Webex Events make hosting an online event easy and allow you to deliver a polished, interactive presentation with multimedia, Q&A, and polling to engage your audience. To help keep the event running smoothly, you can invite panelists to serve as subject matter experts, answer questions, and manage polls.
A Webex Event should be used when hosting a large webinar or conference where remote participants will primarily be listening. A Webex event allows up to 1000 participants per meeting with a session length of 24 hours.
Getting Started
- Webex Event Role Definitions
- Schedule an Event
- Start an Event
- Edit an Event
- Cancel an Event
- Hosting an Event
- Test Your Network Connection
- Conduct an Event Practice Session
- Webex Events User Interface
- Start Your Video
- Share Content
- Record an Event
- Conduct a Q&A Session
- Tips for Hosting an Event
- Attendance Report
- Chat and/or Q&A Logs
- Virtual Event Support
See Also:
Download Quick Reference Guides from Cisco:
There are four roles within Webex Events:
- Host: The host is the person who schedules, starts and ends the session and or recordings of the session. A host can also assign roles to other participants in the session. An alternate host can be designated when inviting panelists and the host role can also be reassigned once in a live session.
- Presenter: Responsible for sharing and annotating presentations, whiteboards, documents, and applications. The host can designate a panelist as a "presenter" by right-clicking their name in the Participants panel, then selecting Change Role To > Presenter.
- Panelist: A panelist is a person who has been identified as a speaker or presenter within the live session. A panelist can also assist presenters by responding to chat messages, conducting polls and responding to questions in the Q & A panel. You can have multiple panelists in a session.
- Attendee: Any person attending the session who is not already identified as a presenter, panelist, or host. Attendees are typically who the session information is being presented to.
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- Sign in to rowan.webex.com and select Webex Events.
- On the left navigation bar, go to Host an Event > Schedule an Event.
- Choose your Event type from the drop-down.
- Choose Event 1000 if you would like all options available including Chat, Polling, File Sharing and File Transfer.
- Choose Q&A for events where you would like to have a more structured Q&A session with the Chat, Feedback, and File Sharing disabled.
- Enter an Event name and an easy-to-remember Event password.
- We also recommend:
- Unchecking "Delete from My Meetings when completed" so you retain a record of the event
- Unchecking "Registration Required" so attendees aren't asked additional questions about their location etc. when joining an event.
- Under the Date & Time section, enter the date and time of your event.
- Allow attendees to join the event some number of minutes before the host or make sure that you start the event early so attendees can join and get situated before the start time.
- NOTE: if the host, or an alternate host, starts the meeting before the scheduled Event time attendees can then join the meeting. If starting the Event early we recommend that you utilize the Practice Session option so that Attendees cannot hear any communication between Panelists.
- NOTE: if the host, or an alternate host, starts the meeting before the scheduled Event time attendees can then join the meeting. If starting the Event early we recommend that you utilize the Practice Session option so that Attendees cannot hear any communication between Panelists.
- Under the Event Description & Options, enter a Description and upload any supplemental materials or a photo for the event. You can also choose "Who can view the attendee list" and add a post-event survey if you'd like.
- We recommend unchecking the "Request attendees to verify rich media players." If this option is selected, when your attendees join the session, they will be asked to test their systems to make sure that they can play rich media files.
- Under the Attendees & Registration section, you can create your invitation list by clicking "Create invitation list" or send users the link through Outlook once the event is scheduled which is recommended and detailed below. We recommend sending the link in Outlook so you can still edit your event or change the time without triggering multiple notifications to the attendees through Webex.
- Under the Presenters & Panelists section you can invite panelists to assist you during an event. For example, panelists can be part of discussions and answer questions during Q&A sessions. Check the box if you want to "Allow panelists to upload documents associated with the event."
- To invite panelists, click Create invitation list under Presenters & Panelists
- You can either enter the email addresses manually under "New Panelist"
- Or choose them from the Rowan address book by clicking Select Contacts...
- in the window that pops-up, change the "View" to Company Address Book and then search or browse for the users you'd like to invite as contributing panelists.
- Select the checkbox next to the people you would like to invite as panelists and click Add Panelist.
- You may also want to add an alternate host as well in case of emergency. Select the user and click "Add as Alternate Host."
NOTE: If you add an alternate host, make sure you add yourself as a panelist from this list. Sometimes users that are hosts get an error logging in after the alternate host has started the event. - Once you have selected your panelists, verify your list and click Invite to send them an invitation with the event details and panelist link (which is different from the attendee link.)
- To invite panelists, click Create invitation list under Presenters & Panelists
- In the Email Messages section you can check the box to "Include iCalendar attachments" to allow invited participants to add the scheduled event to their calendar programs, such as Microsoft Outlook.
- Select Save as template to make scheduling easy for regular occurring events.
NOTE: When creating a new event from a template, please make sure to set the new date and time along with updating panelists and any other settings that you may want to change. - When finished specifying your event details, select Schedule This Event.
- In the "Send Event Emails" window, select "Host" and "Panelists" and then select Send Now. Selecting "Send Later" takes you to the Event Information page, on which you can send event updates email messages later.
- Select OK and then Continue on the messages that appear on your screen.
- The Event Information page will now display. If you followed the earlier recommendation to not add attendees under the Attendees & Registration section you will now want to create your Outlook appointment.
- Once the appointment is created with the attendees, subject and date and time, copy the pertinent information into the body of the appointment.
- Items in GREEN, most importantly the attendee link and password, should be sent to Attendees. The Event number is only used for attendees calling onto the event from the Audio conference number.
- Items in RED, most importantly the panelist link and password, should be sent to Panelists and Alternate Hosts
- Items in BLUE are for Video Conferencing systems ONLY.
- Once all of the appropriate event details are added to the appointment in Outlook, send your invitation.
- Sign in to rowan.webex.com and select Webex Events.
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Start an Event
- Log in to rowan.webex.com.
- Select Webex Events, then Site Events
- Find your event and select Start.
NOTE: Unless you specified that attendees can join before the host, make sure that you start the event early so that attendees can join it.
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Edit an Event
Editing an event may send an additional notification email to attendees if you chose them in the Attendees & Registration section instead of sending the appointment using Outlook.
- Log in to rowan.webex.com.
- Select My Webex > My Meetings.
- Find your event and select Edit Event.
- If you adjust the time of the event and had sent the appointment through Outlook, make sure to update it there as well to send the updated time to attendees and panelists.
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Cancel an Event
- Log in to rowan.webex.com.
- Select My Webex > My Meetings.
- Check the check box next to the event you want to cancel, select Delete, and confirm.
- Select email notification options.
- If you sent the event appointment through Outlook, make sure to cancel it there as well.
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Test Your Network Connection
You can test your network connection to ensure it is ready and capable of hosting your event by going to https://mediatest.ciscospark.com/
Conduct an Event Practice Session
Conduct a Practice Session about 30 minutes before the event starts to make sure all of your panelists can connect and interact.
We highly recommend that all hosts and panelists use the desktop client for either Mac or Windows. Panelists in a practice session using a mobile device (phone/tablet) will not be able to participate. They will be able to speak and hear in the actual event once the practice session has ended.
Webex Events User Interface
The Webex Events user interface is simple. Most of the event options are in the center and participants and other panels are on the right.
Start Your Video
The event host and panelists can always share their video during an event.
When you join an event, your video is off by default. If you’d like others to see you, select the Start video button to start your webcam.
The button turns blue when your video is on. Select the video button again to stop your video for the event.
To allow a panelist to share their video, in the Participants panel, select Panelist Video Options. 
Select the check box next to a panelist’s name to allow them to share video.
Share Content
Hosts can share their screen during the event by selecting the Share content button.
Hosts and panelists can share their entire screen, a single application (such as Chrome), or share files. To share a file, such as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, select Share File.
If you want an attendee to share their screen or a file, make them a panelist. To do this, in the Participants panel, click View all attendees. Select the attendee and select Make Panelist.
Record an Event
You can record your event to share later. The recording includes the audio, video, and presentations.
While in your event, click the Record button, and then select Record.
You and your attendees will see "Event recording is in progress" at the top of the user interface when recording is active.
When the event ends, you’ll receive an email with the recording link. Your recording typically arrives soon after the event, but it might take a while, depending on recording size, site bandwidth, and other factors.
Conduct a Q&A Session
How to conduct a Q&A Session. This article will help you manage the Q&A panel in an event.
The Q&A box can be found in the lower right corner at the bottom of the "Participants" panel.
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- Before hosting your first event create a test event and invite some colleagues to familiarize yourself with using Webex Events.
- Assign an alternate host so if you can't make it, someone else can start the event.
- Designate one or two panelists attending the event to managing the chat and/or Q&A
- Have a way to communicate with all of the panelists outside of the Webex Event for any issues, questions, or communications needed. Examples are Jabber, email, text messages, or phone calls. Ensure this is communicated to the panelists before the event starts.
- Provide the panelists the link and login information for attendees if they happen to have issues logging in as a panelist.
- To change an attendee to a panelist, click View all attendees. Select the attendee and select Make Panelist.
- Join your hosted event early (15-30 minutes) and enter "Practice Session" mode to setup any settings exclusive to the event session and upload event specific material
- "Practice Session" mode will also place the host and panelists in their own call to prevent attendees from hearing you during pre-event conversations
- Allow participants to join the meeting 5-15 minutes for audio and video setup
- Create a custom document greeting attendees and sharing meeting expectations / agenda (PowerPoint slide / Word document)
- Create a template for regular occurring events to make scheduling easy.
- Options such as Chat, Q&A, and Feedback can be disabled after starting the Event (if Event 1000 was chosen during scheduling) by selecting Event and then Options from the menu.
- The Host key should only be shared with alternate hosts to allow them to take over the role of host if needed. To take over as the host select the Participant menu, then choose Reclaim Host Role. The 'Reclaim Host Role' window appears. Type the 6 digit Host key, then click the OK button.
After the event, you can run an Attendance Report from the rowan.webex.com site. You can download reports that have to do with usage, recording information, attendance, and registration.
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All of the communications within the Chat or Q&A are saved automatically for the host and alternate hosts in the following locations on their computer:
Windows
- Windows 10: C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents
Mac OS X
- Webex Meetings: Documents\Date_MeetingName
- Webex Training: Documents\Date_MeetingName_MeetingNumber
- Webex Events: Documents\chat.txt
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If, after going through the topics in this article, you need additional help IRT will provide support for hosting virtual events through Webex in some cases. Depending on the type of the event, the support provided may include direct or on-call support before and during the event. Support is available to faculty, staff and students. However, the level of support provided for a virtual event varies depending on the type of the event.
- Direct Support for High-Profile Events
Direct support, including one-on-one assistance with creating, communicating and hosting a virtual event, is reserved for events that directly involve the President of Rowan University, the Board of Trustees or a high-profile external speaker, such as a visiting senator, gubernatorial candidate or prominent celebrity.
In exceptional circumstances, other events may qualify for direct support. That support will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Request must be made via the IRT Support portal ten(10) business days prior to your event. - On-Call Support for Standard Events
On-call support may be provided during other virtual events, so an event sponsor can quickly escalate a request for help if issues arise during the event. IRT does not provide in person support on the day of the event.
To request help supporting your event, please visit go.rowan.edu/eventsupport.
IRT staff will directly coordinate with event sponsors once we determine the level of support required for the virtual event.
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For additional and more advanced Webex information, you can find documentation at Webex Help Center and the Webex Event Center's User Guide.
If you have any questions or need help, please contact the Technology Support Center at 856-256-4400 or submit a ticket in the IRT Support Portal.