Webex: Participants Auto-Join Breakout Sessions

Owned by Dan Jakubiak
Last updated: Mar 12, 2022 by Sarah Nguyen (Deactivated)
3 min read

With certain options and practices in mind, it is possible to have Participants automatically join their Breakout Session and forgo joining the main session. This has the potential of increasing privacy in the main session. Please see the Notes below.

When preassigning participants, they must join using the same email address that you used to invite them. This is how Webex recognizes them. If they join with a different address, they will appear twice in the Breakout Session manager: once as a preassigned entity, and again as their actual presence. The avoid this, be sure to instruct users to join with their UConn email address if available.

In the case that a Participant joins with a different email address, they will enter into the main session. Be sure to use the Room Lock tool to prevent inadvertent joins. Participants joining a locked room will be placed in the lobby; this allows you time to admit and move them appropriately. Participants will be removed from the meeting if they are not admitted from the lobby within 6 hours. To learn more, please review our guide for Locking the Webex Room.

Before the Meeting

While creating the meeting on the UConn Webex site, you must pre-assign the participants that you would like to be in breakout sessions. Those who will remain in the main session should not be pre-assigned. 

  1. Navigate to the UConn Webex site and create your meeting by clicking on Schedule a meeting.

  2. Fill in all the details of your meeting as you normally would.

  3. Click on Show advanced options and then Scheduling options.

  4. Check the box to Enable breakout sessions and then click on Preassign breakout sessions.

  5. Choose how many sessions you would like to have and if the sort should be automatic or manual.

  6. Add the necessary Participants to their breakout sessions. Leave unassigned those who will remain in the main session.

  7. Click on Schedule or Start (the "Schedule" button will instead say "Start" if the meeting is scheduled to begin soon).

During the Meeting

It is important to follow these steps before your preassigned Participants join.

  1. After starting the meeting, click on the Breakout sessions button along the bottom toolbar.

    breakout sessions button

  2. Open the breakout session settings by clicking on the Settings button. Ensure the first two checkboxes are not checked.

    settings

  3. Begin the breakout sessions.

Your Participants will now automatically join into their assigned breakout sessions. 

Ending the Session

When ending the meeting, be aware of your choice.

  1. You may end the meeting by ending the breakout sessions and then terminating.

    1. This will join everyone together in the main session.

  2. You may end the breakout sessions and the meeting itself at the same time without convening.

    1. Without ending the breakout sessions, click on the red X to end the meeting. 

    2. Note: You will need to close the Breakout Session Manager if it is open on your screen.

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