Wednesday 1st April 2020

Today we had a test link-up with some of the Club members using Google Hangouts. There were one or two teething problems, but overall it went fairly well and I think will enable us to run the Computer Club remotely.

For some unknown reason, sending the invitation to join the Hangouts group failed for some participants. However, I also have the alternative method of sending a link by email to join the group, so between these two methods, I think we can make it work.

To access Hangouts you can either:-

1. Go to hangouts.google.com in a web browser - Chrome is probably the best browser to use if possible.
2. Install the Hangouts app from the app store on your phone or tablet.

You have to be signed in with your Google Account.

Just a few comments on the way Hangouts operates. Once we are all online, the default is that you will automatically see the person who is currently speaking. You can override this by clicking on one of the thumbnails at the bottom of the screen to see that person - click again to de-select them and return to auto-select mode.

If there is some extraneous noise around you, click on the microphone symbol at the bottom of the screen to mute your mic. (Note these symbols disappear until you move the mouse to the bottom of the screen).

It is possible to share a screen with the group by clicking on the 3-dots (top right) and selecting Share Screen and then choosing which window you wish to share. I may use this to show you, for example, a web site. If I was sharing a screen, you might click on my thumbnail so your view remains on the screen I am showing you.

Triple-Clicking

I did use the screen-sharing feature to demonstrate triple-clicking. You may know that you can select one word in a block of text by double-clicking on the word. However, if you want to select the current paragraph, you simply need to triple-click anywhere in that paragraph. Try in now while reading this blog! This is handy if you want to copy a paragraph. You can also use it to copy the complete web address (aka URL) at the top of your browser. It works in most text items - including web pages.

Next Session

Wednesday 8th April 2020 at 2pm.

I will email out a link to the meeting about 10 minutes before. I will also try to issue invitations to anyone who does not respond to the email.