Megaphone

Use the megaphone to stream your camera, microphone and screen to everyone in the room or the world, wherever they are on the map.

info

The megaphone is typically reserved to administrators and moderators, to broadcast a live message to all participants.

tip

To stream only to the people in one part of the map (a stage and its audience), use a podium instead.

Configuring the megaphone

Megaphone settings are stored in the map: they apply to everyone in this room. Please note that access to the map editor is required to perform these configurations.

1. Open the map editor (Tools > Map editor in the action bar).
2. Click the Configure my room icon. A configuration window opens.
3. Navigate to the Megaphone tab.
4. Toggle the megaphone on or off.
5. Give a name to your megaphone in Space name.
6. Choose the Scope:
   • Room: the megaphone reaches everyone in the current room only.
   • World (default): the megaphone reaches every room of the world that has the megaphone enabled with the same space name and the World scope.
7. In Rights, choose the tags of the users allowed to use the megaphone. If you leave it empty, anyone can use it.

The tab also offers the following options:

• Enable sound notifications (on by default): a sound is played to everyone when someone starts broadcasting through the megaphone. Choose the sound in Notification sound. The sound is not played to users whose status mutes notifications.
• Auditorium mode (off by default): the person broadcasting sees the camera of every participant who has their camera on. The participants do not see each other, and nobody in the audience is heard: only the person broadcasting speaks.
• Enable megaphone recording (off by default): allows recording what is broadcast through the megaphone. In Recording rights, you can restrict recording to some tags. To record, users must be logged in and allowed to use the megaphone, and they must match the rights of the Recording tab and of Recording rights. Users with the admin tag skip both recording rights, but still need the right to use the megaphone. Turning recording off does not stop a recording in progress.

Click Save to apply the settings.

caution

The megaphone settings belong to each map. To broadcast to several rooms of a world, configure the megaphone in each of them with the same space name, the World scope and the same Auditorium mode setting. Rooms where the megaphone is disabled do not receive the broadcast.

How do I use the megaphone?

1. Click Tools in the action bar.
2. Click Send global message.

3. In the Megaphone section, click Start live message.

4. Turn on your camera or your microphone in the action bar (Start megaphone stays disabled until one of them is on). You can also share your screen. Choose your camera and microphone in this window if needed, then click Start megaphone.

Everyone reached by the megaphone now receives what you have turned on: your camera, your microphone and your screen. Your video tile carries a megaphone badge (and is framed in yellow when your camera is on), and the megaphone button appears in the action bar, highlighted.

To stop, click the megaphone button in the action bar (1), or Stop megaphone in the Global communication window. From this window, administrators can also send a text message or an audio message to everyone.

The participants see your video tile with the same megaphone badge:

Raising a hand

While you are broadcasting, participants can raise their hand. Their raised hand appears in a Raised hands panel that only you and the administrators see. From this panel, you can lower hands or Give the floor to someone: their camera and microphone are then broadcast to everyone, if they are on. Giving the floor does not turn them on: someone whose microphone is off is asked to turn it on. Click Take back the floor to stop, or let them give the floor back. See Raising your hand for the details.

Recording the megaphone

If megaphone recording is enabled and you have the rights, click the record button in the action bar to record the broadcast. If you are also in a discussion you can record, choose Record megaphone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if the megaphone is enabled?

While you are broadcasting, the megaphone button of the action bar is highlighted in orange and your video tile carries a megaphone badge (framed in yellow when your camera is on). Participants get an "Announcement" notification and, if sound notifications are enabled, hear a sound when the broadcast starts.

I can't see the "Send global message" button. How do I enable it?

If you can't see Send global message in the Tools menu, please check:

• that the megaphone is enabled in this room (see Configuring the megaphone)
• if Rights lists tags, that you are logged in with an account that has one of them. If Rights is empty, anyone can use the megaphone (see Configuring the megaphone)

Administrators always see the button, but Start live message stays unavailable if the megaphone is disabled or if they don't have one of the allowed tags.

I have several rooms in my world. I want the megaphone to broadcast in some of the rooms but not in the others. How do I do that?

Set the scope to World and give the same space name to the megaphone of every room that should receive the broadcast. Rooms with another space name, or with the megaphone disabled, will not receive it.

Some participants don't hear the megaphone. Why?

Check that every room of the world is configured the same way: megaphone enabled, same space name, World scope and same Auditorium mode setting. Participants in a room configured differently may not receive the broadcast.