Attending a RingCentral Event as a screen reader user

This guide serves as a template with instructions for screen reader users attending an event hosted on RingCentral Events.

Main event areas

Consider an event hosted on the RingCentral Events platform as a replication of a real-world event, complete with a main stage, breakout rooms, and many more areas. Here are the main areas:

• Reception: The event lobby with the welcome message, schedule, speakers and sponsors.
• Stage: The main event area for keynote presentations. 
• Session: A room for roundtables, discussions and workshops.
• Expo: The expo hall with different booths where exhibitors display their content.
• Replay: Recordings of past sessions.
• Event sidebar: Profile settings, chat, polls, Q&A, and integrations.

Joining an event

1. When the event starts, trigger the link you received after registering. 
2. In the event venue, you will find the main areas in a list in a navigation region labelled RingCentral Main Menu. They are links labelled Reception, Stage, Session, etc. When triggered, these links will open the relevant area, to be found after the navigation menu. 
3. Sessions and Stages will have video players. The other rooms will have various multimedia based on the event's content.
4. The event sidebar can be expanded and collapsed. There is a navigation region labelled Account controls and settings where you can edit your profile, change language, and log out. It also contains a complementary region containing the activity panel with chat, polls, Q&A and integrations.

Participating in the chat and Q&A

Using the chat area

There are multiple chat channels in the event venue. Each one serves a different purpose.

• Event chat: Global event chat where all participants can post messages.
• Stage chat: Chat with a Stage-related discussion all attendees can access.
• Session chat: Each session in the Sessions area has dedicated chat rooms. Attendees who are off-camera can chat to interact with people on camera and vice-versa.
• Booth chat: Each booth has its own chat for group discussions and interaction.
• Meeting chat: In Networking or scheduled meetings, a private chat channel is available to the participants.
• Direct messages: Anyone can send private messages to other attendees in the People tab. To send a private message, find the person you wish to chat with in the People tab, click their profile button, and send a message to them.

Posting a message in the chat

1. Navigate to the Event Sidebar and the complementary region. Select the relevant sidebar tab, i.e., Event for an event-wide chat or Session/Stage/Booth if you are in another area of the platform.
2. Navigate to the Event subtabs.
3. Select the tab labeled Chat.
4. Navigate to a text field labelled Type a message and enter your comment. Note that there is a character limit of 500.
5. To send the chat message, navigate to the button labelled Send message.

Using the Q&A area

The Q&A area is a great way to share your queries throughout a presentation. You can find the Q&A area in the different areas of the event, similar to the chat described above. 

1. Navigate to the Event Sidebar and the complementary region. Select the relevant sidebar tab, i.e., Event for an event-wide chat or Session/Stage/Booth if you are in another area of the platform.
2. Navigate to Event subtabs.
3. Select the tab labeled Q&A. 
4. Navigate to the button labelled Ask a question.
5. Type your question in the text input. Note that there is a character limit of 750.
6. Following the input, a toggle can be switched to ask anonymously.
7. Navigate to the button labelled Ask and trigger it. Note that the organizer may review your question before it is displayed to the audience.

Responding to Polls 

You will be able to respond to polls created by the organizer. You can find the Polls tab in the complementary region, next to the chat and Q&A tabs as described above. 

1. Navigate to the Event Sidebar and the complementary region. Select the relevant sidebar tab, i.e., Event for an event-wide chat or Session/Stage/Booth if you are in another area of the platform.
2. Navigate to the Event subtabs.
3. Select the tab labelled Polls. 
4. Navigate to the Heading level 2 to find the relevant question.
5. Following that, you will find several radio buttons with the options to be voted on (the number of buttons will depend on the organizer settings).
6. Trigger the desired answer.
7. Unfortunately, there is no announcement to inform you that your vote has been submitted. However, once you have voted, the panel will reload to show the results. 
8. Under the same Heading level 2 that states the poll question, you can use your reading keys to find the results, including the option, the percentage allotted to that item, and the number of votes. You cannot access this data before participating in the poll unless your event organizer chooses to share it.

Presenting at a RingCentral Event 

Presenting on Stage

1. Enter the backstage via the link provided by the organizer.
2. The following button will depend on whether your browser already has access to your Mic and Camera or not:
   • If not, you will have a button that asks Allow mic/cam access. Once you click on it, your browser will also have a pop-up dialog asking to allow. You can also use F6 to access this if using a PC.
   • If your browser already has access to the mic and camera, you will have multiple button options: Mute Microphone, Stop Cam, and Mic and Camera Settings.
3. Enter your display name. 
4. Trigger the button labeled Enter studio.
5. Once you are in the backstage studio, you are not automatically live. The organizer controls what is shown on the screen, so you can relax and wait for the organizer to let you know once you are live.
6. By default, your camera and mic are on. Only the organizer can hear your audio or see your camera while you are backstage. If you want to mute yourself, switch off your camera, or share screen when you are backstage, you can use buttons labeled Mute Microphone, Stop Cam, and Present. You can always change your mic and camera settings using the button labeled Mic and Camera settings.
7. To communicate with organizers via chat while you are on stage, you can navigate to the Private Chat tab in the Chat Tab region of the page. There, you can type and send messages. You'll need to navigate above the chat input field to read previous chat items.
8. When you are finished speaking, the organizer can remove you from the screen and backstage area. You can also trigger the Return button to leave backstage.

Presenting in a Session

1. Enter the Sessions area by finding the link labelled Sessions (it is located in the RingCentral Events main menu navigation bar).
2. Depending on the setup, you may encounter a page with multiple sessions. In that case, look for a link associated with a Heading level 2, which is the name of the session you are joining. You can also find your session in the Search Sessions search text field. 
3. In the session room, trigger the button labelled Share Audio and Video or Ask to Share Audio and Video.
4. Next, the browser will likely direct you to allow camera and audio access. You can also use F6 to access this if using a PC.
5. Once you trigger Allow, you will be in a dialogue that allows microphone and camera settings. These will be automatically set. Trigger the Apply Selection button.
6. Now you are in. In the Main Session area, you have the following buttons:
   • Stop sharing Audio and Video: to stop presenting and leave the screen.
   • Participants Control: to enable Fullscreen mode.
   • Mute/Unmute Audio (or "M" on the keyboard): to mute and unmute your microphone.
   • Mute/Unmute Video (or "V" on the keyboard): to turn off and on your camera feed.
   • Open Share Menu (or "S" on the keyboard): opens presentation options such as Share screen and others if enabled by the organizer.
   • Fullscreen (or "F" on the keyboard): to enable fullscreen mode.
7. When your presentation ends, click Stop sharing Audio and Video to leave the session screen.