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evmux Knowledge Base

How to Use the Fast Access Bar

This guide shows you how to use the Fast Access Bar to quickly manage participants, add/remove them from scenes, and access participant controls.

Quick Steps

  1. Look at the Fast Access Bar at the bottom of the editor
  2. Hover over a participant thumbnail to see options
  3. Click Add or Remove to manage scene presence
  4. Click the three dots for more options

What is the Fast Access Bar?

The Fast Access Bar is a horizontal strip of participant video thumbnails that provides:

  • Quick preview of all participants
  • One-click add/remove from scenes
  • Access to participant settings
  • Audio monitoring (sound jumpers)
  • Connection quality indicators

Finding the Fast Access Bar

  • Location: Bottom of the editor, between the scene and scenes panel
  • Visibility: Can be hidden/shown using the arrow button

The evmux studio with the participants bar highlighted at the bottom left: the host tile with its sound dot, and the Add Camera and Invite Guest buttons

Scene-Specific Behavior

The Add/Remove button is always visible on hover in editor mode. However, it behaves differently depending on the current scene type:

Scene TypeAdd Button ActionRemove Button Action
Dynamic SceneAdds to Dynamic Scene gridRemoves from grid
Pro Scene (no Dynamic Grid)Adds as individual layerDeletes layer (with confirmation)
Pro Scene (with Dynamic Grid)Adds to Dynamic GridRemoves from grid

The options menu (three dots) is available on every tile, but it is for the participant themselves — settings, volume, chat, name, avatar, kick — not for adding them to a scene. Adding and spotlighting are done with the tile’s own hover buttons.

Adding a Participant to the Scene

Step 1: Locate the Participant

  1. Look at the Fast Access Bar thumbnails
  2. Find the participant you want to add
  3. Participants NOT in the current scene show normally
  4. Participants IN the scene show highlighted

Step 2: Add to Scene

  1. Hover over the participant thumbnail
  2. The Add button appears
  3. Click Add
  4. Participant is added based on scene type:
    • Dynamic Scene: Added to auto-arranging grid
    • Pro Scene with Dynamic Grid: Added to Dynamic Grid
    • Pro Scene without Dynamic Grid: Added as individual layer

There is no add-to-scene item in the three-dots menu — the hover button on the tile is the only way.

Removing a Participant from the Scene

Step 1: Find the Active Participant

  1. Look for highlighted thumbnails (indicates they’re in the scene)
  2. The participant shows “Remove” on hover

Step 2: Remove from Scene

  1. Hover over the highlighted thumbnail
  2. Click Remove
  3. Participant is removed from the current scene

Using Listen Offstage Feeds

This feature lets you hear participants who are not currently on screen.

Enable Offstage Audio

  1. Look at the left side of the Fast Access Bar
  2. Find “Listen Offstage Feeds” toggle
  3. Click to enable (toggle turns active/highlighted)
  4. You can now hear all participants

Disable Offstage Audio

  1. Click the toggle again
  2. Only participants in the scene are heard

Use case: Great for hearing a guest’s question before adding them to the scene.

Accessing Participant Options

Open the Options Flyout

  1. Hover over a participant thumbnail
  2. Click the three dots button (options)
  3. The flyout panel opens with sections:

Available Options

  • Settings - opens that person’s studio settings (a guest is asked to approve)
  • Volume - their level, or an Ask to unmute button when they are muted
  • Open Chat - private chat with this participant
  • Edit name - name, title, company, position (used by lower thirds)
  • Change Avatar
  • Init / Stop screen share, Init / Stop media share - on your own tile
  • Kick Speaker
  • Remove camera - for an extra (multicam) camera

The menu has no chroma-key controls and no scene actions. Chroma key is a layer setting on the scene (brush dropper of the layer toolbar); adding to a scene and spotlight are the tile’s hover buttons; Push to Talk is a hold-down button in the tile’s side strip.

Using Spotlight from Fast Access Bar

Enable Spotlight

  1. Hover over a participant thumbnail
  2. Click the Spotlight button (small icon in corner)
  3. The participant takes the full Dynamic Scene
  4. Button turns blue/active

Disable Spotlight

  1. Click the Spotlight button again
  2. Layout returns to normal with all participants

Note: Spotlight cannot be changed during live broadcast.

Monitoring Audio Levels

Each participant has a Sound Jumper indicator:

Reading the Sound Jumper

IndicatorMeaning
Animated barsParticipant is speaking
No barsSilent
Muted iconAudio is muted

Quick Mute/Unmute

  1. Click directly on the sound jumper
  2. Toggles mute state for that participant
  3. Works only for editors

Checking Connection Quality

Each participant shows an internet connection indicator:

BarsQuality
4 barsExcellent
3 barsGood
2 barsFair
1 barPoor
Red warningConnection issue

The indicator sits on the tile and is visible when the pointer is not over that tile — hovering swaps it for the tile’s action buttons. To read someone’s connection, look at the tile without hovering over it.

Tip: Check connection quality before going live to anticipate issues.

Hiding/Showing the Fast Access Bar

Hide the Bar

  1. Find the circular arrow button
  2. Click it (arrow points down when visible)
  3. Bar collapses

Show the Bar

  1. Find the circular button (now shows up arrow)
  2. Click to expand the bar

Scrolling Through Participants

When you have many participants:

  1. Scroll buttons appear on left/right sides
  2. Click left arrow to scroll left
  3. Click right arrow to scroll right
  4. Or use mouse wheel/trackpad to scroll

Participant Feed Types

The Fast Access Bar shows different feed types with icons:

IconFeed Type
Screen iconScreen share
Camera 2/3 iconMulticam feeds
Checkmark badgeEditor (verified)
Video iconMedia share

Best Practices

Before Going Live

  • Review all participants in the Fast Access Bar
  • Check connection quality for each
  • Enable “Listen Offstage Feeds” to do audio checks
  • Test Add/Remove functionality

During Broadcast

  • Use Add/Remove for quick scene changes
  • Monitor sound jumpers for speaking participants
  • Check connection indicators for quality issues
  • Use Spotlight for focus moments

Managing Many Participants

  • Scroll through to see everyone
  • Highlighted thumbnails = currently in scene
  • Use the options flyout for advanced controls

Troubleshooting

Participant not appearing?

  • Check if they’re connected (look for “No connection” text)
  • Verify they joined the session
  • Refresh the page if needed

Can’t hear participant?

  • Check if they’re muted (look at sound jumper)
  • Enable “Listen Offstage Feeds” if they’re not in scene
  • Verify their microphone is working

Add button not working?

  • Check if you’re in editor mode
  • Verify the scene supports adding participants
  • Try using the options flyout instead

Connection indicator shows warning?

  • Participant may have poor internet
  • Audio/video quality may be affected
  • Consider asking them to improve connection