Simple Control Help

Document number: HChelp.3020.04
Copyright (c) 2001-2003 1stWorks Corporation. All rights reserved.

Help provides quick information for hotComm Standard and Professional, using Simple Control. For more information see the full online User Guide in the Support section of the hotComm web site. Click here to print this document.

To see the Help in a browser instead of in the hotGuide window, click the hotGuide titlebar and then press CTRL-N (the Control and N keys at the same time).

Top	Basics Features Voice Webcam
Text Drag & Drop Sounds AE hotCam Dynamic Desktop

Basics

This section gives you an overview of hotComm.

Using
hotComm

To use hotComm:

Start hotComm. Double-click the hotComm startup icon on your desktop.
- Or -
Select hotComm from the 1stWorks hotComm entries in your Windows Start menu.

Is your hotComm online yet? Watch the ears on the hotComm headset icon in your Windows taskbar (lower right corner of your desktop). When they change from white to red and blue, then your hotComm is online.

When you start hotComm, it automatically starts a new session. You can invite a user to join you, wait for others to join your session, and share files.

You are the host when you invite others (invited users) or accept a call from an IM-Live caller (Java user) or hotComm Lite caller (Lite user). The host is the only user who can invite others to join the session, eject users, or end the session.

Note: You can have more than one session at a time. Each session is numbered (S1, S2, and so on) so you can identify them quickly. To start an additional session, click the New Session button (Green+) in the top toolbar.
To close a session without closing hotComm, click the hotComm Close button (Red X) in the middle hotComm toolbar.

To close hotComm, click the Windows Close button in the upper right corner of the hotComm window.

Note: You can configure hotComm to start automatically when your computer starts. More Information: See Set up hotComm in the online User Guide.

Respond to an invitation

When you are invited to a session, you see a message asking if you want to accept the invitation. You can accept, decline, or ignore it.

Status

To change your online status, click the Status button (Headset) in the Middle Toolbar and select a status from the menu.

Or, right-click the hotComm icon in the lower right-corner of your Windows desktop, select My Status, and select a status from the menu.

Quick Reference: User Status
User Status Symbols

Simple Control

Simple Control hides some of the hotComm toolbars and buttons, displaying a simpler hotComm window.

To change into and out of Simple Control, right click on any visible toolbar and select Simple Control from the menu.

More information: See Simple Control in the online User Guide.

What next?

Explore hotComm's many features. Leave hotComm running (online), so other users can connect with you instantly.

Right-click the hotComm icon (headset) in the lower right corner of your Windows taskbar and explore:

Check your own profile information. Select My Info & Registration.
Change your online status. Select My Status, and select a status from the menu options.

To change the view of your hotComm window, right-click in any visible toolbar and select options from the menu.

For pricing and online orders, see Orders at the hotComm web site.

For questions and trouble-shooting, see the Support page at the hotComm web site.

Top	Basics Features Voice Webcam
Text Drag & Drop Sounds AE hotCam Dynamic Desktop

Features

Features are accessed from the Middle Toolbar, as well as the hotComm itself.

Text chat

Type in the panel underneath the Middle Toolbar. Messages and responses appear in the panel above the Middle Toolbar.

You can send messages word-by-word (one word at a time), or at the end of a paragraph. To change the method, click the Preferences button (the wrench) and change the Send Message setting. More information: See Behavior Preferences in the online User Guide.

Text
formatting

You can set font, color, and characteristics for different types of messages. To format the text display in your session, click the Preferences button (the wrench) and change the font settings. More information: See Style Preferences in the online User Guide.

Drag-and-drop
file transfers

During a session, you can instantly send a file to the other hotComm and Java users in the session.

Find the file, highlight its name, and drag it into the panel under the Middle Toolbar. The file opens automatically in a hotWeb window if the user has an application associated with the file type. (If there is no associated application, then the user can save the file without opening it.)

hotComm automatically saves the file in the user's hotComm/UPLOADS folder.

Important Reminders: All hotComm Messages are totally PRIVATE between you and your session users. Please respect Copyright Law when making file transfers.

More information: See Drag & Drop File Transfers and hotWeb in the online User Guide.

Middle Toolbar Features

Some features are accessed from the Middle toolbar. Also see: Top and View Selector toolbars.

Middle Toolbar

Voice (VoIP)

You can chat by voice, using Voice over IP (VoIP) technology. The Voice button shows the type of Voice Chat available for the current session:

Stays on
Click the Voice button to turn the microphone on. The microphone stays on until you click the button again.

This method is available unless your session includes IM-Live Java users who are not running freeSpeech.
Push-to-talk
Press-and-hold the Voice button while you record a message. The message is played when you release the button.

This method is available if any session participants are IM-Live Java users who are not using hotComm freeSpeech.

Note: freeSpeech is the IM-Live streaming audio Java applet that gives IM-Live Java users the ability to speak as well as hear. Without freeSpeech, Java users can hear but not speak.

To change volume settings, right-click the Voice button to change volume settings.

More information: See Voice Chat in the online User Guide.

Webcam
Video

During a session, you can send full motion video.

To send full motion video, click the Webcam button (camera lens). This opens the hotCam Video Preview window. The Video Properties section of that window opens the camera's software interface, which you can use to adjust settings.

More information: See Webcam in the online User Guide.

Sounds

hotComm provides a set of sounds that you can send during a session. hotComm and IM-Live Java users can hear the sounds through their computer speakers, and see text such as <Applause!> in the panel above the Middle Toolbar.

To send a sound, click the Send Sounds button (Ear) and select a sound from the menu.

More information: See Sounds in the online User Guide.

To close this hotComm session, click the Close button (red X in Middle Toolbar).

Users

The Users panel (top left) lists the hotComm users that are in your User List. Like you, these are people who use hotComm and can host sessions. To add a user to that list:

Click the Add Users button.
In Specify E-mail address to lookup, type the email address that the user used when they registered hotComm, and click Search.
If the user is found, click Add User without notification.

The Invited panel (lower left) lists the people who are connected to this session. This may include a mix of people connecting with hotComm, hotComm Lite, and the hotComm IM-Live Java client.

More information: See Users and Groups in the online User Guide.

Abbreviation Expansion

You can create prepared responses that save you from repeated typing, recording and sending of frequently used phrases and files. To create a prepared response:

Click the Abbreviation Expansion button (AE)
In the Abbreviation Expansion window, click <new entry>, enter an abbreviation, and press your Enter key.
Find your new abbreviation in the abbreviation list and highlight it.
In the expansion area: click in the Message area and type a phrase and/or record a message (push-and-hold the Microphone button while you record) and/or click the WAV button and select a .WAV file and/or enter (or browse for) the file location of a file you want to send with the response.
Each abbreviation can include one message, one audio recording (or .WAV file) and one file.
Click OK to save.

To use the abbreviation, type it in the panel underneath the Middle Toolbar. For example, an abbreviation might be "G1", which could expand to "Good morning, how can I help you?".

More information: See Abbreviation Expansion in the online User Guide.

hotCam
(camera)

During a session, you can send screenshots of your desktop or material on a scanner or other Twain device. You can also share an application running on your desktop.

hotCam can send images in several methods:

still (single screenshot)
still collaborative (screenshot that you can mark-up)
timed (repeated screenshots of the same window)
Dynamic Desktop (share an application that is running on your desktop. Users can see and interact with the actual application)
Twain captures (images captured through a device that supports Twain, such as a scanner).

Screenshots
To send a screenshot, right-click the hotCam icon (camera) and select Still, Still collaborative, or Timed. The icon may change. Left-click the icon and move it to the window containing the material you want to send. Click the title bar of that window to bring it into focus, and then click in the body of the window to send the screenshot.

On each user's computer, the screenshot displays in a hotCam window, and is saved automatically in the user's hotComm/UPLOADS folder.

Application Sharing (Dynamic Desktop)
To share an application, right-click the hotCam icon (camera) and select Dynamic Desktop. The icon changes to a videocamera with a D in the corner. Left-click the icon and move it to the window containing the application you want to share. Click the title bar of that window to bring it into focus, and then click in the body of the window to begin sharing.

Users receive the application in a Dynamic Desktop window. To request or yield control of the application, they right-click the DD icon in the title bar and select an option, or (if they are Java users) select a button from the window toolbar.

Twain captures
For a Twain capture, right-click the hotCam icon (camera) and select a device from the hotCam menu. The hotCam icon changes to a framed painting. Then, left-click the hotCam icon. This opens the device's software interface, which you can use to adjust settings.

More information: See hotCam in the online User Guide.

For more extensive and specialized information, see the hotComm Support web site.

Please send comments about this document to Support@1stWorks.com.