Best practices | Uploading files

Best practices for uploading files

Share Pod

Uploading files into and Adobe Connect room is very easy! There are two ways you can do this. The first is to click on the Document button at the top of the Share pod. 

This will bring up a dialog box that lets you choose from documents already in the room, from locations in your content library, or from your computer. To upload a file from your computer just click the Browser My Computer button and then use the dialog box to find the file you want and then open it.

However, the second way to upload files is even easier! Just find the file you want on your desktop and drag it onto an empty Share pod. You will see the center of the pod turn blue to indicate you are in the correct position, now just drop to upload. 

The following file types can be uploaded into a Share pod in an Adobe Connect room:

• Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (PPT or PPTX)
• Images and animations (JPG, JPEG, PNG, or GIF)
• Adobe Acrobat document files (PDF)
• Video files (MP4)
• Audio files (MP3)
• Custom Pod applications (ZIP or POD)
• Adobe Presenter content packaged as a ZIP file
• Adobe Captivate content packaged as a ZIP file

Note: a ZIP file must contain a file called index.htm or index.html and may contain multiple referenced files (HTML, images, JavaScript, videos, etc.) 

Uploading MP4 Videos

MP4 videos are a great way to add rich and engaging content to your meetings. Uploaded MP4 videos play at full quality and with excellent sound for each participant. As a host or presenter, you have full control over playing, seeking, and pausing your MP4 video content in the meeting room. You can even annotate with the drawing tools over MP4 content. Uploading a video and playing it from a Share pod will result in a much better experience than trying to screen share the same video from your desktop. 

MP4 Video Best Practices

1. Formats such as WMV, AVI, and MOV are not supported. These formats can be converted into MP4 using a variety of free or purchased converters, such as the Adobe Media Converter. 
2. High-resolution videos may take a significant amount time to download and result in a poor experience for some. High resolution videos can be reduced in resolution, frame rate, and size using a variety of free or purchased video tools, such as the Adobe Media Converter. This will give you the best performance and provide an optimized experience for participants.
3. Long videos may be used in meetings. The room will pre-download, or buffer, the first portion of the video to ensure smooth playback for participants. If you need to jump far forward or backward in the video, you may need to allow for the buffer to download from that point. 

The following is detailed information describing properties of a MP4 file which are known to work well in and Adobe Connect room:

Video aspects

• Video Compression Format (Codec) – H.264
• Resolution dimensions – 1280x720 [aka 720p - you may alter this if required]
• TV Standards – NTSC or PAL
• Frame Rate – 29.97fps or lower
• Pixel Aspect Ratio – Square Pixels
• Bitrate Encoding ~ 500kbps [0.5Mbps] or lower

Audio aspects

• Format – AAC/MP3
• Bit Rate – 128 kbps
• Frequency ~ 48 kHz
• Channel – Stereo

Files Pod

In addition to presenting files in your meeting, you can also upload files for your audience to download directly to their computers. Almost any type of file can also be uploaded in a room using a Files pod. Files uploaded to a Share pod, or into the content library can also be added to a Files pod. These files can then be downloaded by participants during a meeting. (Pro tip - you can also drag'n'drop files directly onto the Files pod to upload!)

Uploading files into the content library

In addition to the above list of files supported in a room, the Adobe Connect Central content library also supports the following file types:

• Adobe Captivate content published directly to the content library from the Adobe Captivate application
• Adobe Presenter content published as HTML or Hybrid content to the content library from the Adobe Presenter plug-in
• HTML content contained within a compressed package (ZIP)
• Learning content published as SCORM compliant content (ZIP)