If you have any additional questions to add to this list, please email me directly at [email protected]

Connect Account

Q. When is my Connect account going to be upgraded to Connect V11?

A. If you are on the ‘hosted/cloud/multi-tenant’ deployment of Connect (your account URL is in the form ‘companyname.adobeconnect.com) you will be upgraded on the date that is given on the ‘widget’ here. If you are using Connect with CoSo Cloud or the ACMS ‘single tenant’ deployment then you will work with your account manager contact there to stage/test and then go live with your deployment. If you have an on-premise (on your own servers) deployment of Connect then you will contact Adobe Support and download and deploy the V11 server on your own schedule.

Q. If I am using Connect on the ‘hosted/cloud/multi-tenant’ deployment of Connect, can my upgrade date be changed?

A. No. The upgrade date affects many clients on that cluster and they have planned around the upgrade date, it cannot be changed.

Q. Can I defer the changes that happen with the upgrade to V11?

A. Yes. There are settings in your account that you can use upon the upgrade to essentially defer the need to use the new desktop app. You can see an outline of these changes here. Be aware of course this this is a ‘deferral’. You will eventually need to prepare your account and your rooms for the move to V11.

Q. Do you have anything to prepare an Administrator for the move to V11?

A. Yes. I have created a recording for Administrators here. I have also created a blog post on preparing for the V11 transition here.

Connect Desktop App

Q. Should I download the V11 Connect Desktop App.?

A. Yes. The V11 Connect Desktop App. that you can download from here is ‘backward compatible’. When you have downloaded it, the current ‘old-look’ desktop app. will be ‘called’ when you access your v10 account. When your account is upgraded to v11 you will then ‘call’ the new-look (HTML) Connect Desktop App.

Q. Are the functions in the new-look V11 Connect Desktop App. available in the old-look V10 Connect Desktop App.?

A. Yes, this is essentially a re-skinning of the desktop app. in HTML (vs. Flash Player), although there are some additional features (such as the ability to rename breakout rooms). All of the features are still there and *mostly* where you would expect to find them. You should take some time to familiarize yourself with the new desktop app. interface. I have created some recordings intended to prepare hosts and presenters for the new interface here. Scroll down to ‘Connect Host Training’.

Q. Can I lead a Connect session as a presenter or host without downloading the V11 Connect Desktop App.?

A. Yes. Using just the V11 browser/HTML view you can do everything you would do as a presenter or host *except* share your screen or take remote control. These features require the installation of the desktop app. and if you try to share your screen (for example), you will be prompted to install/launch the desktop app.

Q. Can I get the new-look desktop app. for my Mac?

A. No. Not at this time. With V11 the desktop app. has been rewritten for Windows only…Mac/OSX users will see the old-look desktop app. when they access their rooms on the V11 account. Mac/OSX users can of course use the v11 browser/HTML client to access their rooms and lead a session with the new-look.

Browser (HTML client)

Q. Do you have browser recommendations for Connect and the browser/HTML client?

A. The system requirements for V11 can be found here. I have personally used Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox and Opera without any issues. I would say that on the Mac I see Chrome as taking entirely too many CPU cycles and that can compromise VoIP and screen-sharing performance, for that reason I avoid Chrome on my Mac.

Q. Can I use Internet Explorer with the new browser/HTML client?

A. No. My guess is that the implementation of HTML5 etc. in Internet Explorer is not sufficient to support the Connect browser/HTML deployment. It will ask you to launch using the desktop app. (or technically in ‘classic view’, which is Flash Player). Remember that Internet Explorer is 25 years old (launched in 1995 as an add-on to Windows 95).

iPads, iPhones, Android Tablets, Android Phones

Q. Can I still use the Connect Mobile App. to access my rooms?

A. Yes. This app will continue to function as before.

Q. Can I use the browser/HTML client on my iPad/Android tablet to access my rooms?

A. Yes. You will have the option to access your rooms using Safari or Chrome on iOS or Android tablets respectively. Note that the V11 browser/HTML client has not been optimized for tablet use, so you may find some features difficult to use, or some interface elements difficult to see. I would expect Connect to be optimized in future releases for these devices. You still have the option of using the Connect Mobile App. in the meantime.

My initial experience on my iPad is that joining using the V11 browser/HTML client works very well wit a few initial exceptions.

Pros – You can click on a hyperlink and launch it in the browser. With permission you can share your camera, view multiple cameras (vs. just the two live feeds on the Connect Mobile app.), change slides, click on a hyperlink and launch a web site etc. To me it seems initially that you can have ‘Enhanced Rights’, but you cannot be simply promoted to a ‘Presenter’ or ‘Host’ on the tablet. A simple benefit of V11 is that you can use a pointer on slides.

Cons – The lack of full ‘Presenter’ or ‘Host’ rights noted above makes this a more difficult option to manage on tablets and the full ‘Connect Mobile App. The whiteboard is not optimized for the iPad in my experience and using the whiteboard is impractical in the current V11 browser/HTML client iteration on the iPad as when drawing the finger movement also moves/pans the meeting room.

Q. Can I use the browser/HTML client on my iPhone/Android phone to access my rooms?

A. Yes…but. You will have the option to access your rooms using Safari or Chrome on iOS or Android tablets respectively but the V11 browser/HTML client has not been optimized for tablet use, and it has *really* not been optimized for phone use. I would expect Connect to be optimized in future releases for these devices. You still have the option of using the Connect Mobile App. in the meantime and I strongly suggest that Connect Mobile is the right option at this time.

Q. Can I use the new browser/HTML client on a Chromebook or using a Linux machine?

A. I was able to test on my Chromebook and everything functioned as anticipated in the browser/HTML client. This offers a huge leap in functionality for Chromebook attendees and they will be able to do everything a presenter or host can do with the exception of share their desktop or take remote control (that will still require the desktop app. and this is not ported to the Chromebook). This allows Chromebook attendees to use whiteboards, change slides, share cameras, upload content, interact in breakout rooms etc.

I have been able to test on a supported Linux option (Ubuntu 18.04 using Parallels on Mac OS) and the browser/HTML client performed as anticipated and in-line with the findings above for the Chromebook. As with the Chromebook, you will be able to do everything in Connect except share your desktop or take remote control of a desktop.

Note for Chromebooks or Linux – I have seen that Firefox on Ubuntu Linux and some Chromebooks ask for Flash Player to be installed in order to enter a room with the browser/HTML client. I have not worked out the settings yet, but if this happens, append ‘?html-view=true’ (no quotes) to your room ?URL and this should force the browser/HTML client.

Preparing Connect Rooms

Q. Do I need to do anything in my Connect room to prepare for the V11 upgrade?

A. Yes…and No. What I mean is that if you do nothing at all you may be OK…especially if you have been using the browser/HTML client in Connect V10 as much of your content will already have been converted for use in the HTML client. Worst case and for most content, you will see a quick message that content is being ‘converted’ and then you will be good to go.

There is some content in your rooms that will need attention though…so I strongly suggest that if possible you open your rooms ASAP after the upgrade and run through your presentations and content to be sure it is all good to go…ideally, join as a host using the V10 or V11 (old-look or new-look app. respectively) and also join as a participant using the browser/HTML client to be sure that your content is displaying correctly in each instance.

Content that may need attention is as follows:

• SWF Extensions – SWF (‘ShockWave Flash’) extensions such as timers, games, clocks etc. will not be visible on the browser/HTML client…they will appear as unsupported content. You will need to replace the extension with the ‘hybrid’ version that is visible in both the older V10 Connect Desktop App. and the new V11 HTML clients. You can see the hybrid extensions in the ‘Hybrid custom pods’ section here. If your extension is not listed in this section then you will need to either force the older, V10 Connect Desktop App. or find an alternative method to support this interaction…not all extensions have been converted to the new hybrid format. Eventually, you will need to support the new V11 HTML format as Flash Player is going to be EoL at the end of 2020.
• Adobe Captivate and Adobe Presenter – If you have published your content from either of these tools in *only* SWF format, then it will be *unsupported* in the new V11 Desktop App. or the browser/HTML client. You will need to republish as the hybrid HTML5 and SWF format to have the content viewed in both the V10 old-look desktop app. and the new V11 HTML format. Ultimately you will need to publish for the HTML client as this is the way forward.
• FLV Video – FLV (FLash Video) formats have not been supported for a while on Connect Mobile so you may have already converted to MP4, but you may still have some of this content. You will need to convert this to MP4 format to have this viewable in the new V11 HTML formats. You can see my best practices for converting any video to MP4 here.

Flash Player

Q. Is the requirement for Flash Player in Connect going away at the end of 2020?

A. Yes. Ironically, this would be removed from Connect for the release of V11, but many clients have requested that the older V10 Connect Desktop App. and the option to use Flash Player in a browser is maintained for as long as possible into the V11 transition so there is the option to slow the transition and defer the full move to the V11 HTML format/clients.

Q. Is there anything that requires Flash Player in the ‘backend’ (Connect Central) of Connect?

A. Nothing that I can find. The last vestiges of Flash Player wee in some of the more obscure reporting tools in Connect Events. Everything seems to have been converted to HTML5.

Connect Extensions

Q. Are all of the Connect Extensions I have in my account going to work when my account is upgraded to Connect V11?

A. No, probably…it depends! – Please also refer to the discussion on ‘Preparing Connect Rooms’ above. If you have extensions that have never been updated for use with the V10 browser/HTML client then you need to go to the hybrid extensions in the ‘Hybrid custom pods’ section here. If your extension is not listed in this section then you will need to either force the older, V10 Connect Desktop App. or find an alternative method to support this interaction…not all extensions have been converted to the new hybrid format. Eventually, you will need to support the new V11 HTML format as Flash Player is going to be EoL at the end of 2020.

Recordings

Q. Will my existing recordings (V10 or earlier) play when we upgrade to V11?

A. Yes…and No. – For the most part the recordings seem to be fine from what I can see. The recordings will play in the new HTML recordings viewer by default and this seems very forgiving. I suspect that if you have older SWF-only (Flash Player) content then this would need to be viewed using the older ‘classic’ view and that would launch the old-look Connect Desktop App. Overall it seems to be pretty consistent that you can view older recordings (I went back to my recordings from 2012 to test this)…worst case that I can see, some of the SWF content will show up as ‘unsupported content’.

Q. Is there a way to protect the integrity of my recordings?

A. Yes, Use the option to ‘Make Offline’ to convert your recordings to MP4 ASAP. As the old-look V10 Connect Desktop App. is still going to be supported and until the EoL of Flash Player at least (end of 2020), so you can convert your recordings using this tool until then.

Q. Is there a way to bulk-convert my recordings?

A. Yes. We can set you up with the paid service to bulk-convert your recordings so that you are covered for the ongoing transition to V11 and the HTML format.

The ‘Content’ Tab

Q. Flash Player was required for us to view MP4 and other content that was stored in the ‘Content’ tab in my Connect account…do we still need Flash Player to view an MP4 or other content in the ‘Content’ tab?

A. No, Flash Player is no longer required to view content that you have stored in the ‘Content’ tab. There is an HTML viewer for content on your Connect account in V11.

Note – When you look at the listing of any content in your account, you can see whether it is going to be successfully viewed in the new HTML format as there will be a column ‘HTML Compatible’ and you will see ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Adobe Captivate and Adobe Presenter

Q. Will my Adobe Captivate or Adobe Presenter content be viewable in the Connect V11 upgraded rooms?

A. If you enter the room and your content is ‘unsupported’ or look at the content in the ‘Content’ tab or the ‘Uploaded Content’ tab and it says ‘No’ under ‘HTML Compatible’ then you need to republish your content. If the original content was published as ‘SWF’ then this will not be viewable in the HTML format for V10 and V11 onwards.

You will see the option in Adobe Captivate or Adobe Presenter to publish as both SWF and HTML5 (which will be viewable in the old-look Connect Desktop App. and the new-look V11 HTML Desktop App. and browser/HTML client).

If you want the content to be only viewable in the new-look V11 HTML client then you will publish the content as HTML only. Ultimately, you will need to include the HTML option when you publish as Flash Player and the old-loo desktop app. will be discontinued (end of 2020).

VoIP Audio

Q. Is the VoIP audio changing for V11?

A. No – It will still function in the same manner. The interface to access VoIP will change in the new V11 iteration of the desktop app. and the browser/HTML client. You can see more details on using VoIP in Connect V11 for hosts, presenters and attendees in the materials listed here.

Phone Conference Audio

Q. Is the phone conferencing audio changing for V11?

A. No – It will still function in the same manner. The interface to access phone conferencing will change in the new V11 iteration of the desktop app. and the browser/HTML client. You can see more details on using phone conferencing in Connect V11 for hosts, presenters and attendees in the materials listed here.

Breakout Rooms

Q. Will the experience for attendees be different when they attend Breakout Rooms in the new V11 release?

A. Yes…totally! (and it’s a good thing). – If you have attendees in your room using the browser/HTML client in V11, they will now have the ability to use the whiteboard, upload content, change slides, share their cameras and carry out all of the tasks of a presenter *other* than share their desktop or take remote control. To share your desktop, an attendee would be prompted to install the Connect Desktop App. (which has no Flash Player components or course).

In V11, Breakout Rooms are significantly more interactive for attendee using the basic browser/HTML client.