HELP FILE

How do I let attendees start my meeting without me? (Classic)

    As an organizer, you can “open” your meeting and let attendees start and run it without you. If you’d like your attendees to share their screen, you must allow them to share without permission from your settings. Note that you can only have one meeting running at a time, even if an attendee has started the meeting on your behalf.

    Note: This setting is only available when scheduling from the web.
    Attention: There are known issues with the Allow attendees to start the meeting without you setting in the new GoTo experience. If you have opted in to the new GoTo, please disable the setting.
    1. Sign in to your account at https://global.gotomeeting.com.
    2. Schedule a new meeting or click the Pen icon in an existing one to edit.
    3. Click the More tab.
    4. Check the "Allow attendees to start the meeting" box and click Save.

    Limitations and FAQs

    What will my attendees see

    If you opened your meeting, the first attendee to join will start it. Attendees may see the Hallway (“Waiting for organizer” screen) for a brief moment and will be launched into session. In the Attendee pane, they will see “Organizer not present” listed as the organizer’s name. Attendees will be able to share their screen to other participants as long as the organizer has allowed attendees to present without permission.

    Once the organizer joins the session, “Organizer not present” will be replaced with your name. Note that attendees will still only have attendee rights.

    What are the known limitations for this feature?

    There are some limitations with this feature. Limitations include:

    • Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar plugin support
    • Ability to enable this meeting setting while scheduling from the desktop app
    • External API support
    • GoTo Room with Dolby Voice support
    • GoToMeet.Me meeting support
    • Organizer controls from a GoTo Room device

    What if my attendee has started my session and I join without being signed in to my GoTo Meeting account?

    You won’t have organizer rights and will see missing features including:

    • Ability to record.
    • Mute and dismiss attendees.
    • Promote participants.
    • End the meeting.
    • Ability to edit meeting and attendee settings (e.g., allow chat, visibility of attendee list).
    • Ability to report audio issues.

    The current workaround is to end the meeting from your web account, log in from the desktop app, and join the meeting again.

    Why can’t I join my own meeting that has been started by an attendee?

    There are a couple reasons why you cannot join your meeting.

    • Your meeting may have reached its attendee limit. ⁠— The attendee limit depends on the subscription plan you have. We are working on allowing scheduling organizers to join the meeting even if the attendee limit has been reached. The current workaround is the end the meeting from your web account and start your next meeting again.
    • A session may already be running. — You cannot run two meetings simultaneously. If an attendee has started one of your meetings, you will have to join the session and end it for all participants or end the meeting from your web account and start your next meeting.

    Can I password protect a meeting that an attendee starts?

    No, because organizers are prompted to enter the meeting password when they launch the session.

    What if I don’t have the “open presenter” setting enabled?

    Attendees will not be able to share their screen unless an organizer or co-organizer has joined.

    Who will be charged for toll-free and Call Me charges?

    All charges are applied to the organizer account.

    Are there potential fraudulent implications?

    Yes. Only send meeting invites to desired attendees. If you experience any unwanted use of toll-free and Call Me usage or spam, please review our Terms of Service.

    What happens when one of my attendees start the meeting from a phone (PSTN or toll-free)?

    If the first attendee joins via telephone (PSTN or toll-free), they will be notified that they are the first participant and that the conference will begin when a second attendee joins.