The Right Way to Add Adobe Connect to Outlook

For Web conferencing, demos, and collaboration, Adobe Connect Pro is a nice tool for sharing a whiteboard, document, slide show, spreadsheet, or your whole screen, and record those conferences for later editing and publication.

Unfortunately, the ability to schedule Web conferences in Outlook is beset by a counter-intuitive installation interface for the Connect Pro Outlook Add-In.

I had to uninstall & reinstall many times, and I’d like to help you avoid that hassle.

The right way to do this:

1. Print out or copy to Notepad your Adobe Connect logon ID, password, and room URL so you’ll have it handy when the configuration wizard comes up.
2. Close Outlook.
3. Download and run the installer (http://download.macromedia.com/pub/connect/updaters/connect_outlook_update.zip).
4. Restart Outlook, which launches the 2-page configuration wizard.
5. Uncheck Use secure connection, which removes the “s” from the “https” in the URL.
   
6. Re-enter the “s” in “https” in the URL.
7. When configuring the default text, you can personalize it with audio-conference information, such as the phone number, access code, and mute/un-mute keys. (I use freeconferencecall.com)

Hat tip to the kind folks on the Adobe Connect User Forum for steps 5 & 6.
(http://www.connectusers.com/forums/cucbb/viewtopic.php?id=4451)

In Outlook 2010, I can add the connection instructions to a New Meeting Request. If installed properly, the Adobe Connect button is in the New Meeting Request’s ribbon in the Add-Ons tab, as shown in the screen shot above.

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