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Discussion Manager – Troubleshooting

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Overview  

When opening & signing into the Discussion Manager App, a meeting must be active (started) by the Meeting Manager AND various credential and technical settings must be correct (within the Discussion Mgr App) in order for a Chair / Member to gain access to a meeting. Generally, these settings are established ONCE during OMT implementation & training and remain constant. You should then be able to sign-in to meetings with the Discussion Manager App routinely every time without issues. 

However, IF a Member is seeing problems (getting error messages) when trying to connect to a meeting, they are usually one of the following key issues.   

  • A Meeting is not Loaded or Active by the Meeting Manager 
  • The Member Username OR Password is not correct 
  • Network Settings are not correct 
  • The Discussion Mgr App abruptly closes / falls offline during a meeting 

We will describe each of the above issues, further below. 

If you need more information on downloading or setting-up the Discussion Mgr App for the first time, please select the following document links. 

Details / Sequence of Events 

A Meeting is not Loaded or Active by the Meeting Manager 

A meeting needs to be selected and LOADED by the Meeting Manager (using the OMT Meeting Manager Windows App) in order for the Member/s using the Discussion Manager App to connect to the meeting.  An analogy would be if you are meeting in person, but the meeting room doors are locked, waiting for the Clerk to open them.   

If you are early to the meeting and trying to sign-in (remotely or physically in the meeting room) using the Discussion Manager App, but the meeting has NOT yet been LOADED by the Clerk, you will see a message on the Discussion Mgr App screen as follows: 

Select the CLOSE button on the Top Right corner of the screen to exit the error message.  You will be taken back to the Sign-In screen shown below.  You can try to Sign-In again after you are informed that the Clerk has LOADED the meeting. 

The Member Username OR Password is not correct 

The Clerks Meeting Manager securely stores all the Member Usernames and Passwords, which are used to verify only authorized members may enter a meeting. The Username and Password on the Discussion Manager App must match those on the Clerks Meeting Manager.   

IF one of the following two error messages appear on the screen, you need to review your Username and Password to be sure they are correct and perhaps consult with the Clerk to be sure these are what are coded in the Meeting Manager.   

Select Sign-In Information on the left of either screen above, to review and/or change your Username and Password. The screen below will Appear. 

F the Username or Password look incorrect to you, you can input the correct values, and then select SAVE.  Then try to Sign-In to the Meeting again.  NOTE:  These fields are case-sensitive so your Username & Password must be keyed exactly as they were originally set-up if upper & lower case characters were used.  ALSO:  iOS (Apple) devices will always capitalize your first letter, so you may need to force this to lower case on the keyboard.  

IF you are still having issues with signing in and are unsure what these values should be, consult with the Clerk who can easily and quickly tell you what the values are in the Meeting Manager. What is keyed here (in the Discussion Manager App) must be exactly what is stored in the Clerks Meeting Manager.  

NOTE that certain special characters are not usable in the Username and Password field. To understand the use of special characters, please see the following document link: 

Network Settings are not correct 

If you are signing into a meeting with the Discussion Mgr App and get the following message, this means there is most likely an issue with the Network Host Address settings in the Discussion Mgr App, OR you are not connected properly to a strong location WiFi signal, OR perhaps something has changed (i.e., IT infrastructure changes) to the location security or network configuration.   

FIRST – Select the “Sign-In Information” option on the left and the following screen will display.  The issue will likely be one of the four settings below that may not be correct.  The Local or Remote Connection setting BUTTONS OR the Local or Remote Host ADDRESSES may need to be adjusted.  Check with your Clerk who may be able to proof if these are correct OR you may need to contact your IT Department for consultation.  The Address values below are “examples only” as every network is different. These local or remote address settings must comply with your organization’s specific network configuration.  

SECOND – IF it is confirmed that all four Host/Address settings are correct, Select the “Advanced Settings”option on the left and the following screen will display.  Here are more advanced Network Settings that may be the issue.  Typically the defaults (buttons on the left) work for most client environments.  However, IF your IT Security or infrastructure is customized differently, you may need to change these.  Your Clerk and/or IT Support Team will need to inform you how to set these. 

Advances Settings – Field Descriptions 

  • Port Setting – This establishes the Network Port that is used for the Discussion Mgr App connection.  If different than the default (8000) then key in the port that your IT Department informs you is the one to use. 
  • Connection Timeout – This is simply the time (in seconds) that the Discussion Mgr App will try to connect to the Meeting before it displays an error. IF your WiFi / Internet connection is slower than normal, you can correct the issue by setting this higher (15, 20, 30).  However, first consult with your IT Department before making these changes. 
  • Internet Requirement – This has to do with connecting to the external InterNet or an internal IntraNet.  Again, consult with your IT Department on this as they will know how this should be set-up.   

IF any changes are to any of the fields on this screen, always Select “Save” to update and save the desired changes. 

The Discussion Manager App abruptly closes / falls offline during a meeting 

If you’re successfully operating the Discussion Mgr App in a live meeting, it is possible to experience the Discussion Mgr App simply closing abruptly. This is most often due to a dropped WiFi signal or some type of Network interruption or timeout in your environment. This should not happen often or at all, but if it does seem to happen regularly, please have your support person contact Open Meeting Support to let us review this with you. It may also happen IF you accidentally press the X on the top right of the Discussion Mgr App Screen, which will close the App. 

IF the App should close while you are operating within a live Meeting (either intentionally or accidentally), simply find the Discussion Mgr App Icon again on your device. Select the DM icon to open the Discussion Mgr App and Sign-In again by pressing the blue Sign In button (below). Unless the internet connection is down or some larger network or WiFi technical issue has come up, you will automatically re-join the meeting in progress at the very place in the agenda that discussion is taking place. 

Notes / Special Situations  

For more information about the Discussion Mgr App, please see the following document links: 

If you are having issues that are not successfully addressed above, or you are not successful signing into Meeting Manager or the Discussion Mgr App, please call OpenMeeting Customer Support at 320.249.0555.   

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