Last updated: July 2019

The Sharing Tool

The sharing tool allows you to support visitors by:

• Sharing and editing screenshots

• Creating screencasts

• Inviting the visitor to share their own screen

The sharing tool can be opened by clicking on the sharing icon in the chat window.

There are several menu options on the left:

• Snapshots

• Screencasts & Slideshows

• Screenshare

• Documentation

While using the sharing tool, you can continue your conversation with the guest at the bottom of the screen without having to navigate back to the main chat area.

You can also access the sharing tool outside of the web client. This allows you to record screencasts or annotate screenshots without having an active client. Access from the Canadian server here: https://ca.libraryh3lp.com/sharingtool

Open

Snapshots

The snapshot tool allows operators to markup and annotate images before sending them to a visitor.

There are 3 ways to upload screenshots you’ve taken (using print screen or the snipping tool):

• Ctrl + v

• Choose a file

• Drag and drop

You can also use the “Take Snapshot” button while screen sharing with a visitor.

To edit an uploaded snapshot, click on “edit snapshot” or select the timestamped tab in your sharing window (if taken during a screen sharing session). The editor allows you to zoom, crop, draw shapes or lines, highlight, and add text.

• To resize the image, undo, or redo actions, use the buttons on the left menu

• To zoom, crop, add shapes, or add text, use the buttons on the right menu

• There are colour options for shapes and text at the bottom of the right menu

When you’re finished editing, you can send the marked up screenshot to the visitor, save it to your computer (as a png file), or delete it using the buttons on the left.

Open

Screencasts & Slideshows

The screencast tool allows operators to capture soundless video recordings of their screen and send them directly to visitors. Operators can also use the slideshow tool to create annotated gifs from the frames of a screencast.

Screencast videos are saved in webm format (widely supported, but not universal - not supported by Safari or most mobile devices); slideshows are saved as gifs and should work for all visitors. Screencasts will display as links in the format “System message: download from https://ca.libraryh3lp.com/go/...” and slideshows will display as images that must be enlarged to play.

To create a screencast:

• Open the sharing tool and select the screencast option. Select “start recording.” You can choose whether to share your entire screen, an application window, or a tab within your web browser

• Once your recording is complete, select “stop recording” in the sharing window

• If you are happy with recording, you can send it to the visitor or save it as a file on your computer using the buttons on the left

To create a slideshow:

• Once you have recorded a screencast, select the “create slideshow” button

• Add slides to the slideshow by panning through the frames of the screencast and selecting “add slide” on the left. Once the slide is added, you can annotate it by using the menu options on the right, just like with screencasts

• You can adjust the length of the slideshow by adjusting the time per slide. To get a sense of how long this is, you can use the “preview slideshow” button

• When your slideshow is done, you can send it to the visitor or save it as a file on your computer using the buttons on the left

To send screencasts or slideshows that have been saved to your computer, either use the “send a file” button on the chat window (paperclip icon), or open the sharing tool and select “choose a file” under the screenshots menu (this works for other file types too, not just images).

Known Issues with Slideshows

Screencasting and slideshows are the newest feature in the sharing tool and there are still some bugs to be worked out. These problems have been reported to LibraryH3lp and are awaiting fixes. If you notice additional problems with sharing tools, please let us know so it can be reported to LibraryH3lp.

Unwanted Slides

Unwanted slides may be added to the slideshow when frames from the screencast are annotated. The annotation menu only appears once you’ve added a slide. However, once you have added one, as you pan through other slides there is a risk of adding annotations if you accidentally click the screen rather than the scroll bar. When this happens, the slide doesn’t show as added to the slideshow (there is no number added to the scroll bar indicating a slide), yet the frame with the annotation will be added into the slideshow. These slides cannot be deleted because they are not officially part of the slideshow.

Annotation Issues

In testing, an issue occurred where the bottom portion of the screen could not be annotated. Shapes and other markups could not be drawn in this part of the screen. For example, when drawing a rectangle, the edge would cut off and behave as if it was at the end of the screen when there was still a quarter of the screen below it.

Repeating Frames

In another test, the slideshow behaved normally when previewed in the sharing tool, but when sent to the visitor or downloaded and opened, several of the frames repeated themselves. This may have been due to adding the slides out of order.

Note that it is possible to restart a slideshow by returning to the screencast tab and clicking the “create slideshow” button again. Starting a new slideshow may resolve some of the above issues.

Screen Sharing

Screen sharing allows the visitor to share their screen with the operator in real time. The operator cannot control the visitor’s computer, but can see exactly what the visitor is seeing, making it easier to provide help. Additionally, the operator can screenshot the visitor’s screen from directly within the sharing tool, annotate the image, and send it back to the visitor.

Steps for Screen Sharing

1. Ask if the visitor would like to share their screen

2. Click the sharing button on the chat window . This will open the sharing tool in a new window

3. From the menu on the left, select “Screenshare” and click “invite guest to share their screen”. The invitation specifies that they should make sure there is nothing identifying or inappropriate on their screen

4. A pop-up will appear on the visitor’s screen with the invitation message. Visitors have the options “ok” or “cancel”

5. The screen share will display in the sharing window, not the main LibraryH3lp screen, so you can continue other chats on the regular screen. You can also continue your conversation with the visitor in the screen sharing window by clicking the “Continue your conversation with the guest…” tab at the bottom.

You can screenshot from within a screen sharing session by clicking the “take snapshot” button at the top of the screen. The screenshot will appear under the screenshots tab and can be annotated and saved just like any other screenshot.

To End a Screen Sharing Session

• Operators: close the sharing tool window or click the “end screensharing” button

• Visitors:

  • Firefox - click on the lock icon in the URL bar of their chat window; under Permissions, click the X next to “Share the Screen - Allowed Temporarily”

  • Chrome - click “stop sharing” on the floating tab at the bottom of the screen

Known Issues with Screen Sharing

Screen sharing is very finicky and works best when both the operator and the visitor are using Firefox. In theory, the invitation button shouldn’t work when the visitor is not using a compatible browser, but this isn’t always the case. Issues with screen sharing include:

• The operator sends an invitation to the guest and gets the message that the guest declined to share their screen (when the visitor either did not get the invitation or received it and selected which screen to share, but the screen share was unsuccessful)

• The operator receives no error message when trying to share screens with a visitor The sharing invitation goes through, but the operator is not able to see the visitor’s screen (the sharing window shows a grey box rather than the visitor’s screen)

Screen sharing can also be difficult to navigate since the visitor’s screen will either not be entirely visible at once or it will be entirely visible but too small to read. Adjusting the size using the zoom in/zoom out buttons can help, but there are still challenges.

Browser Compatibility

* In our experience, the most reliable browser for screen sharing/screencasts is Firefox