the local hard drive on your Capture Station.

To publish your event as an On-demand webcast click the Publish To Web checkbox and select the target folder you want the presentation to be sent to on the Server. The default publishing time is 10 pm, Please contact support to change the publishing time. Please note that the execution depends on the server time zone.

If you want this event to recur on a regular basis click the Recur checkbox and specify how often you want the event to recur and when this schedule should stop.

In the Room drop down menu select the unique ID of your Capture station.

7. Click the Create button

The events are recorded automatically during the execution times. If two ore more event times overlap then the capture stations treat them as a single event. Multiple events are queued for publishing. The default publishing time is 10 pm EST. Please note that the execution depends on the server time zone. If you want to change the default publishing time please contact ePresence Support?.

Monitoring the hardware status

Multiple automated capture stations report their status so the server administrator can monitor their availability at any time.

To monitor your hardware status do the following steps.

1. Navigate to your ePresence server and enter the admin area by entering your username and password.

2. Under the Automation heading click the Hardware Status link

3.The Hardware Status link leads to a status report page. Stations that are operational are indicated as "online". Non-operational stations are displayed "offline":