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GoToMeeting Desktop App

Organizer Guide for Windows

Get started with the Control Panel & Grab Tab

GoToMeeting Website QuickStart (4:56)

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1Log in to start

In order to use the desktop app to host a meeting, you'll need to log in using your GoToMeeting username (email address) and password.


  • If you are trying to start your own meeting and end up in the Hallway (shown on the right), click Sign in now to enter your organizer credentials and launch the meeting.
  • Note that your attendees don't need to log in to join your meeting (with the exception of password-protected meetings).

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Need to change the email address or password that you use to log in? No problem! Just go to https://secure.citrixonline.com/myAccount.tmpl and click Edit next to Login Info. Learn more.
We all forget things sometimes. When it comes to your GoToMeeting password, you can easily reset it any time. Learn more.

Q:

Why am I getting an "invalid email address or password" error message?

It sounds like you might be encountering some issues! Most likely you are entering the wrong email address or password, but it's also possible that your account is suspended or lapsed. Learn more.

Q:

Why didn't I get my "Reset Password" email?

If you're trying to reset your password but aren't getting the email, there are a few things that might be happening - you might be using the wrong email address, it might be getting caught in your spam folder, or you might not have an account at all. Learn more.

Q:

Why am I being asked to log in?

Not sure why you're being asked to log in at all? You'll need to log in to schedule or start a meeting, but not to join one. It's possible you don't need to log in at all, depending on what you're trying to do. Learn more.

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2Set up your audio

When you first join, you'll be prompted to choose which method you'd like to use to listen to the meeting audio.


  • Select Computer audio to use your computer's mic and speakers.
  • Select Phone call to use your telephone to dial in to the audio conference.

Once you're in the session, you will see your audio controls on the Audio tab. You can switch audio modes at any time.

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If you select computer audio, you can use the next screen to test your audio devices. Speak into the microphone to see the audio meter light up, and click Test your sound to hear a test sound play through your speakers. Learn more.
The Audio Pin is a unique code that lets GoToMeeting link your phone call with your GoToMeeting Control Panel. This allows you to mute and unmute yourself using the Audio button rather than your telephone keypad, and it also ensures other participants will be able to see when you are speaking. Learn more.

  1. To learn your Audio PIN, check the Audio section of the Control Panel (in the desktop app).
  2. When prompted, enter your Audio PIN using your telephone keypad. If you are already connected to session audio, enter a # before and after the PIN.

Q:

Why do I see "View audio options" in the Audio pane?

If you don't see the Computer or Phone audio controls on the Audio tab, that means that you haven't yet selected an audio mode. It's possible that the "Choose an audio option" window is hidden behind another application, so try minimizing other windows until you see the one shown at the right. Then select an audio option to continue.

Q:

Why can't I connect to audio?

First, make sure you have the right option selected in the Audio pane (shown on the right). For example, if you want to dial in using your telephone but you still have "Computer audio" selected, you won't be able to connect properly.

Still having issues? See our full Audio FAQs.

Q:

Why can't anyone hear me?

Most attendees are muted by default when they first join. Make sure the Audio icon at the top of your Control Panel is glowing green, and that your microphone or telephone's mute button is not on as well.

Still having issues? Learn more.

Q:

Why don't I see the "Computer audio" and/or "Phone call" options?

If your Audio pane doesn't look like the one shown to the right, it's possible that the organizer disabled one or both of GoToMeeting's built-in audio options (for example, they might have made it a Computer audio-only meeting, with no phone numbers provided). They might even have provided custom audio information, in which case you should follow the instructions they provided in the Audio pane.

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3Mute & unmute

Control your audio using the Audio button at the top of your Control Panel or Grab Tab, which will glow green when you are unmuted and others can hear you. You'll see a Mic icon for Computer audio, or a Phone icon for phone call audio.


You can also switch between Computer and Phone audio if needed by opening the Audio pane in the Control Panel.

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Q:

Why is my Audio button grayed out?

If your Audio button is not red or green, there are a few possible reasons why.
  • You are not properly connected to the audio conference. See Step #1 above for directions on connecting and Audio FAQs.
  • As the scheduling organizer, you may have provided third-party conference call audio instead of using GoToMeeting's built-in audio. In this case, you will not be able to control muting/unmuting from your Control Panel.

Q:

Why can't I mute myself?

If you are successfully connected to audio but clicking the green Audio button won't mute your audio feed, there are a few possible reasons why.
  • You connected by dialing in with your telephone, but you did not enter your Audio PIN (listed under the phone numbers in the Audio pane). Without it, the Control Panel can't control your phone's audio feed.
  • You connected using Computer audio, but there is a connection issue. Try opening the Audio pane and switching to Phone call audio, then switching back to Computer audio to reset the audio connection.

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4Manage attendees

The Attendees pane lets you see all the participants in your meeting and gives you access to GoToMeeting controls.

Click the Arrow icon next to any participant's name to see all options, including the following:


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If desired, you can hide the Attendee and/or Chat panes from a particular attendee's Control Panel. You can also do this for all attendees at once using the GoToMeeting drop-down menu at the top, in which case you could use the Attendees pane to unhide them for particular attendees.
You can politely excuse an attendee from a meeting by selecting Dismiss <attendee>. If you select this, their desktop app will immediately exit the meeting and end their audio and video connection, and they will see a message notifying them that they were excused. Learn more.

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5Invite others

All that your attendees need to join the meeting is the Join URL or the 9-digit meeting ID. You can quickly see and copy these things to your clipboard in the following places:


  • In the Attendees pane, click Invite at the bottom right. This will open the Invite People window, where you can copy the URL or generate an email invitation.
  • Click the Meeting ID text at the very bottom of the Control Panel. This will open a drop-down menu with multiple options for sending info to your attendees.

6Share your webcam

Smile! You can start, pause and stop sharing your webcam all using the Webcam icon in your Control Panel or Grab Tab.

Want to preview your webcam feed first?
We know that you want to look your best! Just open the Webcam pane in your Control Panel (shown on the right). You will instantly see a preview of your webcam feed on the Webcam tab.

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To help save some space on your screen (or to help improve your internet speed), you can hide the webcams that are being shared.
  1. Click the Options icon in your Webcam pane.
  2. Select Hide All Webcams. You can also select Hide My Webcam in the same menu, but keep in mind that this does not stop your webcam feed from broadcasting to other attendees - it just hides it from your screen.
You can see advanced webcam options (zoom, brightness exposure) in the GoToMeeting Preferences window.

  1. Click the Options icon in your Webcam pane.
  2. Select Preferences.
Sometimes it's easier to focus if your webcams are on a separate screen! You can undock the webcams from your Viewer window and move them independently around your screen by clicking the Options icon in your Webcam pane and selecting Undock webcams.

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7Share your screen

You can share your screen or even a specific application with the other attendees in the meeting. Use the Screen button in your Control Panel or Grab Tab to quickly start and stop sharing the screen of your main monitor.


» Open the Screen tab to see additional options:


  • Use the Start sharing my drop-down menu to share a different monitor or even a specific application (such as Powerpoint).
  • Use the Change Presenter to menu to transfer the presenter controls to another person.
  • Use the Share keyboard & mouse with menu to allow other attendees to control the mouse and keyboard on the screen you are sharing.

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Drawing tools can help you illustrate your point - and when everyone joins in on the fun, collaboration gets a big boost. Click the Options icon at the far-right of the Drawing Tools pane, and turn the Attendees can draw option to "On".

Q:

Why don't I see the Drawing Tools pane?

For some Windows users, the Drawing Tools pane is hidden by default (this happens when your monitor display settings are not optimal for drawing tools). To show the pane, click GoToMeeting at the top of the Control Panel and select Drawing Tools > Open. Then click Yes when prompted.
If you'd like to freeze the broadcast of your screen rather than stopping it altogether, you can hover your mouse over the Screen button until you see a Pause icon appear below it. Use the Pause button to pause and restart the live broadcast.

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8Chat with others

The Control Panel includes a Chat pane where you can exchange messages with other attendees. You'll see message notifications appear if your Control Panel is minimized to the Grab Tab.


» Use the To drop-down menu to select your recipients:

  • Select Everyone to send a public message to all participants.
  • Select Organizer(s) only to send a message only to organizers and co-organizers.
  • Select a specific individual to send a private message to just that person.

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You can save a .RTF file of the transcript by clicking GoToMeeting in the top menu, then selecting Save Chat Log. When prompted, select a place on your computer to save the file and click Save.

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9Record your meeting

GoToMeeting allows you to record your meetings (including shared screens and audio) and convert them to a shareable format. This allows you to easily share past meetings with others. Learn more.

  • Click Record this meeting at the bottom of the Control Panel to get started.
  • Once your meeting is over, the Recording Manager will automatically prompt you to convert the recording.

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You can stop recording any time by clicking the same spot at the bottom of the Control Panel. You can then re-start, or leave the recording off.
Your raw recording files are saved to the computer, where they are stored and ready to be converted to a shareable format. You can see where your recordings are stored by going to GoToMeeting Preferences > Recording. Learn more.

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10Minimize to Grab Tab

To save valuable space on your computer screen, you can collapse the full Control Panel into a small Grab Tab that will automatically "cling" to the sides of your screen. Use the Arrow icons to collapse and expand the Control Panel.

  • Retain easy access to the Audio, Screen and Webcam buttons.
  • Get new chat notifications when messages come in.
  • Click the Attendees or Chat icons to expand only those panes.

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You can rearrange the order in which the various panes appear in the Control Panel, and even split out one or more of them to be moved about your screen separately - just drag and drop the panes where you want them.
The Viewer is the application window that shows you the presenter's shared screen. You'll also notice that it includes multiple tools in the upper toolbar, including webcam controls, the ability to rearrange its location and a Camera icon that allows you to take a screenshot of the currently shared screen.
Sometimes it can be helpful to split out shared webcams from the main Viewer window so you can focus on the parts you want most. Select Undock webcams in the Webcams menu of the Viewer or Webcam pane.

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11Explore other tools

The GoToMeeting menu offers additional features and tools for you to use during you session, including checking your sound, saving your chat log and configuring your application preferences.


To access the drop-down menu, click GoToMeeting at the top of your Control Panel.

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This option will change the name and email address that is displayed to everyone in the Attendees pane (as well as the "Talking" section at the top of the Control Panel).
You can change the display language of the GoToMeeting Control Panel to Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese or English.
All other settings for GoToMeeting can be accessed from the main Preferences window. Select Preferences to open the window.

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12Need more help?

Need some more help getting the most out of GoToMeeting? See these additional resources to learn more.

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Having some installation issues? There are a few different things that might be preventing you from downloading the GoToMeeting desktop software.
  1. Check your system's compatibility. Your computer's operating system must meet certain requirements in order to run the software. Make sure yours doesn't have any limitations on our System Check page.
  2. Try again and watch out for permissions requests. In order for GoToMeeting to properly install itself on your computer, you have to grant it permission to access your system. The ways in which you'll be asked to do so will vary depending on your web browser and operating system, so click your Join link again and then select the article that applies to you below.
GoToMeeting offers multiple methods for getting into session to make sure that you are able to join whenever and wherever you want. This particular guide applies to the GoToMeeting desktop app for Windows computers. If it doesn't look the same as what you see on your screen, please select one of the following.

Q:

Did you join with a mobile device?

If you used an iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet or a Windows Phone to connect, you likely are using one of our mobile apps. Select the right one below:

Q:

Did you join from a Mac computer?

No problem! As long as your computer meets the desktop software's system requirements, then you'll be able to use it to join the session and have access to all the same features and tools shown above (although they will look a little different). Learn more about the Mac Control Panel here.

Q:

Did you join from a Windows computer, but it looks different than what's shown above?

Depending on the organizer's account settings and the operating system of your computer, you may have instantly joined the session using your your web browser, which allows you to join quickly without installing the full desktop software. Take a look at the resources below to learn more about joining sessions using the Web App.
If you do not have your own GoToMeeting account and someone invited you, you are an attendee. please see our Attendee User Guide to learn more.

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Didn't find what you were looking for?

If you're a Mac organizer, see our Mac Guide.

If you're an attendee in someone else's meeting, see our Windows Attendee Guide or Mac Attendee Guide.