The Carbonio Workstream Collaboration Role, which is currently in BETA, provides chat functionality as well as the ability to make video calls to Carbonio CE via the Carbonio VideoServer.

Text features.

Carbonio Workstream Collaboration comes with all of the features of a textual chatting system.

Overview

The Chats module is shown in Figure 9. It is separated into three sections (left-hand sidebar, main area, and right-hand sidebar). The arrangement is comparable to a meeting, with two sidebars encircling the main centre.

Using Chats

You may start a new one-to-one or one-to-many conversation by clicking the NEW button in the top bar. In the dialogue window, either begin typing a colleague’s e-mail address or choose the checkbox next to the list of accounts, then click the CREATE button to begin the chat. If you provide more than one address, you will establish a one-to-many conversation (also known as a Group): you may supply a (required) title as the chat’s name and an optional topic. You also become a moderator of the group.

While conversing, you can send attachments to other Chat participants, potentially along with a caption. Carbonio examine allows you to examine attachments before downloading them.

When you establish a new Chat or Group for the first time, the list on the left-hand side is automatically populated with the most recent Chats or Groups at the top. If you search for a certain Chat or Group, you may filter the list, and for each item, it is indicated if there is an active meeting (a camera symbol replaces the little avatar icon), the Chat or Group is muted (a barred bell icon appears), or you have written a draft message.

In both Chats and Groups, there is a sidebar on the right side that contains a variety of information and allows you to do certain tasks. There are three sidebars: one for Chats and two for Groups (one for participants and one for users, each with somewhat different functionality).

Meeting Features:

A Meeting is a video chat between two participants, but a Group Meeting involves three or more participants.

To participate in a meeting, click the button in the upper right corner of the chat window: if you are starting the meeting, the button is named START MEETING, and if the meeting has already begun (in the case of a video conference), the button becomes JOIN MEETING.

If someone attempts to phone you directly, a dialogue enables you to accept the call and attend the meeting, or to decline the call and send a short note to the caller. When you enter the meeting, you may select the microphone and webcam (or devices) to use, as well as test the microphone. You can also join the call with both devices disabled.

After the meeting begins, three collapsible panels appear on the left-hand side: the Actions and Participant boxes, which are identical to the equivalent Actions and Members boxes in the textual chat, and the Chat at the bottom.

The Action Bar at the bottom of the main area allows you to modify or deactivate devices, share the screen, change the call mode (see the next section), or exit the Meeting.

Meeting modes

The right-hand sidebar is determined by the meeting mode, which might be any of the following:

Face-to-face mode.

This is only accessible for video calls (i.e., between two people), and the only way to communicate is to conceal your video and only see the other person.

Cinema mode

It is only available through video conferencing. The sidebar depicts a miniature of the contestants. Only a handful are displayed in a vertical carousel, depending on the size of the browser window, although the carousel may be scrolled. By default, the main area displays the person who is speaking, but you may compel one participant to remain in the main area by pinning it (clicking the matching icon on the tiny).

Grid Mode

It is only available through video conferencing. All of the contestants will be featured in the main section. When the number of participants exceeds the maximum capacity of a single window, the grid can be scrolled.

It is also possible to pin one of the participants, in which case the mode will be automatically changed to Cinema.

Screen Sharing

It is possible to share the complete screen or individual windows. Depending on the browser, it may be able to share simply a single tab.

In video conferences, if someone (Alice) begins sharing the screen while someone else (Bob) is already sharing, Alice’s screen will replace Bob’s. Bob’s screen will stay shared, but other participants must pin it to view it again in the main area.