The Meet Now feature has existed for quite a while, but during the Coronavirus pandemic, Microsoft has pushed the feature with an easy-to-use website.
Now, you can just visit Skype’s conference call page, sign in with your account, create a free meeting, and instantly generate a link. When your colleague clicks on the link, they’ll be able to join the call directly in the browser (as long as they’re using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge).
Recipients won’t need to download the Skype app or even sign in with an account. If they want, they can open the meeting in the Skype app, but that’s not mandatory.
To set up a Skype video conference, open the Skype Meeting page. Here, make sure that you’re logged in with your primary Skype account and then click on the “Create A Free Meeting” button.
The Skype website will instantly create a unique link (which uses randomized numbers and characters, and is more secure that Zoom’s public links).
Click on the Copy button to add the link to your clipboard.
Alternatively, if you want to invite a team using email, you can click on the “Share Invite” button and then choose the “Outlook Mail” or “Gmail” options.
When a participant opens the link in their browser, they’ll be asked if they want to directly open the Skype app. If they click on the “Open Skype” button, it will open the meeting group in the Skype app directly.
But they don’t need to do that. They can click on the “Cancel” option to join as a guest.
Once the popup disappears, they can click on the “Join As Guest” option.
The participant can now enter their name and then click on the “Join” button to instantly join the meeting group in the browser (again, this only works on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge).
Once everyone has joined the meeting, you can just click on the “Start Call” button.
You’ll again see the option to copy the invite link or to invite people. Click on the “Start Call” button again to begin the video call.
You can use the “Share Call Link” option to share the link to the video call any time during the conversation.
By default, Skype will label the conversation “Meet Now.” To rename the conversation, right-click on the conversation from the sidebar and choose the “Manage Group ” option.
Here, click on the Edit button next to the meeting name to change it.
Once you’re done with the meeting and you want to delete it, right-click on the conversation and choose the “Delete Conversation” option. You can also leave the group itself by clicking on the “Leave Group” option.
Want to document your Skype call? Here’s how you can record your Skype sessions.
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