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Session tutorial

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The Sessions deliver the best experience for group discussions, multi-track conferences, training workshops, hackathons, breakout rooms, webinars, and teams. This guide explains how to create and manage Sessions and details the Session settings.

Tip: To learn how to set up a Session in a Webinar event, refer to our guide on Webinar event: Choosing and setting up webinar style.

Creating and managing Sessions

To create a Session, go to Event Dashboard > Venue > Sessions (or to Event Dashboard > Content > Sessions for Onsite events) and click Add Session.

Once you create several Sessions, you will see all of them listed on this page.

For easy editing and navigation, use the Search bar to locate Session by the keywords in the name and description and apply Filters to filter Sessions by scheduled date, tickets they are available to, and tags. 

Hover over a Session listing to see the following options:

  • Go to session: Click the Open External Link icon to open a Session room in a separate tab. 
  • Edit: Click the Pencil icon to open Session settings.
  • RTMP details: Click the People icon to open RTMP details (if RTMP is enabled in the Session settings).  
  • Duplicate: Click the Duplicate icon to duplicate a Session. 
  • Delete: Click the Bin icon to remove a Session.
    Note: Deleting a Session also removes all associated recordings.

You can also quickly delete and edit Sessions in bulk by selecting multiple ones using the check boxes next to each listing. 

Setting up a Session

When creating or editing a Session, you will need to configure the following details.

Title (60 characters max / required): The descriptive easy-to-remember name attendees will use to find the Session during the event.

Session description (140 characters max / required): Short information about what your attendees can expect from the Session.

Additional information: Add extra information and resources for your attendees. Follow our guide on Customizing content and additional information areas for more tips.

Tags: Add keywords to help attendees filter Sessions and navigate through the Sessions area during the event. To learn more, refer to our guide on Adding tags to Sessions.

Session display size: The size (medium or large) defines the Session display size in the Sessions area and their order: large Sessions are listed before medium ones. 

Display priority: Numbers define the Session's order in the Sessions area. 1 is the first Session to be displayed. To learn more, refer to our guide on Changing Expo Booths, Sessions and Sponsors order.

Session picture: Click Choose file to upload your Session banner. Use .png, .jpg, .jpeg or .gif file extensions. 2MB maximum. To learn more about recommended dimensions, refer to our guide on Image sizes, dimensions, and specs.

Session picture alt text: For accessibility, add alt text so that screen readers can describe the image accurately to visually impaired users.

Access / Who can watch: Select who can enter and watch this Session. To learn more, refer to our guide on Setting up attendee access for Sessions.

  • Anyone: All attendees will be able to access and see the Session in the schedule (if added) and in the Sessions area.
  • Private (invitation only): Only assigned attendees will be able to access and see the Session in the schedule (if added) and in the Sessions area.
  • Specific ticket types: Only assigned ticket type holders will be able to access and see the Session in the schedule (if added) and in the Sessions area.
  • Unlisted (access via link): The Session will not be listed in the Sessions area and can be accessed via the direct Session URL only.

Access / Who can share audio/video: Select who can join the screen in the Session. To learn more, refer to our guide on Setting up attendee access for Sessions.

  • Anyone: All attendees will be able to join the screen.
  • Invite-only: Only assigned attendees will be able to join the screen.
  • Moderated: Assigned moderators will be able to join the screen, share YouTube videos and approve requests to join the screen from others. To learn more, refer to our guide on Adding a moderator to a Session or an Expo Booth.

Maximum participants: Set a limit of how many people can share their audio/video on the screen. The default maximum is 50. This will also affect how many people will be able to watch the Session. For more details, refer to our guide on Maximum on-screen and viewership limits.

Note: When choosing a high maximum participant count for your Session, consider that only 16 on-camera participants will be visible at any given time. Priority is given to those actively sharing their camera and speaking.
Tip: Consider reducing the number of users who can share audio/video if you anticipate attendees joining your event with lower-powered desktop devices or weaker internet connections. RingCentral Events demands significant CPU resources, particularly when multiple speakers are presenting on screen.

Session scheduling: Choose if you want to link your Session to a schedule item or have it accessible at all times during the event. 

  • Always open: This Session is not displayed on the schedule and attendees can see and access it in the Sessions area during the event's live hours.
  • Scheduled: This Session will be linked to a schedule item and will only appear in the Sessions area during the scheduled time.
    Important: You still have to link your Session to your a schedule item when configuring your schedule. Otherwise, it will not be visible to attendees.
    Tip: Scheduled Sessions appear in the Sessions area 5 minutes before its scheduled time. To adjust this, navigate to Event Dashboard > Setup > Basics > Advanced settings. To learn more, refer to our guide on Accessing a scheduled Session before the start time.
    Note: If you later change your scheduled Session to Always Open, you'll be able to choose if you prefer to keep or remove linked schedule segments. To learn more, refer to our guide on Removing a Session from the schedule.

Enable YouTube sharing: Select this check box to enable YouTube sharing in Session. To learn more, refer to our guide on Using YouTube Sharing in Sessions.

Record this Session: Keep this check box selected to record your Session presentations. To learn more, refer to our guide on Accessing recordings. 

Important: This option must be enabled before your Session presentation begins in order to record. If enabled during the live presentation, the recording will not start in the middle. 

Note: Recording starts as soon as someone joins the screen or shared a screen. If all speakers leave and nothing is on screen, the recording will automatically stop. It will only resume when someone re-joins the screen. If a speaker returns within an hour, the recording will automatically remove the period of inactivity (dead space) from the final video.

RTMP settings: Select the Enable RTMP streaming check box to generate RTMP details for your Session or to set up RTMP mirroring from another Stage or Session. To learn more, refer to our guides on Streaming from OBS to Session via RTMP, Streaming from StreamYard to Session via RTMP, Mirroring an RTMP stream from another Session or Stage into a Session.

Apps: Connect the apps that are enabled for your Organization and can be added to a Session. Click Discover more apps to get redirected to the App store where you can install various apps that can improve your in-event experience. Check out our integration guides to learn more about the available apps.

Once ready, click Save.

Can attendees create their own Sessions?

To allow attendees to create their own Sessions during the live event, go to Event Dashboard > Venue > Venue Controls. To learn more about this option, refer to our guide on Allowing attendees to create sessions in an event.

 

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