SGImeeting Whiteboard

The Whiteboard enables you to exchange ideas and graphics with other conference participants, using a complete range of drawing tools and page manipulation functions.

To interoperate with other conferencing products, the Whiteboard can operate either in a mode that is compatible with the NetMeeting Whiteboard, or in a mode that is compatible with the ITU-T T.126 standard for whiteboards.

How do I...

	start the Whiteboard?
	select the correct mode to interoperate with other products being used in the conference?
	draw objects in the Whiteboard?
	create and edit text objects?
	import an image from file?
	capture an area of the screen to add it to the Whiteboard?
	highlight text and images?
	move and delete objects?
	use the remote pointer?
	copy objects between the Whiteboard and other windows?
	navigate and organize pages?
	add a new page?
	control whether other people see the same view of the Whiteboard as I do?
	"zoom" the Whiteboard?
	stop others making changes to the Whiteboard contents?
	save and load the Whiteboard contents to disk?
	export the Whiteboard contents to a file?
	print the Whiteboard contents?
	close the Whiteboard?

Starting the Whiteboard

To start the Whiteboard, press the Whiteboard button on the SGImeeting toolbar, or choose the Whiteboard command on the Tools menu.

The Whiteboard window appears and is automatically started on the other conference participants' systems. (Equally, if somebody else in the conference starts the Whiteboard, it will start automatically on your system.)

Selecting Whiteboard Mode

The Whiteboard can operate in either of two modes, depending on the conferencing products being used by other people in the conference:

	Proprietary mode (for interoperation with Microsoft NetMeeting)
	T.126 mode (for interoperation with T.126 whiteboard implementations such as Polycom ShowStation)

Most conferencing products support Proprietary mode, and you are recommended to use this mode because it includes several features that are not available in T.126 mode. However, if other people in the conference are using the Polycom ShowStation, you must use T.126 mode.

NetMeeting version 3 supports both Proprietary mode (named "1.0 - 2.x" mode) and T.126 mode (the default). The NetMeeting T.126 whiteboard uses extensions to the T.126 standard protocol. In order to interoperate fully with the NetMeeting T.126 whiteboard, you must set the compatibility mode to NetMeeting 3. Note that if you select NetMeeting 3 compatibility mode, interoperation with other vendors' T.126 whiteboards may be adversely affected.

To select the appropriate mode, use the "Load Whiteboard in" field in the SGImeeting configuration options.

If you are in a conference that includes both NetMeeting and T.126-only products, you can run two copies of the Whiteboard, one in each mode. You can then use the Proprietary mode copy of the Whiteboard to communicate with NetMeeting, and the T.126 mode copy to communicate with the T.126 products. To do this:

	Start the Whiteboard in one mode.
	Use the "Load whiteboard in" field in the configuration options to change the mode.
	Start another copy of the Whiteboard, and choose "OK" when prompted to confirm.

If you join a conference where the existing participants are already using the Whiteboard in a different mode from the one you have selected, SGImeeting prompts you to confirm changing your Whiteboard mode to match the rest of the conference (starting a new copy of the Whiteboard in the appropriate mode).

Creating Drawing Objects

To draw objects in the whiteboard, first select the tool type by clicking one of the following buttons on the toolbar:

	Freehand pen
	Straight line
	Rectangle
	Filled rectangle
	Circle
	Filled circle

(These tools can also be selected on the Tools menu.)

Set the pen color and line thickness using the option buttons at the bottom and left of the drawing area, then draw the object by clicking and dragging the mouse. Releasing the mouse button adds the object to the whiteboard, where it will be seen by all other conference participants.

Creating and Editing Text Objects

To work with text objects, click the text tool button or select the Text command on the Tools menu.

To create a text object:

	Click on the place in the drawing area where you want to add some text.
	Type in the text of the message into the text entry dialog, and press OK.

To edit a text object in proprietary mode:

	Click on the text object you wish to edit.
	Edit the text of the message in the text entry dialog, and press OK.

You cannot edit a text object in T.126 mode. Instead, delete the object and then create the new version.

The color and font can be changed with the option buttons at the bottom of the drawing area.

Importing Image Objects from File

To import an image from a file, select the Import command on the File menu.
In the Import dialog, specify the file to import and click OK.
The image will be added to the current page.

If you want to import a PostScript image file, note that the ghostscript program must be installed on your computer (although other Whiteboard users do not need ghostscript to view the image after you have imported it).

Generating Image Objects by Screen Capture

To capture the contents of a window as an image to the whiteboard, click the Capture Window button or select the Capture Window command on the Tools menu.
The Whiteboard window is hidden.
Click on the window that you want to capture.
The Whiteboard window reappears, including an image of the captured window.

To capture an area of the desktop (not necessarily a whole window), click the Capture Area button or select the Capture Area command on the Tools menu.
The Whiteboard window is hidden.
Click and drag the mouse to select the area to capture.
The Whiteboard window reappears, including an image of the captured screen area.

Highlighting Objects

To highlight areas of the Whiteboard, click the highlight tool button (or select the Highlighter command on the Tools menu), then draw the area to highlight using the mouse.

Moving and Deleting Objects

To move or delete an object in the Whiteboard, first click on the selector tool button (or select the Selector command on the Tools menu), then click on the object you want to move or delete.
If the object is hidden under another object, click again until the desired object is selected (indicated by the dashed outline).

To move the object, drag it to its new position with the mouse.

To delete the object, select the Delete command on the Edit menu or press the Delete key. If you delete an object by mistake, you can retrieve it by selecting the Undelete command on the Edit menu.

Using the Remote Pointer

Click the remote pointer button, or choose the Remote Pointer command on the Tools menu, to show or hide your remote pointer. This is a colored pointing hand which everyone in the call can see.
When you have the Select tool enabled, you can click on the pointer and drag it around, so that you can point out areas of interest on the page.

Copying Graphics to Other Windows

You can transfer graphics between the Whiteboard and other windows in two ways.

Quick method for text: Select the text in the Whiteboard or another source window such as a Terminal. Use the middle mouse button to paste the text selections to the Whiteboard or another window.

Using the Cut/Copy/Paste commands on the Edit menu, which transfer objects using the system clipboard. These commands allow graphics to be pasted back into the whiteboard, possibly to a different page, with their original formatting, or to other programs as pixmaps (or text in the case of text objects).

To cut or copy an object, first select the object, then choose the Cut or Copy command on the Edit menu.

To paste an object into the Whiteboard, simply select the Paste command on the Edit menu. The object appears on the current page.

Navigating and Organizing Pages

To move between existing pages, use one of the following buttons:

	Move to the first page.
	Move back one page.
	Move forward one page.
	Move to the last page.

To move to a specific page number, choose the Go to Page... command on the Edit menu. Enter the page number in the dialog and select OK.

You can remove all graphics on the current page by selecting the Clear Page command on the Edit menu.

You can delete the current page by selecting the Delete Page command on the Edit menu.

To change the page order in proprietary mode, select the Move Page command on the Edit menu. You are then presented with a submenu: select "Back" to move the current page before the previous page, or "Forward" to move the current page after the next page. (You cannot change the page order in T.126 mode.)

Adding a New Page

Press the "new page" button to insert a page after the current page.

The Insert Page command on the Edit menu also allows you to add a page. In proprietary mode, using the menu option enables you to specify whether the page should be added before or after the current page; in T.126 mode, the new page is always added at the end.

Synchronizing Whiteboard Views

In proprietary mode, you can control whether other people see the same view of the Whiteboard as you do: whether their display changes when you scroll across the Whiteboard window or change the magnification, and whether your display changes when they do so. (You cannot control other people's view of the Whiteboard in T.126 mode; any changes that you make affect only your own view.)

To do this, use the Synchronize command on the Tools menu:

	If Synchronize is selected, and you scroll or zoom the Whiteboard window, any other people who have selected the Synchronize option see the display change in the same way as you do. Similarly, if anyone else has the Synchronize option selected and scrolls or zooms the window, you see the display change in the same way as they do.
	If Synchronize is not selected, scrolling or zooming the Whiteboard window affects only your own display, and scrolling or zooming by other people (whether they are synchronized or not) does not affect your display.

"Zooming" the Whiteboard

Use the Zoom button (or select the Zoom command from the Tools menu) to change the magnification at which you view the whiteboard contents.

If you are running the Whiteboard in proprietary mode and have the Synchronize option selected, this changes the display of all other people in the conference who have this option selected. If you do not have this option selected, or if you are running the Whiteboard in T.126 mode, this changes only your own display.

Locking the Whiteboard

In proprietary mode, you can lock the Whiteboard so that you have exclusive control and other people cannot make changes to its contents. (You cannot lock the Whiteboard in T.126 mode; anyone can make changes at any time.)

Press the Lock button (or select the Lock command on the Tools menu) to request the whiteboard lock.

After a short delay, either the lock button will be shown in the "down" position, indicating that you have successfully got the lock, or you will be notified that the lock could not be obtained because another user already has the lock or is in the middle of an operation that cannot be interrupted.

When you have the lock, no-one else in the call can make any changes to the whiteboard contents. Similarly, when someone else has the lock, all the drawing functions are disabled.

To release the lock, simply click the lock button a second time.

Saving and Loading the Whiteboard Contents to Disk

To save the Whiteboard contents to a disk file, choose the Save command on the File menu.

The Whiteboard contents are always saved in Microsoft NetMeeting .WHT whiteboard format (regardless of whether you are running the Whiteboard in proprietary mode or in T.126 mode). This means that:

	SGImeeting Whiteboard can read files created by the NetMeeting Whiteboard.
	NetMeeting Whiteboard can read files created by the SGImeeting Whiteboard.

To load a previously saved Whiteboard file so that you can continue working with the contents, choose the Open command on the File menu.

Exporting the Whiteboard Contents to a Graphics File

To export the current page to a graphics file, select the Export command on the File menu.
In the Export dialog, specify the name of the output file and the desired image format, and click OK.
The contents of the current page will be written to the file.

Printing the Whiteboard Contents

Select the Print command on the File menu to print the whiteboard contents.
In the Print dialog, specify:

	whether to print to a printer or to file
	either the print command to use or the file name to print to
	which pages you want to print.

Closing the Whiteboard

To close the Whiteboard, select the Exit command on the File menu. This stops the copy of the Whiteboard running on your computer, but does not affect other people in the conference who are still using the Whiteboard.