Creating a Webex Event - Quickly

Owned by Charlee Paige Van De Peer
Last updated: May 23, 2024 by Megan Winterburn
2 min read

For online video conferencing, there are three different types of experiences offered in Webex:

  1. Meetings - for online collaboration and meetings with small groups which supports live video, chat and content/screen sharing 

  2. Events - for presenting material to an online audience (a webinar). 

  3. Training - emulates a classroom environment in an online setting. Training has many features of Events and Meetings but adds support for breakout sessions for participants and other elements of learning management systems (LMS)

This page outlines steps to get you up and running quickly with a Webex Event. There are a lot of little steps but it's not hard. Other information is available on the WebEx events - Updated page from IST.

Pre-requisites

  1. A University of Waterloo Webex account. Don't have one? Faculty and staff can request a Webex account by email to: rt-ist-itms-collab@rt.uwaterloo.ca. They do have a mandatory training session.

  2. Laptop or computer to host the session

  3. Video Camera (optional)

  4. Microphone or headset

  5. a wired internet connection

Creating an Event (the basics)

  1. Log in to your University of Waterloo Webex account at https://uwaterloo.webex.com/

  2. On the left panel select "WebEx Events" near the bottom to get to the Event Management pages

  3. Click "Schedule an Event" under "Host an Event"

  4. Give your Event a Name 

  5. Uncheck the Registration Required option

  6. Set a start date and time

  7. Allow attendees to join early (15 minutes recommended)

  8. Set the conference type "Webex Audio"

  9. Check the option to "Display global call-in numbers"

  10. Give the event a quick description

  11. Upload a host image (optional, for a better experience)

  12. Keep the attendee list visible to host, presenter and panelists

  13. Scroll to the bottom and click the "Schedule this event" button

  14. If prompted to send emails, indicate send later (you will do this next from your UW email account)

  15. Go to your UW email account and wait for an email from Webex. In that email, copy the link from "Event address for attendees" and send to your participants along with instructions to click on the option to "Join by browser" not the "Join Now" button. The browser is the fastest, least troublesome way for everyone to get connected. Do not forward the entire email to the attendees as it has information that only the host should have.

  16. When you are ready to start, click on the "Start Event" button in the Webex email. This will take you to your UW Webex account to log in and start the meeting. If you don't have the email handy, log on to https://uwaterloo.webex.com and start the meeting from the Home page of your account.

  17. You will be prompted to add a plugin or "Run a temporary application" to join the meeting. Download and run the temporary application.

  18. Set your camera in the preview and start your meeting when you are ready. You can turn your camera and video off - the icons will be red.

  19. You can then share your screen or applications using the Share Content button.

  20. Attendees can connect and select their audio or video devices by clicking on the circle with the three dots below the screen. This will become active once the meeting has been started by you (the host).