You can invite your guests to your GatherPlace meeting in the same manner that you would a traditional face-to-face meeting by using your telephone, email, instant messenger or groupware software. The only difference is that you will be providing the virtual meeting link instead of the physical location of the meeting in your invitation. You can also add a link to your web page to provide access for your guests to join your meetings. Guests can also join your meeting from the GatherPlace website directly by clicking the Join button and entering the meeting number, their name, and email address.

For details on any of these methods, please see the appropriate sections below.

For details on using GP4 to invite your guests, see Using GP4 to Invite Guests to a Meeting below.
For details on using the website to invite guests via email, see the Using Email to Invite Guests from the Website section below.
For details on guests joining from the GatherPlace website directly, see the Guests Joining Directly From the GatherPlace WebSite section.




GP4 includes an Invite Wizard that allows you to invite your guests by telephone, Instant Messenger, or Email.
Clicking the button on the GP4 interface will open the Invite Wizard. Once the Wizard dialog is open, select the invitation method you would like to use.

For all methods, make sure you have the correct meeting selected from the drop-down menu of Available Meetings if you have more than one meeting (below).

Selecting the Meeting for the Invitation from the Available Meetings menu

1. Select the meeting you want to invite the guest(s) to from the Available Meetings menu.
   
   
2. Select the Invite someone over the Telephone option and click the Next button.
   
   
3. Follow the steps on the Invite Wizard dialog.

1. Select the meeting you want to invite the guest(s) to from the Available Meetings menu.
   
   
2. Select the Invite someone by Instant Messenger option and click the Next button.
   
   
3. Select the desired options check boxes. (This places the invitation on the clipboard, ready to be pasted into the IM).
   
   
4. Open your Instant Messenger client and initiate an Instant Message with your guest(s).
   
   
5. Paste the invitation into the Instant Message(s). Note: The keyboard shortcut to paste from the clipboard is the Ctrl and V keys pressed at the same time.
   
   
6. From there, your guests can click the link in the message and they will enter your meeting.

1. Select the meeting you want to invite the guest(s) to from the Available Meetings menu.
   
   
2. Select the Invite someone by Email option and click the Next button.
   
   
3. Select the desired options check boxes.
   
   
4. You now have two options.
   
   
   • Enter each guest's email address in the email field separated by commas and then click the Invite Now button.
     
     - OR -
     
     
   • Enter you own email address and click the Invite Now button. Then edit and forward the email to your guests from your email client.
   
   
5. If you are only inviting one or two guests, the first option will be the fastest option. However, if you are inviting a large group or have the guests already in your email address book, it will be easier to email it to yourself and then forward it to your guests using you own email client and address book.

From previous experience and user feedback, we recommend using the second option since many invitations are for meetings that will be held in the future and the email does not contain any date and time information about the meeting.
Also see the Email Tip below.


This method is typically used for ad-hoc, impromptu or on the fly meetings where the host and guest are on the phone and the host wants to host a meeting immediately.
In these cases, the host should start hosting the meeting and then direct the guest to the GatherPlace website at http://www.gatherplace.com/.
From there, the guest should click the Join a Meeting button and then enter the meeting Access Code, Name, and Email Address in the fields and then click the Join button.
If this is the first time the guest has joined a GatherPlace meeting, they will be directed to a Java test page and from there, they should be brought into the meeting.

1. Go to the GatherPlace web site, click on the My Account tab and then click the Plan a Meeting graphic.
   
   
2. Click the Email Me link next to the meeting you want to invite your guests to. This will email an invitation to the email address on file for your GatherPlace account.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Open your email client and find the GatherPlace invitation. Note: The sender will be listed as GatherPlace Mailbot.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Edit the invitation as needed. Don't forget to include the date and time if the meeting will be hosted in the future.
   
   
5. Add the recipients and send the message to your guests.

Also see the Tip below on email invitations.

Since GatherPlace planned meetings never expire, you can re-use the same GatherPlace meeting for all of your online meetings.
That way you can use the same email invitation again and again each time you need to invite guests to the meeting.

To do this, simply email the invitation to your own email account and save it as a draft.
Then, each time you need to invite others to a meeting, just open the invite in the drafts folder, edit the salutation, add the date and time and send it to the desired recipients.

This way you always have the invite available and the guests will see your name and email listed as the sender so they won't be hesitant to open it.
Plus, if you have successfully emailed the guest previously, their SPAM filters shouldn't block the invitation.

For information on creating a link, button or form on your web site to allow guests to join your meetings, please see the HTML Guide on the GatherPlace Integration page located at: http://www.gatherplace.com/gp/integrate.jsp.