FAQ

Installation

What operating systems can alfaview be used with?
alfaview can be used with all standard operating systems: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and iPadOS. You can find the concrete system and network requirements in our Support Center.
How do I install alfaview?
You can download alfaview free of charge in the download section. iPad and iPhone versions are available in the Apple App Store. A version for Android smartphones and tablets is available in the Google Play Store. Follow the instructions in the installation process and you will be ready to start your first online meeting with alfaview in just a few minutes.
Can I also use alfaview in my browser?
Yes, you can also use alfaview in standard browsers without downloading the software. The following browsers are currently supported: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome.
What are the system and network requirements?
alfaview can be used with standard desktop computers or laptops, as well as the latest smartphones and tablets. You can find the concrete system and network requirements in our Support Center.
Can I join a video conference on my smartphone?
Yes, it is possible to join using a mobile device with the corresponding app. With the app on your smartphone, you can use alfaview the same way you would with a laptop or tablet and participate in any meeting.

Registration and managing your user account

Do I need a user account to use alfaview?
As the owner of an alfaview room, you will need your own user account to manage your rooms. You can create user profiles for your employees or students. When you invite guests to attend a meeting with a guest or group link, they do not need to have their own user profile.
How do I create a user account?
If you would like to use alfaview for personal use, you can create a free user account with our alfaview Free plan.
To use alfaview for business, you can test alfaview free of charge with our alfaview Free 500 Special plan or subscribe to a plan to create a user account.
Do all persons invited to an online meeting need their own user account?
No. If you invite your guests via guest or group link, they can join the online meeting without registering beforehand.
How do I access the room management dashboard?
On our website, you can access the room management dashboard under the Login menu item. In the alfaview app, you can open the room management dashboard through the list of participants. Right-click on the room name to select “Manage room” and open the management dashboard.
How do I edit my user profile?
On our website, you can access your user profile under the Login menu item.
How do I delete my user profile?
Your user profile is linked to one or more alfaview accounts. To delete your user profile, you have to exit all linked alfaview accounts. You can do this on the management dashboard. You will no longer have access to the rooms you have been using.
How do I delete my user account?
If you wish to have your user account and all rooms deleted, please contact the alfaview team.

Organization of virtual rooms

What is an alfaview room?
alfaview is based on a room concept. Imagine your physical office premises being reproduced one-to-one online. You can invite colleagues to come here, you can hold meetings, or work together in a team. Each room is continuously displayed and available around the clock. Rooms can be organized into departments to provide a better general overview. Each room contains 50 subgroups/breakout rooms that can be used in parallel.
What are breakout rooms?
Each alfaview room contains 50 subgroups for parallel use that can be renamed as desired and used as breakout rooms. Breakout rooms/subgroups are the ideal place for confidential discussions, learning in small groups, or matchmaking.
How do I create my own room structure?
As an admin, you can customize your room structure to suit your needs. You can create and edit departments and rooms with the corresponding access permissions in your user account. We are happy to help you create your room structure.
How many participants fit in a room?
The number of possible participants depends on your plan. Each alfaview room can have several hundred participants (with video and audio), plus an additional 1,000+ spectators (whose audio and video are not shared) online at the same time.
Is it possible to switch rooms in the app?
Yes, users who have their own user profile can switch rooms using the room list within alfaview at any time without leaving the app. Guests need an active invitation link for each room to get access to the respective room and to switch rooms. Personalized guest links or public group links can be used here.
Can I lock an alfaview room to only grant access to certain people?
Yes, you can activate a waiting room for each room and decide for yourself who you wish to grant access to.
You can also hold confidential discussions in temporary meeting rooms. Only people who have been invited can see and enter the meeting room.
Alternatively, you can use different permission groups to define who is granted access to which rooms and which permissions the respective individuals have within these rooms.
What happens to my room after a meeting/event?
Because alfaview is room-based, the rooms continue to exist even when all participants exit the rooms. The rooms are available 24/7.
Temporary meeting rooms are the only rooms that are available exclusively for the duration of the meeting.
How and where do I manage my rooms?
You can use the room management dashboard of your user account:
  • Create departments and rooms
  • Rename departments and rooms
  • Invite participants to your rooms
  • Assign permissions
  • Rename subgroups
What features does the alfaview waiting room offer?
Participants enter a waiting room first if this feature is activated. Admins and moderators then decide when the people waiting may enter the room. You can choose between admitting individual participants one by one, or admitting everyone at the same time. The people waiting cannot see who else is in the waiting room and cannot interact with one another.

Planning and organizing an online meeting

How do I start a video conference?
You don’t need to open a new room each time you want to start meetings or events in alfaview. Your rooms are always available to you. You can invite guests using a guest link or a group link.
You can also hold confidential discussions in locked meeting rooms. To do this, create a meeting with a start and end date and invite participants or guests. These meeting rooms are only temporarily available for the duration of the meeting.
How do I invite people to my alfaview room?
Users who already have access permission for the room in question can enter it at any time.
Everyone else needs an invitation link. You can use a personalized guest link to invite specific individuals or a public group link to invite as many people as you want to your video conference. Your guests do not need to have their own user profiles.
You can limit the validity of the invitation link by setting a starting time and a time for the link to expire. Then guests can only enter your room starting at the specified start time, and no longer have access to the room after the specified expiry time.
Does each person need their own alfaview account to enter my room?
No, guests can also join the online meeting without having their own user profile by clicking on an invitation link.
How many people can participate in an online meeting at the same time?
With alfaview, 500 people or more can participate in an online meeting with video and audio at the same time. The number of participants and spectators per room depends on the plan you selected.
Can spectators also participate?
Yes, spectators can also participate in your online meeting. They see and hear the speakers and participants, but their own audio and video is not streamed. Spectators can actively participate in the online meeting in the chat.
Can I see and hear everyone in the online meeting?
Yes, all video images of the participants are displayed simultaneously. You can also hear all the participants.
Spectators can also see and hear participants, but their personal audio and video is not streamed.
What roles can I assign to the individual users/user profiles?
Users can be assigned different roles, with the roles having different permissions: admins, moderators, participants, guests, spectators. You can find the permissions of the individual roles in our Support Center.
What features are available to moderators?
Moderators have access to additional features to run the meeting. For example, they can grant participants certain permissions (camera, microphone, screen sharing) and revoke them as well. You can find more useful moderation features here.
Can moderators mute individual people?
Yes, moderators can mute participants with one click by revoking their permission to use their microphone.
Can moderators block the video image streaming of individual people?
Yes, moderators can revoke participants’ permission to use their camera, interrupting and preventing the streaming of their video image.
How many moderators can be designated per room?
You can designate as many moderators as you wish in an alfaview room – there is no limit.

Features

Can I turn off my camera?
Yes. You can deactivate your camera before entering the alfaview room and during the online meeting. Our policy is “I see you and you see me,” so if you deactivate your camera, you will not be able to see the other participants. Activate “Camera to VIP only” to stream your video only to VIPs. Only the videos of the VIPs are shown to you. This way, alfaview enables and fosters emancipative, equitable, democratic, and barrier-free communication.
Can I record a meeting?
A GDPR-compliant recording feature is currently under development. Until it is available, you can use third-party products. We are happy to help you.
Can I do a survey, poll or hold a vote?
Yes, the polling tool can be activated using the toolbox and made available to the participants in the room.
Can I use my own tools or apps in alfaview?
Yes. As long as they can be accessed with a web link, you can integrate as many tools as you wish in the alfaview toolbox, such as a file sharing tool, a quiz, or external links to your organization’s website, for example.
Can I upload files and share them with others?
Yes, third-party file sharing tools can be integrated using the toolbox. We are happy to help you.
Is the chat history saved?
No, chat messages are not saved or forwarded by alfaview. As a moderator or an admin, you can copy the history of the group chat to the clipboard as long as you are still in the room if you want to follow up on your online meeting.
Is it possible to blur my background?
Yes, you can blur your background. You can decide on the level of blurring yourself.
Can I use a document camera in alfaview?
Yes, the second camera can be used as a document camera.
Can I show other participants a program on my desktop?
Yes, with screen sharing you can either share your entire screen, a section of it, or a specific application. alfaview allows an unlimited number of parallel screen shares, including audio.
How do I signal that I have a question?
You can virtually raise your hand to indicate that you have a question.
Alternatively, you can use the group chat or a private short message to indicate that you would like to say something.
Can I work on a project with other participants at the same time?
Yes, you can work on content together on the whiteboard. Additional tools for collaboration can be integrated using the toolbox.
Can speakers be highlighted visually?
Yes, you can highlight speakers or moderators by tagging them with a VIP star. VIPs are displayed on a larger scale and in the top position in the room. The participants have the option of separating the image of the VIP and displaying it in a larger size in a separate window or dragging it to a second monitor. Multiple people can be highlighted at the same time.
You can also switch between gallery view and speaker view. In speaker view, the video image of the person speaking is automatically displayed larger.
What features does alfaview offer for international or multilingual events?
alfaview offers live translation into almost every language in the world. In addition, any number of simultaneous interpreters can be integrated to translate what is being said live into the desired languages. We also offer a multilingual user interface.
Can I log the attendance of participants?
Yes. People who enter the alfaview room can be logged in an attendance list. Moderators can download this list for documentation purposes.
What happens when I click on the coffee cup?
If you want to leave your seat for a moment during an online meeting, you can use this button to take a break. Your video and audio transmission will be paused.
Can I integrate alfaview into my existing infrastructure (such as Moodle)?
Yes, an API is available and offers several integration standards. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
What features does alfaview offer for holding exams?
alfaview offers numerous features for holding exams, including attendance lists, waiting rooms, personalized invitation links that are only valid for a limited time, and the option of only sharing screen content with the examiners or exam proctors. With alfaview, exams can be carried out securely and in line with the requirements of the testing body.

Accessibility

What does accessibility mean at alfaview?
alfaview stands for successful accessible digital communication. Our aim is to give people with disabilities equitable access to our communication.
What options does alfaview offer for better accessibility?
alfaview offers many settings and features for accessibility, including numerous screen reader options, a high-contrast and motion-reduced user interface display, various keyboard shortcuts and keyboard navigation enabling the use of alfaview without a mouse.
Does alfaview comply with WCAG guidelines?
When developing the accessibility features, we followed the recommendations of WCAG 2.1 AA and AAA as guidelines.
What features does alfaview offer to support people with hearing impairments?
For people with hearing impairments, sign language interpreters can be visually highlighted and shown in a larger scale as VIPs. If no sign language interpreters are available, people with hearing impairments can also follow the discussion using live transcription.
Does alfaview support subtitles for the hearing impaired?
With live transcription, what is being said is transcribed in real time on a separate list on the side so that people with hearing impairments can also participate in meetings and events using alfaview without any problems.
Does alfaview support the use of sign language interpreters?
Yes, for people with hearing impairments, sign language interpreters can be visually highlighted and shown in a larger scale as VIPs. If no sign language interpreters are available, people with hearing impairments can also follow the meetings or lectures in alfaview using live transcription.
Can alfaview also be used without a mouse?
Yes, alfaview can be accessed using a keyboard. Using keyboard navigation, users can use alfaview quickly and easily even without a mouse. Interactions with alfaview can be sped up with user-friendly keyboard shortcuts.
What are the important keyboard shortcuts for use without a mouse?
You can find a list of all keyboard shortcuts in our Support Center.
What options does alfaview offer users with visual impairments?
To facilitate accessibility for people with visual impairments, alfaview offers comprehensive support for screen reader applications. Users who rely on screen readers can navigate through alfaview, participate in meetings, and be informed about events via voice output in the meeting. In addition, the main features of alfaview can be used with keyboard shortcuts. The font size of the user interface and the chat can be changed. Screen shares, video from the second camera or video images from VIPs can be separated and displayed larger in a separate window. People who are sensitive to glare can use the dark mode of the user interface.
Does alfaview support settings for a high contrast or a dark mode?
Yes, alfaview has light and dark display mode versions, as well as a high-contrast design to increase the readability of texts and the recognition of operating elements.
Does alfaview allow the font size to be changed?
Yes, alfaview allows you to change the font size of the chat, private short messages, and the user interface.

Pricing/plans

Can I use alfaview free of charge?
Yes, as a private individual you can use alfaview free of charge with our alfaview Free plan. Business customers can test alfaview free of charge for 30 days with our alfaview Free 500 Special plan. A valid license is required for regular use in the non-private sector.
Can I test alfaview free of charge?
Yes, you can test alfaview free of charge for 30 days with our alfaview Free 500 Special plan. A valid license is required for regular use in the non-private sector.
Do all participants need to have their own license?
No, licenses are not purchased for participants, they are purchased for rooms with a specific participant capacity. You can find the number of participants per booked room in your plan.
Are the costs charged per participant or per room?
The costs are calculated per booked room.
How many breakout rooms do I have available?
Every plan provides you with 50 breakout rooms per alfaview room that can be used in parallel.
How many temporary meeting rooms do I have available?
With our alfaview Business 500, alfaview Non-Profit 500, and alfaview Education 500 plans, an additional license for a temporary meeting room is available for each room booked.
Can I combine rooms with different sizes in one package?
Yes. We will be happy to advise you and work with you to create your own individual room structure.
What payment options do you offer?
Depending on the duration of the chosen contract, you pay monthly, annually, or as a one-off payment in advance. We offer payment by invoice or SEPA direct debit.
Are there discounted prices for non-profit organizations and educational institutions?
Yes, non-profit organizations and educational institutions can use alfaview under more favorable conditions. You can find the prices in the Pricing overview.

Additional questions

Who do I contact if I am interested in alfaview?
Please contact us using the contact form. You can also reach us by email at info@alfaview.com or by phone at +49 721 35450-450.
Can I make an appointment for a free demonstration?
Yes, we are happy to advise you and show you the many features and functions of alfaview. Please contact us to set up an appointment.
Can I book an alfaview training course?
Yes, we are happy to show you how you can optimally use alfaview. Please set up an appointment with us.
Is live support possible during a virtual event?
Yes. During your event, the alfaview team will support the participants, speakers, and organizers by answering questions about alfaview. We will be happy to answer your questions in alfaview (virtual help desk/information center) or by phone. If desired, we are also happy to take over the management of your event, allowing you to dedicate yourself completely to your event.
Who do I contact if I have technical problems with alfaview?
If you have any technical issues, please contact our support team by sending an email to support@alfaview.com or calling us at +49 721 35450-450.
Where can I get information on current service disruptions?
You can find an overview of current service disruptions on our status page.
Is alfaview GDPR-compliant?
Yes, alfaview is 100 % GDPR-compliant. This has also been confirmed by the data protection authorities in Berlin and Baden-Württemberg.
What certifications does alfaview have?
alfaview has the following certifications:
  • ISO 9001
  • ISO 27001

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