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Screenleap’s Next Evolution: Installation-Free Sharing With Add-On Support

We are excited to share with you the next evolution of the Screenleap service. Our goal has always been to support installation-free sharing and viewing on all devices. Our latest release moves us closer to that vision and all the convenience and benefits that it brings to you.

With the latest release, you will now be able to take advantage of the benefits of installation-free sharing on all the major desktop browsers while still being able to use features that were exclusive to our Screenleap for Mac and Screenleap for Windows apps—namely the ability to share a portion of your screen using rectangle mode and the ability to share controls of your screen with your viewers.

Our installation-free sharing with add-on support has many advantages over the native apps:

  1. You can start sharing from any desktop computer without having to install any app. All you need is a web browser.
  2. We are able to provide your viewers with a sharper and clearer screen than possible with the native apps.
  3. Installation-free sharing uses less CPU than the native apps so your computer will run cooler, use less power (great for laptops), and allows you to use more apps simultaneously when sharing your screen.
  4. Installation-free sharing is more reliable than our native apps. Your meetings are less likely to end unexpectedly as a result.
  5. You do not need to worry about keeping your app up-to-date. As a result, your meetings are less likely to be delayed by an app update.

Installation-free sharing is now available on all desktop computers with a modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari). The add-on, which provides support for rectangle mode and control sharing, is currently available for Mac and Windows computers.

We hope you enjoy the added convenience and benefits provided by installation-free sharing with add-on support—especially when you are collaborating with external users, such as your prospects and business partners. Stay tuned for upcoming enhancements that will allow you to collaborate with your users without leaving your website.

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Early-Access to Computer Audio Conferencing Now Available

We are excited to announce the early-access release of our new computer audio conferencing feature. Computer audio conferencing allows you to speak with the people in your meetings using your computer’s microphone and speakers. You no longer need to call a separate dial-in number in order to speak to each other, which makes it even easier and faster to start your meetings.

Enabling Computer Audio Conferencing

Audio conferencing is available to users on our paid subscription plans. If you are a paid subscriber, you can enable computer audio conferencing by going to your Settings & Preferences from the Account menu. Select Yes, use computer audio conferencing for the Audio Preferences setting and then save your change.

Using Computer Audio Conferencing

When you start a meeting with computer audio conferencing enabled, you will be able to speak to other people in your meeting using your computer’s microphone and speakers. Everyone will need to be on a computer with a microphone and speakers and using a modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari) in order to user computer audio conferencing. Computer audio conferencing also works for mobile viewers using any browser on Android and the Safari browser on iOS devices.

The microphone and speakers default to the defaults for your computer. You can change the microphone and speakers used by moving your mouse over the Room panel.

You can mute your microphone during your meeting by clicking on the microphone icon.

Limitations

Computer audio conferencing is currently only available when you use our our installation-free screen sharing option. Support for computer audio conferencing will soon be available in the Screenleap for Mac and Screenleap for Windows apps.

Computer audio conferencing is also limited to a maximum of ten participants during the beta period.

Share Your Feedback

We would love to hear what you think of the new computer conferencing feature and if you have any suggestions for improvements. We take your feedback very seriously!

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Taking the Next Leap Forward

Happy Leap Day everyone! In celebration of Leap Day, we are excited to announce that Screenleap will be taking the next leap forward with features that will make it even easier for you to share your screen and collaborate with anyone, anywhere. We want to give you a preview of some of the changes that you will be seeing to the service this coming week.

Installation-Free Screen Sharing

With the upcoming release, Screenleap will be returning to our roots with the return of installation-free screen sharing. When Screenleap was originally founded, we offered installation-free sharing through our Java-based presenter app. Unfortunately, as Macs and Windows moved away from Java due to security issues, we had to abandon the Java-based app in favor of our native apps, which required installation before you could share your screen.

We are excited that we will again be able to offer installation-free screen sharing for desktop users using Chrome and the latest Edge browsers (Firefox coming soon). Coupled with our installation-free viewing feature that we offer on all platforms, sharing your screen with the people you collaborate with has never been easier or faster.

Simpler and More Streamlined User Interface

We have been working hard to simplify the Screenleap service to make it even easier for you to use. We have made two changes that should make sharing your screen even easier:

  1. We removed the need for your to decide whether you should a private screen share or a broadcast. If you want to share your screen now, you can now simply click the Meet now button. For paid users, you can decide if you want to lock your meetings by default. If your meetings are unlocked, your viewers can join your meeting to view your screen by going to your personal link (https://screenleap.com/[handle].  If your meeting is locked, your viewers can join your meeting by going to the 9-digit screen share code for your meeting (i.e., https://screenleap.com/[screen share code] or by going to your personal link and entering the 9-digit screen share code. You can also specify your own access code if you prefer.
  2. Everyone can now schedule meetings (free accounts are limited to 2 upcoming meetings at a time). Previously, free users could only start on-demand screen shares, which is problematic if you have back-to-back meetings and you are sharing to your personal URL (https://screenleap.com/[your handle]).

Unified Presenter Interface

We have moved all the controls that you will use during your meetings into a unified web interface that all the presenter apps will use. No matter what operating system you are using, you will soon be able to control your meeting using the same familiar interface.

The new presenter interface includes a preview of your shared screen so you can check ahead of time that your screen share is working correctly.

We have also made it easy to change your meeting settings during your meeting, instead of requiring you to configure everything in advance:

  1. You can now start recording your meeting after your meeting has already started. Previously, you had to enable recording before starting your meeting.
  2. You can now start and stop recording your screen multiple times during your meeting. Previously, you could only start recording when your meeting started and stop recording when your meeting ended.
  3. You can now change the quality of your screen share during your meetings. For example, you may want to increase the quality if you are sharing a complex spreadsheet (high quality image but lower frame rate) or lower the quality when sharing a video (for better frame rate).

Coming Soon

There are many more exciting features that will be included in the upcoming release, but we wanted to share some of them with you now so you can hopefully get as excited as we are. Wishing everyone a Happy Leap Day again!

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Collaborative Screen Sharing Now Available

We are excited to announce that collaborative screen sharing is now available for the Screenleap for Mac and Screenleap for Windows apps. The collaborative screen sharing feature allows you to share control of your computer with your viewers so that you can seamlessly collaborate together online.

You and the viewer you are collaborating with will each have your own mouse cursor to control. You will both be able to interact with your computer using your respective keyboards and mice at the same time—it’s even better than having the other person sitting next to you at your computer since you don’t have to share your keyboard and mouse!

How It Works

To share control of your screen with one of your viewers, you will need to have at least one person viewing your screen share. Once you have people viewing your screen, click on the mouse icon on the Screenleap console, select a viewer, and then select Share mouse/keyboard control.

Your viewer will now be able to control your computer from their browser—they do not need to download or install any software. You and your viewer will have your own mouse cursor to control (your viewer’s mouse cursor will be green and will include the viewer’s name). Your viewer will be able to point things out on your screen using his/her mouse, scroll through documents using his/her scroll wheel, and interact with your screen by clicking with his/her mouse and typing on his/her keyboard.

You can switch the viewer you are collaborating with by clicking on the mouse icon and selecting a new viewer. You can disable control sharing by clicking the mouse icon again and selecting Disable control sharing.

Permissions

If you are using a Mac computer, you will need to grant the Accessibility permission to the Screenleap app before you will be able to share control with your viewers. To grant the permission:

  1. Open your System Preferences.
  2. Click on Security & Privacy.
  3. Click on Accessibility.
  4. Check the box for the Screenleap app (you may need to click the lock icon and enter your password to allow for checking the boxes).

Limitations

The viewer sharing control of your computer will need to make sure the viewer page is the active window and the active tab. If another window is in front of the viewer window, then your viewer’s actions will not be passed to your computer.

Availability

Collaborative screen sharing will take your online collaboration to the next level by allowing you to interact as effectively online as if you were in the same room together. It is available to all users with a paid plan. Please contact us at support@screenleap.com if you would like a free trial to test out the feature.

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