Working with Conferences

Conference List

The Conferences tab in the Calls section displays a list of active, upcoming, and completed conferences.

How to Join a Conference?

To join a conference, select or tap on an active or upcoming one.

How to Restart an Already Ended Conference?

To resume a completed conference, select or tap on it.

Instant Conference Creation

• On the Conferences tab in the Calls section, select or tap the Start button. After creating the conference, the link to it will be automatically copied to the clipboard. You can share this link in any convenient way. A quick conference is created with access for everyone, including guests. To restrict access, join the conference and create a new link.
• You can also start a conference from a group chat. Press the Chat room button or open the chat card and select Connect or Join the conference. All chat participants will receive a notification about the conference start.

Creating a Scheduled Conference

On the Conferences tab in the Calls section, select or tap the Schedule button. Specify the conference name and time, add participants in advance, and configure access and password protection. Send the invitation via the calendar. Participants you added manually don't need to enter a password.

Creating a Permanent and Recurring Conference

To create a recurring conference, enable the Indefinite conference (web and desktop) or Unlimited conference (Android and iOS) toggle on the scheduling screen. It will appear in the “Regular” list for added participants.

How to Configure Regular Conference Notifications?

Reminders for the conference can be configured via Conference Notifier Bot or using the Outlook add-in. In the add-in, recurrence is configured via the calendar.

Can I Turn a Permanent Conference Into a Recurring One, a Quick One Into a Scheduled One, and Vice Versa?

This capability isn't available.

Creating a Link to Your Conference

On the Conferences tab in the Calls section, find your conference. In the web and desktop version, right-click it; in the mobile app, tap and hold it. Copy the link and share it.

How to Set Up Link Accessibility?

By default a link is open to everyone. To restrict access, create a new link in the conference settings.

Editing and Deleting Your Conference

The conference creator can edit and delete it. A participant can delete a conference only from their own list and only when it is not in progress. After this, they will no longer be a participant in it. To change or delete a conference, find it on the Conferences tab in the Calls section. In the web or desktop version, right-click it; in the mobile app, tap and hold it.

Why Can't I Delete an Ongoing Conference?

The menu has no delete option: an ongoing conference cannot be deleted.

Joining a Conference

• If you were added as a participant, find the conference on the Conferences tab in the Calls section.
• If a conference is ongoing in a group chat, the chat avatar will turn green. Open the chat and select Chat room or Join conference. You can also find the conference on the Conferences tab.
• Go to the received link or paste it into the browser's address bar. You can join through the application or as a guest (if access is allowed).

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Conference Reminder Bot

Configure reminders for upcoming conferences via the internal bot Conference Notifier Bot. Find it in the corporate chat catalog and start a conversation with it.

How to Set Up Reminders for Recurring Open-Ended Conferences in the Bot?

Ensure that the Conference Notifier Bot is active on the corporate server.

1. Open the chat with the bot.
2. Select the /endless command. A list of permanent conferences you are participating in will open.
3. Select a conference and select Add Additional Reminder.
4. Follow the bot's instructions to select the type of recurrence, time, and frequency of reminders.

The bot will send conference notifications according to your settings.

The Bot's Reminders Show Wrong Time — How to Fix?

If reminders arrive with incorrect times, configure the bot's time zone by following its instructions.

The time zone is stored separately for each user and is remembered on first access to the bot. Therefore, if your organization's server administrator changed the bot's default time zone, the time will not change for those who have already chatted with the bot. Each of them needs to change the time zone in their chat with the bot.

The Bot Writes “Conference Rescheduled From 01.01.0001 03:00,” but No One Rescheduled It

This is what creating a meeting through the Outlook add-in looks like: it works in two steps. First, when the button is clicked, the add-in creates a conference draft without a name and with an empty date. After sending the invitation, it updates the draft. The bot reports on this update, so a line about the rescheduling appears in the chat.

Wait for the next message from the bot: it will contain the final title, time, and participants. If it does not arrive or the data in it is incorrect, contact your organization's support team.

Conference Chat (Room)

In conferences, you can exchange messages and files.

How to Find the Conference Chat?

To open the chat of a completed conference, find it on the Conferences tab in the Calls section and select Conference Chat from the context menu. To open the ongoing conference chat, tap the chat button inside the conference.

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Waiting Room in Conferences

This is a special mode in which participants do not enter the conference immediately but wait for the administrator to admit them. It was introduced in version 3.65 and is enabled on the server by the administrator.

How to Enable the Waiting Room in a Conference?

When creating or editing a conference, its organizer turns on the Waiting room toggle. Then they select who has to wait: all participants, only those joining via a link, or only guests. The waiting room is available in both permanent and scheduled conferences.

How to Manage the Waiting Room?

The administrator sees waiting participants in the participant list, in the Waiting room section. The Add button lets one participant into the conference, while the Add all button lets in all those waiting. The X button removes a participant from the conference. The counter of waiting participants is also displayed.

What Does the Waiting Room Look Like for a Participant?

An invitee in the waiting room sees a placeholder. If the conference hasn't started yet, it says “The conference will start in N minutes”; if it has started, “The conference has started. To access conference admin’s permission is required.” When the administrator admits a participant, they join the conference immediately, even if it hasn't started yet. If the conference organizer removes a participant from the waiting room, they receive the notification “Admin has removed you from the conference”.

Outlook Add-in for Conferences

The Outlook add-in allows you to create conferences from the Microsoft Office Outlook email client. It interacts with the internal eXpress bot Conference Notifier Bot.

Is There Outlook User Synchronization With eXpress?

Yes, there is. Contacts invited via the add-in will see the conference in the list if they are registered on the corporate server with the same email as in the invitation. If the user is not found, they can only join via the link from the email.

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How to Install the Outlook Add-In?

To install the add-in, contact your organization's support. If the add-in hasn't been used in your organization before, it needs to be deployed on a separate server by the administrator.

Can I Add Custom Text to the Meeting Description?

Yes. Starting from add-in version 3.2.1.1, you can add custom text before the conference link: when conference settings change, it remains in place. In earlier versions, such text could shift.

Why Did a Recurring Outlook Meeting Become a Permanent Conference?

eXpress conferences do not have a recurrence schedule like Outlook meetings. Therefore, a recurring meeting created by the Outlook add-in is displayed in eXpress as a permanent conference. This happens even if the series in Outlook has an end date.

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➡️ See also:

• Outlook add-in guides for administrators and users