Fast Access Bar
The Fast Access Bar is a horizontal strip showing participant video thumbnails. It gives you quick access to add or remove participants from scenes and to control their settings.
Location
- Desktop: a full-width horizontal strip along the bottom of the studio window, below the scene and the scenes column
- Mobile: a full-width panel opened with the Participants button
Main Elements
Listen Offstage Feeds Toggle
Located at the left side of the bar:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Label | “Listen Offstage Feeds” |
| Toggle | On/Off switch |
| Purpose | Hear audio from participants not currently on screen |
| States | Active (highlighted) / Inactive |
When enabled, you can hear all participants even if they are not in the current scene.
Note: Disabled when Exclusive Talk is active.
Hide/Show Button
A circular button to collapse or expand the fast access bar:
| State | Icon | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Visible | Down arrow | Click to hide bar |
| Hidden | Up arrow | Click to show bar |
Scroll Buttons
When there are many participants:
| Button | Position | Shows When |
|---|---|---|
| Left arrow | Left side | Scrolled right of start |
| Right arrow | Right side | More items to the right |
Fast Access Item (Participant Thumbnail)
Each participant appears as a thumbnail with several interactive elements.
Thumbnail States
| State | Appearance |
|---|---|
| Normal | Video preview or avatar |
| Selected | Highlighted border (in current scene) |
| On Scene | Blue/highlighted background |
| Hover | Shows Add/Remove button |
| Screen Share | Different icon, labeled |
| No Connection | Shows “No connection” text |
Add/Remove Button
Appears when you hover over the thumbnail:
| Button Text | When Shown | Action |
|---|---|---|
| “Add” | Participant not in scene | Adds to current scene |
| “Remove” | Participant in scene | Removes from scene |
Spotlight Button
Small button in the corner of the thumbnail:
| State | Appearance | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Small rectangle icon | Click to spotlight |
| Active | Blue/highlighted | Click to unspotlight |
Tooltip: “Spotlight”
Options Button (Three Dots)
Click to open the participant options menu.
Sound Jumper
Audio level indicator showing the participant’s current audio activity.
| State | Appearance |
|---|---|
| Silent | No bars |
| Speaking | Animated bars |
| Muted | Muted icon |
Click to toggle mute (editors only).
Internet Connection Indicator
WiFi-style icon showing connection quality:
| Quality | Bars Shown | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | Red warning | Connection issue |
| 1-30% | 1 bar | Poor connection |
| 31-60% | 2 bars | Fair connection |
| 61-80% | 3 bars | Good connection |
| 81-100% | 4 bars | Excellent connection |
Camera Disabled Indicator
When a participant’s camera is off:
- Their avatar is shown instead of video
- A camera-off icon appears
- Audio still plays (if not muted)
Feed Type Icons
| Icon | Feed Type |
|---|---|
| Screen icon | Screen share |
| Camera 2 icon | Second camera |
| Camera 3 icon | Third camera |
| Checkmark badge | Editor |
| Video icon | Media share |
Participant Options Menu
Clicking the three-dots button on a tile (or right-clicking the tile) opens the options menu. It holds, top to bottom:
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Participant name | The header of the menu |
| Settings | Opens that person’s studio settings; for someone else this asks them to approve remote changes |
| Volume | The participant’s level. Replaced by an Ask to unmute button when they are muted, and hidden on accounts that show live volume meters on the tiles instead |
| Open Chat | Private chat with that person |
| Edit name | Name, title, company and position, the details used by lower thirds |
| Change Avatar | Their avatar image |
| Init / Stop screen share | For your own tile |
| Init / Stop media share | For your own tile |
| Kick Speaker | Removes that person from the studio |
| Remove camera | For an extra camera |
Which rows appear depends on whose tile it is, whether you are the host, and your account’s feature set.
The menu does not contain chroma-key controls, “Play Alone”, “Add to Pro scene” or “Add to Dynamic”. Those are separate controls:
- Adding to / removing from the scene: the button that appears on the tile itself on hover.
- Spotlight (Play Alone): its own button on the tile, shown on hover in the Dynamic Scene and in dynamic grids.
- Push to Talk: a hold-down button in the tile’s side strip, not a menu item.
- Chroma key: a layer setting on the scene, inside the brush dropper of the layer’s own toolbar.
Video Controls (Media Share Only)
On a media share thumbnail:
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Progress bar | Shows playback position |
| Seek slider | Drag to seek in the video |
Participant Types Shown
The Fast Access Bar displays:
- Your own feed
- Your extra cameras (second and third camera, if enabled)
- Your media share (if sharing media)
- Your screen share (if sharing screen)
- Remote participants (speakers, guests, editors)
Scene-Specific Behavior
The Add/Remove button always appears on hover, but what it does depends on the current scene type.
Dynamic Scene
| Feature | Available | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Add button | Yes | Adds to the Dynamic Scene grid |
| Remove button | Yes | Removes from the Dynamic Scene |
| Spotlight button | Yes | Spotlights in the Dynamic Scene |
| Options menu | Full | All options available |
When the Dynamic Scene is active:
- Add/Remove buttons appear on hover
- The Spotlight button appears in the thumbnail corner
- Adding a participant places them in the auto-arranging grid
Pro Scene (Without Dynamic Grid)
| Feature | Available | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Add button | Yes | Adds as an individual layer |
| Remove button | Yes | Removes the individual layer (with confirmation) |
| Spotlight button | No | Not available |
| Options menu | Full | All options available |
When a Pro Scene without a Dynamic Grid is active:
- Add/Remove buttons appear on hover
- Add creates an individual layer for that participant
- Remove shows a confirmation dialog before deleting the layer
- The Spotlight button does not appear
Pro Scene (With Dynamic Grid)
| Feature | Available | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Add button | Yes | Adds to the Dynamic Grid |
| Remove button | Yes | Removes from the Dynamic Grid |
| Spotlight button | Yes | Spotlights in the Dynamic Grid |
| Options menu | Full | All options available |
When a Pro Scene with a Dynamic Grid is active:
- Behavior matches the Dynamic Scene
- Add/Remove buttons appear on hover
- The Spotlight button appears
- Participants are added to the Dynamic Grid layer
- The main Dynamic Scene is updated as well
Summary Table
| Scene Context | Add Button Action | Remove Button Action | Spotlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Scene | Add to grid | Remove from grid | Yes |
| Pro Scene (no grid) | Add as layer | Delete layer (confirm) | No |
| Pro Scene (with grid) | Add to Dynamic Grid | Remove from grid | Yes |
Note: The options menu (three dots) is available on every tile regardless of scene type, but it does not contain add-to-scene or spotlight items. Those are the tile’s own hover buttons.
Mobile Differences
On mobile devices:
| Feature | Mobile Behavior |
|---|---|
| Header | Shows “Participants” title with close button |
| Layout | Full-width, scrollable list |
| Add/Remove button | Always visible (not just on hover) |
| Close | X button in header |
Context Menu
Right-click on a participant thumbnail to open the same options menu as the three-dots button.
Best Practices
Quick Participant Management
- Use the Add/Remove buttons for fast scene changes
- Hover to see which participants are in the current scene (highlighted)
Audio Monitoring
- Enable “Listen Offstage Feeds” to hear everyone during planning
- Watch the sound jumpers to see who is speaking
- Click a sound jumper to quickly mute or unmute
Connection Monitoring
- Check connection indicators before going live
- Participants with a poor connection may have audio or video issues