Do you find yourself using GoToMeeting or some other similar screen sharing application? Do you hate its corporate feel? Do you want something a little friendlier for your meeting?
How about a full blown free screen sharing application that includes file transfer and remote control?
This is cross platform and works on Windows and Macs. The presenter simply downloads the 1.3MB Windows installer file and runs it on the machine that they want to share.
(You can also grab Mikogo’s Mac installer here).
You do need to sign up for a free account as well ““ but the person you are sharing your screen with does not.
You can download the application first or set up your account first ““ it does not matter. Either which way after you have an account password (it will be emailed to you) and the program running in your system tray you can go ahead and click on ‘settings’.
There are 4 basic pages to Mikogo’s settings. The only thing you REALLY need to fill out is the user name, password and your display name in the first page as seen below.
The second page is how you can define what is shared. If you want to share everything you do not have to worry about these options. If you want any applications opened after the connection not to be shared simply un-check the box at the top to ‘Show new applications’.
The third page is self explanatory and just has settings for what is displayed if you pause the meeting and a storage path to record your meeting. There is also a box to apply a password to your meeting.
The last settings page allows you to setup your proxy or connection. If you have a normal setup you can safely bypass these settings.
When you are done with your settings you can choose ‘start a meeting’ from your system tray. You will see the following screen and then the confirmation that the meeting has started.
You will then be given your meeting ID number and basic information on how to get your participants to connect to your session.
Then you instruct your user to go to the Mikogo website and click ‘Join a meeting’. They will download a small file and then will see this screen. Have them type in your meeting ID as well as a display name for them.
That’s it – they now see your screen. You can also give them control of your mouse and keyboard as well as initiate a file transfer.
Do you have another free screen sharing tool? Is it better than Mikogo? Let us know in the comments.
Tagged: collaboration • desktop sharing • remote access • remote control • Skype
