PodZilla User Guide

Version 1.0, Revised October 2010

WHAT IS PODZILLA?

PodZilla, a Refined Data Solutions product, is an add-in for the Adobe Connect web conferencing platform. PodZilla provides a ton of useful information about Attendees in your Adobe Connect Meeting Rooms. This information can be effectively leveraged to help you run better meetings.

INSTALLATION

To Install PodZilla Pro, download the most recent version of the pod from http://www.refineddata.com/downloads/?prodkey=pz. Once the file has been saved to your computer, open an Adobe Connect Meeting Room.
Then:
1. Select ‘Pods’ in the top menu
2. Select ‘Share’
3. Select ‘From My Computer’
4. Locate and select the Whiteboard Pro file (SWF or ZIP format)
5. Once the pod has loaded and installed, click to activate it
6. Complete the form that opens in your browser (ensure pop-up blocker is not activated)
Once complete the pod is ready to go!

Interface

Features Include:

PodZilla is only visible to Hosts in an Adobe Connect Meeting Room – Participants and Presenters do not see the pod even if it is placed on a layout. It provides the following information about every Attendee in your Meeting Room:

Their Desktop Screen Resolution – ‘Screen’ Column. (Useful to know if some Attendees are viewing the meeting on small resolution screens that may render content small and hard to read.)
Their Meeting Size Resolution - ‘Window’ Column. (Refers to the size of the Meeting Room as a percentage of the Desktop Screen Resolution. Helpful in instances in which Attendee viewing experience can be optimized by being instructed to enter full screen mode when running in a browser, for instance.)
The Selected Pod Size – ‘Pod’ Column. (Refers to the size of the pod selected from the dropdown list as a percentage of the Attendee’s Meeting Size Resolution. This information is useful in cases in which a pod needs to be a minimum size in order to function.)
The Attendee’s Operating System (Windows, OS X, or Linux) and Flash Version – ‘Flash Version’ Column
Whether the meeting is being viewed in the Adobe Connect Plug-in (and, if so, which version) or a Browser (i.e. Firefox) – ‘Plugin’ Column

Before Refined Data developed PodZilla, there was no way for Hosts to have access to this information. This information can be effectively used to answer questions and resolve problems in a number of ways. For instance, it is critical that Hosts know whether Participants and Presenters have the Meeting Room sized large enough to view all of its content properly. With PODZilla, a Host can send a given Attendee a private message advising them on the course of action to take (i.e. press F11 on a Windows-based machine to enter full screen when running in a browser) to optimize their viewing experience.

Visibility Toggle Feature

PodZilla has a secondary feature that allows a Host to toggle the visibility of any piece of content on the main stage of a given layout. Simply select a piece of content using the dropdown menu in the upper left portion of the screen, and click the ‘Visible’ checkmark box next to it. As a Host you will notice that the content will become translucent, indicating that it is now invisible to Attendees. (The Host can continue to interact with the content, however.)

Here are some use case suggestions:

Pre-load a piece of content (PowerPoint slide show, PDF document, FLV, MP3, etc.) before your meeting starts and toggle it invisible so that Attendees cannot see it. When the content is ready to be used, use PodZilla to make it visible.

Have too much content on the screen? Use PodZilla to more effectively manage your desktop real estate.

Don’t worry about having to move pods underneath one another to conceal them – use PodZilla to quickly hide a piece of content.

Create a montage effect by overlapping multiple hidden pods, revealing them one by one using PodZilla!