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Chat and Q&A in meetings



You can communicate with other attendees while a meeting is in progress, using a Chat pod. If you have a question and do not want to disturb the meeting flow, or if you cannot speak in a meeting because sound is not enabled on your computer, you can send a chat message to the presenters or to another meeting participant. For example, when you first enter a meeting room, you can introduce yourself by sending a chat message to everyone in the room.

As a presenter, you can use more than one Chat pod simultaneously. Chat pods can be set to display content to everyone or to presenters (and hosts) only.

In the Chat pod, messages appear as they are submitted, and are listed sequentially in the pod. Questions and answers are not linked, and they can appear in different locations on the list in the Chat pod. Presenters can allow participants to conduct private chats, to clear a chat, and to turn off chat notifications.

Chat pod content is persistent, and remains in a meeting room until deleted. If you want to preserve Chat pod content for future use, you can e-mail the content.

You can use a Q & A pod to answer questions posed by attendees. The Q & A pod is linked to the Chat pod. When an attendee asks a question in the Chat pod, a presenter can answer in the linked Q & A pod. When a presenter answers a question, the question and answer appear as pairs in the Chat pod.

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A host or presenter links the Q & A pod to the Chat pod

A participant submits a question in the Chat (Q & A) pod

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The presenter selects a question and answers from the linked Q & A pod

The question and answer appear as a pair in the Chat pod

Note: Acrobat Connect Pro administrators can change pod, sharing, and other settings to adhere to standards for governance. These settings affect the layout of meeting rooms and what you can do in meeting rooms. For more information, see Working with compliance and control settings.

Send a chat message

Use the Chat pod to compose a chat message and address it to a specific participant, to all presenters at the meeting, or to all attendees.

When you receive a chat message from a meeting participant, your Chat pod shows the sender’s name and the message. If the message was sent to everyone, the sender’s name is followed by the message. If the message was sent only to you, the sender’s name is followed by “(privately)”. If the message was sent only to the presenters, the sender’s name is followed by “(presenters).”

  1. Select one of the following options from the pop‑up menu at the bottom of the Chat pod:

    • The name of a participant to whom you want to send a message

    • Presenters

    • Everyone

    • Submit Question (available if a Q & A pod is linked to the Chat pod)

  2. Click the text box in the Chat pod.
  3. Enter your message.
  4. Do one of the following:

    • Click Send Message next to the text box.

    • Press Enter or Return.

      Your name, the addressee name, and your message appear in the Chat pod.

Disable private chat between participants

By default, two participants can chat privately. As a host, you can disable this option and prevent private chat.

  1. Click the Pod Options button  in the lower-right corner of the Chat pod.
  2. Click Enable Private Chat For Participants to disable the option. A check mark indicates when the option is enabled.
    Note: This option is not available if the Chat pod is linked to a Q & A pod.

Clear messages from a Chat pod

When an empty Chat pod is required in a meeting, a host or presenter can clear all messages for all attendees.

  1. Click the Pod Options button  in the lower-right corner of the Chat pod.
  2. Select Clear Chat.

Use chat notifications

If you are a host or presenter and you are using the Acrobat Connect Add‑in, chat notifications let you communicate with your audience while you are presenting and the meeting window is minimized or maximized to full-screen, concealing the Chat pod. If an attendee sends you a message while you are presenting in full screen or screen sharing mode, a notification appears in the lower-right corner of the screen. You can see the sender’s name and the first few words of the message in the notification window. By default, Chat Notifications is enabled. If you don’t want notifications to be shown while you are presenting, you can disable them.

  1. Click the Pod Options button  in the lower-right corner of the Chat pod.
  2. Select Chat Notification Options > Disable.
    Note: This option is not available if the Chat pod is linked to a Q & A pod.

Moderating questions with the Q&A pod

If you are a host or presenter, the Q & A pod gives you additional control for managing questions and answers during a meeting. Using this pod, you can redirect a question to the appropriate presenter and place questions in a queue until you are ready to answer them.

To manage the question queue, you can apply a filter, so that you see certain questions while hiding others. You can select and edit a question, enter your reply, and send the answer either to all participants or just the sender. Questions and answers appear as pairs in the Chat (Q & A) pod.
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A.
Filter options

B.
Person answering

C.
Forward

D.
Presenter list

E.
Delete question

F.
Incoming message list

G.
Answer text box

H.
Preview pane

I.
Answer question to everyone

J.
Answer question to submitter only

K.
Pod Options

Following are examples of when a Q & A pod is useful:

  • During a large meeting, questions are added to a queue on the Q & A pod while the speaker presents. After completing the presentation, the speaker reviews the messages, applies a filter, and begins answering the questions.

  • A meeting moderator answers logistical questions but forwards technical inquiries to an engineer, who is presenting.

  • A meeting moderator returns certain replies to the sender only. Replies that are relevant to all attendees are sent to everyone in the meeting.

Add a Q&A pod and link it to a Chat pod

If you are a host or presenter, you can add a Q & A pod to a meeting room with an existing Chat pod. You must create a link between the two pods. After the two pods are linked, “(Q & A)” is added to the name of the Chat pod. In Q & A mode, participants can send messages only to the presenters. There can be only one Q & A pod in a meeting room.

  1. If the Presenter Only area is not displayed on your screen, click Present > Show Presenter Only Area.
  2. Click Pods > Q & A.
  3. In the Q & A pod, select the name of the Chat pod that you want to link to from the pop‑up menu.
  4. Click Link.

    The Chat pod is linked to the Q & A pod and (Q & A) is displayed in the Chat pod name.

Submit a question in the Chat pod

  1. From the pop‑up menu at the bottom of the Chat pod, select Submit Question (this option is available only if a Q & A pod is linked to the Chat pod).
  2. Enter your message in the text box, and click the Send Message (arrow) button, or press Return.

Answer questions using the Q&A pod

  1. Select a question from the Incoming Messages list.

    The question is highlighted and a duplicate of the question appears in the Preview pane so that you can edit it if necessary.

  2. (Optional) Edit the question in the Preview pane.
  3. Type your answer in the text box at the bottom of the pod.
  4. Click one of the following buttons in the lower-right corner of the Q & A pod:
    Answer question to everyone 
    Sends the answer to all meeting attendees.

    Answer question to submitter only 
    Sends the answer only to the attendee who sent the question.

    When a question is sent, it is deleted from the Incoming Messages list and appears in the Chat pod in the “Answered Questions” list.

Manage your questions with filters

If you are a host or presenter, you can add a filter to the queue of questions in a Q & A pod so that you can see certain questions while hiding others. You can also forward a question to another presenter to answer.

  1. Click the pop‑up menu in the upper-left corner of the Q & A pod.
  2. Select a filter from the following list:
    Show All Questions
    Displays all questions that you have received, starting either with a new pod or from the last time the pod was cleared.

    Show My Questions
    Displays only the questions that have been assigned to you.

    Show Open Questions
    Displays all unanswered questions not assigned to anyone.

    Show Answered Questions
    Displays all questions that have been answered.

Forward a question to another presenter

You can forward a question to another presenter to answer.

  1. Select the question from the Incoming Messages list.

    The question is highlighted, and a duplicate of the question appears in the Preview pane.

  2. Select a presenter name from the pop‑up menu.
  3. Click the Forward Question To Selected Presenter button.

Mark a question as open

  1. In the Q & A pod, from the Incoming Messages list, select an unanswered question.
  2. Click the Pod Options button  in the lower-right corner.
  3. Select Mark as Open.

Delete questions

  1. In the Q & A pod, from the Incoming Messages list, select a question.
  2. Click the Pod Options button  in the lower-right corner.
  3. Select Delete Question or Delete All Questions.

Show the submitter name or presenter name in front of the question or answer

  1. In the Q & A pod, click the Pod Options button  in the lower-right corner.
  2. Select one of the following options:

    • Show submitter name with answered question.

    • Show presenter name with answered question.

E-mail the contents of a Chat or Q&A pod

 Do one of the following:

  • In the Chat pod, click the Pod Options button  in the lower-right corner and select Email Chat History.

  • In the Q&A pod, click the Pod Options button  in the lower-right corner and select Email All Questions.