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What is oDesk share?

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What is oDesk Share?

oDesk Share is the screen-sharing application of the oDesk Virtual Cubicle. By initiating an oDesk Share session and sending a link to the session via email or instant messenger, you can allow your colleagues, teammates or peers remote access to your computer screen via their own browser and Internet connection. Remember that all of our professionals have oDesk Share installed on their computers so they will be able to share their desktop with you. You’re also welcome to download it yourself and use it to share your desktop with others.

Benefits of oDesk Share

oDesk Share is especially effective when used to share screens during online meetings. Optionally, the presenter can use oDesk Share to give the viewer remote control of his computer. Specifically, the viewer can request control of the presenter's desktop and use his mouse to move the cursor on the presenter’s screen, and his keyboard to type into the presenter’s screen.

oDesk recommends using Share for the following applications:

  • Weekly team meetings
  • Product demos
  • Code reviews
  • QA sessions

Do I need to download and use oDesk Share?

You do not need to download any software from oDesk to view an oDesk Share session. Viewing an oDesk Share session is done using your computer's Internet connection and a Java-enabled Internet browser.

However, if you’d like to be able to present a session (share your own screen with your team members), you will need to install and run oDesk Share yourself. 

How to download oDesk Share:

  1. Point your browser to: http://www.odesk.com/community/downloads
  2. Select the client for your operating system.

How can I check my system's compatibility with oDesk Share?

You can check your system for compatibility with Share by clicking here. As your browser loads the page, a diagnostic applet will run and display the results of its checkup.

Setting up oDesk Share

  1. Once you have downloaded oDesk Share, right-click on the system tray oDesk Share icon to open up the oDesk Share Client Menu.
  2. In the General tab, select whether or not to have oDesk Share start automatically and configure display settings and hot keys. Please note that an automatic start-up does not start sharing your screen, but it does make it easier to do so when you are ready.
  3. If your IT setup uses HTTPS proxy servers, enter those addresses and ports in the Connection tab.
  4. Using the Control tab, set a key combination to easily regain control of your computer. The default key combination to regain control of your computer is Ctrl-Alt-X.
  5. oDesk Share’s MiniCam feature provides a convenient way to display your DirectX-compliant webcam’s output in a small window on the screen when you need it. The MiniCam preferences tab lets you define two hot keys that will launch the MiniCam window, and toggle the camera video to stop and start. If you don’t have a DirectX compliant video camera connected the MiniCam option will be grayed out and inactive.
  6. In the ScreenSnap tab you can configure hotkeys of the ScreenSnap tool.
  7. Click OK to save the settings.

Using oDesk Share

There are five steps to a successful oDesk Share session: Prepare, Share, Invite, Present, and Close:

Prepare

  • Get your screen ready to share by closing extraneous programs, and turning off any background tasks.
  • Look at your system the way your visitors will. Be sure that any sensitive material isn’t exposed accidentally.
  • Consider your connection speed to the Internet. Connection speeds affect the response time that viewers experience. An oDesk Share session consists of a presenter running the oDesk Share client providing a stream of images to an oDesk server via the presenter's connection. Each viewer is given access to an individual stream of those images which they receive using their own connection. So the speed of the presenter's connection affects all the response times, and each individual viewer's connection affects their own. If you are on a slow connection, you can reduce your screen resolution to improve responsiveness Once a Share session is established, the screen resolution can’t be changed. oDesk recommends you start with 1024 x 768 pixel screen resolution.
  • Note: You don't need to change your display's color settings since by default oDesk Share uses 256 colors (8 bit color depth) to improve performance. If color fidelity is important you can choose to use "Millions of colors" when you start your session.

Share

  1. Right-click on the oDesk Share icon in the system tray.
  2. Click on Start Session on the oDesk Share Client Menu to display the “Start Session” dialog box.
  3. Enter the company, user name and password information you were provided in the appropriate fields.
  4. Select Remember my password to keep from having to retype the password each time you begin a session.
  5. Click Login and your oDesk Share client will connect to oDesk’s server to validate your login and start your session.
  6. When you are connected and your session starts, you will notice that your screen now has a bright green border around it. oDesk Share puts this border on your screen whenever there is an active session as a reminder that the screen is available for viewing. As an additional reminder, the oDesk Share icon in your task tray will flash during active sessions.

Invite

To invite others to share your screen:

  1. Right-click on the oDesk Share icon and select ‘*Browser Address*’ to open the Share Browser Address dialog box.
  2. Select Copy to place your session URL onto the clipboard, from which you can paste it into emails or instant messages to invite attendees. Your Team Room will now show a link under your name entitled “Share.” Any of your oDesk Team colleagues who can see your presence can click on this link to participate.
  3. As potential participants click on the URL you gave them, you will see a dialog box on your screen with their IP address announcing their request.
  4. Click Yes to let them join the session and see your screen, or No to deny their request.

Present

Once all participants are in attendance, you can begin using your computer screen to achieve the purpose of the oDesk Share session.

Here are some additional tips for presenters:

  • Since your entire screen is being shared, feel free to use multiple applications and multiple windows as needed. The green border around your screen is a reminder of what is being shared to your viewers.
  • If you are simultaneously using voice communication, check periodically to see if anyone has a slow connection or slow system. If some of your participants have slow machines or slow Internet connections, their screens may lag behind those of the other participants. Therefore, their screens may lag behind those of the other participants.
  • If any of your viewers have a lower screen resolution than yours, they will need to scroll to see material at the extreme right and bottom of your screen. In this case, try to keep the viewers informed when important content requires them to scroll. If your viewers have higher screen resolution than yours, they may have difficulty reading small text or seeing small images. If you find you absolutely have to change the resolution of your screen to meet your audience’s needs, you will need to end the current session, change your screen resolution, start a new session and provide the new URL to your participants.
  • You can enable your attendees to take control over your mouse/keyboard by setting the ScreenControl checkbox in the Start Session window. If you didn't select this field while starting the session, you can enable ScreenControl by right-clicking the system tray Share icon, selecting Session Participants, selecting ScreenControl and click Close.
  • Your visitors will now be able to request control over your screen. After Request control is clicked by an attendee, you will be prompted to allow the participant to take control of your screen. If you allow this, the green border around your screen will become red as a reminder.

Close

When your purpose has been accomplished, thank your participants for attending and end your oDesk Share session by right-clicking on the oDesk Share icon and selecting End Session.

If you find that you or any of invitees are having problems with oDesk Share, please refer to the configuration check at http://team.odesk.com/sharecheck where anyone can pre-test their configuration for readiness to view Share sessions.

oDesk Share is designed to be a quick and easy way to effectively use your own PC screen to improve communications and responsiveness. Use it as as much as you like to effectively communicate amongst your team.

What happens when I am connected?

While viewing an oDesk Share session, the presenter's screen contents are provided to you in a browser window with a set of buttons at the top,and which is bordered in green.

If your screen resolution is lower than the presenter's, you may find you need to scroll the browser window to see material at the right or bottom edges of the presenter's screen. The buttons at the top of the screen will depend on the settings chosen by the presenter, but may include the ability to see their clipboard (for passing information easily to viewers) as well as the ability for viewers to request control of the presenter's machine via ScreenControl.

How does Share let viewers see my screen while keeping them from accessing my computer directly?

Essentially, an oDesk Share session is created by three or more computers working together:

  1. The presenter's computer runs the oDesk Share client program providing a stream of images of its screen contents to an oDesk server
  2. The oDesk Share server accepts these images from the presenter and manages access to them by viewers
  3. One or more viewers' machines which use a browser and Java to connect to the oDesk Share server, ask for permission to access the session, and if permitted, to view along.

Thus, the connections your viewers make is to oDesk's server, not to your machine.

How do I hear what is going on?

oDesk Share is often used as an enhancement to a separate voice connection, such as a direct telephone call, a conference call, a VOIP session, etc. When preparing for an oDesk Share session, it will be useful to communicate to participants information about any voice access arrangements that apply.

How do I refresh the browser window with the Share session?

You may use the Refresh button or, if the tool bar isn't visible, you may use you browser's refresh hotkey; Internet Explorer and Firefox have defined F5 and Control-F5 as standard hotkeys for refreshing

Is there any limit to my use of oDesk Share?

Your company's account with oDesk determines your company's maximum number of simultaneous oDesk Share participants and total hours of oDesk Share usage in a given month. Contact your company's oDesk administrator if you need to extend your usage beyond the current levels.

How many viewers can I share my screen with at once?

Your company's oDesk account has contractual limits on simultaneous sessions (see above) which depend on the number of seats licensed and other terms. If others in your company are going to use Share at the same time, it is important to co-ordinate with them so that all of your sessions combine within your company's session limit. These limits allow oDesk to plan server capacity to handle expected usage; however at peak times performance may vary.

I want to schedule a session. How can I set up a session in advance if I want to?

You can pick a four digit PIN in advance and use this for your session. When you let the participants know of the time for your session, give them this PIN. When you start the session, look for the Session PIN area of the Start Session dialog box as you log in. Click the button next to "Preferred" and enter the 4 digit PIN you have chosen, then enter your password and click "Start." Your session will start using your PIN and your attendees will easily be able to view using the PIN you gave them.

How do I change my oDesk Share password?

Your oDesk Share password may be reset by your oDesk administrator.

Does the version of my client matter? If so, how do I upgrade?

Versions of the client will automatically upgrade when new versions are released. This is necessary due to the nature of the oDesk service. If you have any problem with this process, or if your Internet connection stops midway, you may always manually uninstall the client via Windows Control Panel and then manually download and install the new one from here. There is no functional difference between the automatic upgrade and manually doing so.

Is there a Mac or Linux client for oDesk Share?

Anyone with a modern browser with Java support may view a Share session.
oDesk does have a Share client for Linux in development: oDesk Share for Linux.
A a Mac OS X client can be downloaded here.

How do I get more help?

oDesk Share sessions are private communications between the presenters and their viewers. As such oDesk is unable to monitor individual connections for quality or to provide guidance for configuration, PIN numbers, timing of the sessions, etc. The best source of this information is the presenter themselves.

However if you need help about use of the viewer, error messages, or general questions about oDesk Share, please submit a ticket.

Related topics

tags/REL_20081119# 1164 built on 2008/11/20 01:12