Event and meeting options (Sparks / online meeting)
In the New Event dialog, additional options appear when an online meeting (Sparks meeting) is enabled. They control access, lobby behaviour, in-room features and – depending on your organization plan – recording, captions, and transcripts.
Where to find the options
- Open Calendar → click "+" or double-click a time slot
- Enable Online meeting (Sparks meeting)
- Expand "Options" or "More options"
Labels follow the UI language (German/English).
Data storage (background)
Depending on server configuration, Sparks appointments are stored either via the appointment scheduler (appointment manager) or through the local appointments API on the Vista node. For day-to-day use in the calendar this is usually transparent: title, times, attendees, and the options below work the same. Technical details and environment variables are documented in the Vistameet-Teams project (e.g. docs/PHASE_0_MEETING_SETTINGS.md).
Access and lobby (online meeting only)
| Topic | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Who can join | e.g. anyone with the link, signed-in users only, invite-only, or combinations – controls guest access and whether sign-in is required. |
| Who waits in the lobby | Whether nobody, external guests only, or everyone initially waits before being admitted. |
| Co-moderators | When attendees are listed, selected people can be marked as co-moderators (additional moderation rights). |
Server enforcement: When you join, the app requests a LiveKit token from the Vista node (POST /api/get-token). If the Sparks appointment is stored on that same node (local appointments API / Postgres), who can join and the participant list are checked there; otherwise no token is issued. If the appointment exists only in the external appointment scheduler with no local row, this check does not run on the node (see docs/MEETING_ACCESS_GET_TOKEN.md in the Vistameet-Teams project).
In-meeting participation (chat, polls, Q&A, reactions)
Under "More options" you can show or hide features in the meeting room, for example:
- Meeting chat
- Polls
- Q&A
- Reactions
Join defaults
For online meetings you can set defaults such as:
- Camera off when joining
- Microphone muted when joining
- Start with end-to-end encryption (when supported by the deployment; see End-to-end encryption)
For webinars, some of these defaults may be fixed for moderation reasons.
Recording, captions, language, transcript
This section depends on your organization’s plan (e.g. whether recording/transcripts are licensed). If not available, controls may be disabled or show a notice.
| Option (short) | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Allow recording | Whether recording is permitted in principle. |
| Start recording automatically | Recording starts with the meeting (if allowed). |
| Live captions available | Participants can turn on live captions. |
| Live captions automatic | Captions turn on automatically (e.g. for the organizer). |
| Translated captions available | Translated live captions (when the service supports them). |
| Meeting language | Spoken language for recognition/captions (supported language codes). |
| Create transcript | A meeting transcript should be produced. |
| Save transcript | Transcript is retained after the meeting (depends on backend). |
| Summarize results | Optional AI/summary feature (when available). |
Note: Live captions during a meeting and the saved transcript in call history are separate features; visibility and retention follow server policies.
Sparks meeting and Microsoft Teams
With Microsoft Outlook connected, you can create a Microsoft Teams meeting in addition to a Sparks online meeting. What your organization uses (Sparks only, Teams only, or both) depends on deployment. Description and location fields in the Exchange event are filled or cleared with link text when online meetings are toggled, consistent with product behaviour.
Numeric meeting ID (PIN)
Sparks appointments may have a numeric meeting ID (PIN) used in invitation text or dial-in scenarios. Whether it appears depends on the client and API response.
Webinars
The Webinar type adds settings such as registration required, approval workflow, deadlines, and custom questions. See Webinar registration (German article; the product flow is the same in English UI).