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Videoconferences with Jitsi

BlueMind can be connected to a Jitsi server so that users can easily create videoconferences and link them to their calendar meetings.

Installation​

To make the new features available to users, install the plugin by installing the following packages on the server and restarting BlueMind:

aptitude install bm-plugin-core-videoconferencing-jitsi bm-plugin-admin-console-videoconferencing-jitsi
bmctl restart

Administration​

Server Configuration​

Go to the administration console in System management > Supervised domains > choose the desired domain > Videoconferencing tab:

Fill in the general server information :

  • Server URL
  • Template (optional): the content added here will be included with the videoconference link
  • Click on "Save"

⇒ a resource named "Jitsi" is created automatically and shown in the directory. This will enable users to create videoconferences automatically. To learn more, see the paragraph Access Rights (optional)

info

By default, the resource is shared with a basic right to book, all users are allowed to link a videoconference.

Disconnecting a Jitsi videoconferencing installation​

To disconnect Jitsi from the server:

  • as for configuration, go to System management > Supervised domains > select the desired domain > Videoconferencing tab
  • Empty "Server URL" field
  • Save

⇒ The associated resource is automatically deleted and shares cleaned up, it no longer appears in entity management and users can no longer reserve it.

Content template​

Videoconference links can come with a text. This text can be added using the content template:

info

A link will always be offered to participants, even there is no template.

  • Select the desired language from the drop-down list

    💡 Multilanguage​

    The content of the previous language(s) is stored in memory, so you can switch from one to another and create as many templates as there are languages available in the interface.

    When an event is created, content is added according to the organizer's language.

  • Fill in the content:

    The template can contain variables, which will be automatically replaced in the template by the system:

    • ${ResourceName}: the name of the resource as defined in the directory (default "Jitsi")
    • ${Organizer}: the name of the person creating the event in the Calendar
    • ${URL}: the conference access URL

  • Click Save.

Deleting a language​

To delete a language template :

  • select the language in the dropdown
  • empty the text field (select the text and delete)
  • click on "Save".

Accessing the videoconference​

Grant access rights to users​

Access to the new feature is through the Jitsi resource created during the server configuration :

This resource is administered like any other resource, with share management opening up reservation rights and, de facto, the generation of videoconferencing links. Thus, reservation rights (share right "can reserve the resource" or higher) must be given to the desired users or groups so that they can create video conferences for their events :

Availability times

As a resource, it can be assigned working hours or a reservation policy. However, as the link generated is unique, this will not affect the availability of the videoconference itself: the link will still be active and available outside these times.

Using the resource​

As soon as users have reservation rights for the resource (see previous paragraph), a button is available in the event creation interface:

For more information on how this works, please refer to the documentation page of the user guide: Link a videoconference to an event.

Third-party and mobile applications

Third-party applications such as Outlook or mobile apps don't display the button, but users can still reserve a videoconferencing resource by inviting it to an event in the same way as any other resource.

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