38. Meetings, Conferencing, and Collaboration

In this chapter, we cover several Windows features that make it easier for you to work with others:

When you use your laptop or tablet computer to display a business or class presentation, the Presentation Settings feature lets you tell Windows not to disrupt your presentation with messages, noises, or the screen saver.

If you use a laptop computer, the Project panel makes it easy to control an external monitor or a projector.

If you need help with your computer, or if you want to demonstrate some computer task or application to others using their computer, Remote Assistance may be just what you need.

We start by looking at Windows 10’s support for making presentations.

Display a screen background chosen to minimize distraction or promote your company logo.

Disable the screen saver, so that if you leave the computer alone for a few minutes, it doesn’t treat the audience to an animated aquarium or a slideshow that includes pictures of you dressed for a Halloween party in really bad drag.

Disable pop-up notifications and reminders from Windows services.

Set the speaker volume so that you aren’t bothered by sounds associated with events such as mouse clicks, Window resizing, and the like.

Disable automatic shutdown so that your computer won’t go to sleep while you’re talking. (There is, unfortunately, no corresponding setting for the audience.)

To tell Windows how to behave when you’re making a presentation, bring up the Windows Mobility Center using these steps:

1. If you have a keyboard, press Windows Logo+X and select Mobility Center.

If you don’t have a keyboard, in the taskbar’s search box type mobil, and then select Windows Mobility Center when it appears in the search results. (You can also get to the Mobility Center through the Control Panel under Hardware and Sound, but it’s a more cumbersome process.) You might want to pin it to your taskbar.

2. In the Presentation Settings tile, click the small icon that looks like a video projector. The Presentation Settings dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 38.1.

3. Set the check boxes next to the desired accommodations, preselect the sound volume, and set a desktop background if desired. Save your presentation Settings Preferences by clicking OK.

Whenever you are making a presentation, bring up the Windows Mobility Center by following step 1 again. Then, in the Presentation Settings tile, click Turn On. You can use the other tiles to adjust the volume and display.

You can later change the presentation options, if necessary, by clicking the small icon in the Presentation Settings tile again.

To start, attach your external monitor or projector, or connect to a network-attached projector as described in the next section. Then take any one of the following equivalent actions:

Press Windows Logo+P to bring up the Project settings panel, shown in Figure 38.2.

In the taskbar’s search box type second screen, and then select Project to a Second Screen.

If you have the Windows Mobility Center open, as discussed in the previous section, click the Connect Display or Disconnect Display button in the External Display tile.

The Project panel lets you choose how to use the added screen real estate.

Then select one of the four display options:

PC Screen Only—The external display will be blacked out.

Duplicate—The same display will appear on both monitors. Use this setting if you need to see your own presentation and can’t see the external display.

Extend—The Windows desktop will be spread across both displays. You could put your notes on one display and a program for the audience to see on the other. I tried this once for a presentation and found it awkward; it was like trying to pat my head and rub my belly at the same time. Maybe that was just me.

Second Screen Only—The computer’s internal display will be shut off, and only the attached display will be used.

Click one of the icons or press Enter to save the setting. You can press Windows Logo+P to change it back later.

To learn about Windows 10’s other accessories for mobile computers, see “Using Windows Mobility Center,” p. 831.

For more information about managing external displays, see “Running Windows 10 with Multiple Monitors,” p. 651.

To use such a network-attached projector, press Windows Logo+A, or swipe in from the right edge of the screen to open the Action Center, then click or touch Connect. Alternatively, press Windows Logo+P to view the Project panel shown in Figure 38.2, then select Connect to a Wireless Display.

Next, follow any additional prompts to direct your presentation output to the connected projector. You can press Windows Logo+P to change the way your laptop and the external display are configured, as discussed in the previous section.

To stop projecting, open the Connect panel again using the Project button in the Action Center, or by pressing Windows Logo+P and selecting Connect to a Wireless Display. Then, under the name of your display, click or touch Disconnect.

Remote Assistance is based on the same technology as the Remote Desktop feature we discuss in Chapter 39, although there are significant differences between the two:

Remote Assistance is available on all versions of Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, whereas Remote Desktop is available only on the higher-end Windows versions: Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise, Windows 8 and 8.1 Professional and Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate, Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate, and Windows XP Professional.

With Remote Assistance, both the local and remote users see the same screen at the same time, and both can move the mouse, type on the keyboard, and so forth. With Remote Desktop, when a remote user is working, the computer’s monitor can only display the Welcome screen.

Remote Assistance doesn’t make the local computer’s hard drives available, nor does it transmit sound, as Remote Desktop does.

Remote Assistance connections can’t be made ad lib. One Windows user must invite another through email or Windows [Live] Messenger. Alternatively, one user can offer assistance to another using Messenger. In any case, the procedure requires the simultaneous cooperation of users at both ends of the connection.

Remote Assistance enables you to use a text chat window or voice chat while the desktop session is active.

A big plus with Remote Assistance on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, and Vista is that it should work even if you are using a shared Internet connection (that is, if you have a router between your local network and the Internet). This is a big improvement over Remote Assistance on Windows XP, which rarely worked over a shared connection.

1. In the taskbar’s search box, type remote. In the search results, select Allow Remote Access to Your Computer.

2. If a UAC prompt appears, enter an Administrator account and password, as requested. This brings up the System Properties dialog box.

3. In the Remote tab, check to be sure that Allow Remote Assistance Connections to This Computer is checked. If it isn’t, check it.

4. Click the Advanced button.

5. If you use an Internet connection sharing router, check Create Invitations That Can Only Be Used from Computers Running Windows Vista or Later. You will be able to invite other Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, or Vista users to help you, not XP users.

If you uncheck Allow This Computer to Be Controlled Remotely, people you invite to connect will be able to view but not control your screen.

6. Click OK to save your changes.

Then follow these steps:

1. If your friend’s computer runs Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, or Vista, skip to step 2.

If your friend is using Windows XP, use the instructions in the previous section to uncheck the box labeled Create Invitations That Can Only Be Used from Computers Running Windows Vista or Later. However, if you are using an Internet Connection Sharing router, or if you are on a business network that uses a firewall, the odds of your friend’s computer being able to connect to yours are slim. You’re better off trying one of the third-party tools mentioned in Chapter 39 under “Third-Party Remote Control Tools,” or at the end of this chapter.

2. In the taskbar’s search box, type the word invite. In the search results select Invite Someone to Connect to your PC and Help You, or Offer to Help Someone Else (the icon you want says all that). Then click Invite Someone You Trust to Help You.

3. Windows needs to send an “invitation” to your friend. Use one of these methods:

If you have previously worked with this friend, her name might be listed and you can click the name to repeat the previous invitation.

If the other person is using Windows 10, 8.1, 8, or 7, click Use Easy Connect. (If Easy Connect is grayed out, go back to the previous section, “Enabling Remote Assistance,” and check the box discussed in step 5.)

If you have an email application installed in your computer, select Use Email to Send an Invitation.

Otherwise, if you use a web-based email program, select Save This Invitation as a File. Choose a location to save the invitation file and make note of it. You’ll have to send this file as an email attachment later or get the file to your friend some other way.

4. Windows will display a password composed of 12 letters and digits. The password is shown with three groups of letters shaded in different colors to make it easier to read; the shading isn’t important. Give this password to the person you are inviting to help, by phone text message, email, or whatever means you have available.

5. If you selected Use Easy Connect, just wait for your friend to start up Remote Assistance (using the steps in the next section) and type in the password you gave to her. (If your friend’s computer initially says that Easy Connect is not available, have her click Cancel and try again. I’ve seen it take two tries.)

If you selected Use Email to Send an Invitation, your default email program will pop up with an email ready to address and send. Enter your friend’s email address and send the email. The important part is the attachment, which is a file named something along the lines of Invitation.MsRcIncident. Don’t delete the attachment!

If you selected Save This Invitation as a File, use your web-based email system to send the invitation file you created in step 4 to your friend as an attachment. The file has a name along the lines of Invitation.MsRcIncident. Alternatively, get the invitation file to your friend by other means, such as a flash drive or a network folder.

6. Windows will display a window that says “Waiting for an Incoming Connection.” Leave this window alone until your friend receives the invitation and responds.

If you sent the request by email, it could be some time before the other party receives and reads it.

When your friend responds to your request for assistance, a dialog box will appear on your screen, asking whether it’s okay for her to connect. Click Yes, and after a short while—perhaps a minute or so—a window will appear with which you can control the Remote Assistance session, as shown in Figure 38.3.

At this point, your friend can see your screen and can watch what you do with it, but she can’t actually do anything with your computer. She first has to ask to take control, and you have to consent. Then either of you can type, move the mouse, and otherwise poke around and use your computer.

When a friend asks to take control of your computer, a request will pop up on your screen. If she’s just going to work with normal Windows applications such as Word, just click Yes to let her take control. However, if she needs to manage Windows itself, for example, to install or remove software, you must decide who is going to handle the User Account Control (UAC) prompts that might appear. By default, your friend won’t be able to see or respond to them. You have two options:

If you want to respond to all UAC prompts yourself, just click Yes to let her connect. If she performs an action that requires security confirmation, her screen will go black for a moment, and you’ll have to respond to the UAC prompt.

If you want to let her change Windows settings without your intervention, check Allow Username to Respond to User Account Control Prompts, and then click Yes. You will be asked to confirm a UAC prompt yourself at this point.

Now your friend should be able to work your keyboard and mouse and help you.

The Windows Remote Assistance toolbar has a few other features that you will find useful:

If you want a moment of privacy, perhaps to read email or look at a sensitive file, click Pause. This will black out the other person’s view of your screen without disconnecting that person. Click Continue to restore the view.

To communicate with your friend via text messaging, click Chat. The Remote Assistance toolbar will enlarge. Type your comments into the lower box on the window and press Enter (or click Send), and your friend will see what you type. You’ll see your friend’s responses in the upper part of the window. Click the Chat button again to shrink the toolbar back to its original size.

To take control away from your friend, click Stop Sharing. Your friend will still be able to see your screen but can only watch. She must request control again to do anything.

When you’re finished, click Disconnect to end the Remote Assistance session.

1. In the taskbar’s search box, type the word invite. In the results, select Invite Someone to Connect to your PC and Help You, or Offer to Help Someone Else. Then click Help Someone Who Has Invited You.

If you have helped this person previously, his name might be listed, and you can simply click it to accept the new invitation.

2. Select Use Easy Connect.

3. Type the password your friend gave you. It consists of 12 letters and numbers and is not case sensitive (upper- and lowercase don’t matter). Then press Enter.

When the connection is established, skip ahead to “Working with Remote Assistance.”

To accept an email invitation, open the message’s attachment. (How you do that depends on your email program. If you use web-based email, you might have to download the attachment separately.) Opening the attachment should activate the Remote Assistance connection. If you receive the invitation as a file, just double-click the file’s icon.

You will be asked to enter the password associated with the invitation. The person who invited you will have to tell you what it is. If your friend is using Windows Vista or XP, you must type the password exactly as he did—that is, upper- and lowercase matter. If he is using Windows 10, 8.1, 8, or 7, the password consists of 12 letters and numbers. Upper- and lowercase don’t matter.

Across the top is a menu of controls. The choices are as follows:

Request Control—Click to begin using the other computer’s mouse and keyboard. The remote user will have to grant permission. After you have control of the other computer, both of you can use your mouse and keyboard.

Actual Size—Click to make the size of the Remote Assistance window exactly match the other person’s screen. You might have to scroll around to see all of his desktop. This choice alternates with Fit to Screen.

Fit to Screen—Click to shrink the view of the other computer’s screen so that it fits perfectly in your Remote Assistance window. You won’t have to use the scrollbars to see the far corners anymore, but the text might be tiny. Maximize your Remote Assistance window to improve the display.

Chat—Click to open a text chat panel in the left side of the Remote Assistance window. Type your messages into the small box at the bottom of the Chat area.

Settings—Click to turn off the recording of the remote session that Windows makes by default.

Help—Click to display online help for Remote Assistance.

If your friend clicks the Stop Sharing button, shown in Figure 38.4, you’ll lose control of the remote screen. Just click Request Control again to ask for permission to resume working.

You might also try one of the online meeting tools described in the next section. They’re typically designed to let a group of people work together on a common project, but most of them could also let two people work together to solve a problem with Windows.

Remote Assistance, described in the previous section, is a fine tool for this task when just two people want to collaborate—if it works. And whereas previous versions of Windows included NetMeeting and Windows Meeting Space, collaboration tools that were designed to let more than two people work together, Microsoft has retired these programs and they’re no longer available. Microsoft SharedView, formerly available for download, has also been removed from service.

Google’s Google Docs and Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud document tools do let multiple people edit the same document at the same time, and everyone sees everyone’s changes in real time. However, these tools are limited to just a few types of documents, and the applications themselves are rudimentary. Therefore, for true online collaboration tools, you’ll need to look to other vendors. In the section “Third-Party Remote Control Tools” of Chapter 39, we discuss alternative remote control programs that can let two people work together. Table 38.1 lists additional tools that you can use when you want to connect three or more people. Several of them offer a free trial, good discounts for annual subscriptions, and meeting access on Surface tablets, Macs, iOS, and Android devices.

More such tools are appearing all the time, so you might want to supplement this list with some Google searching. You might search the Store app too.