Adds closed captions, stage syncing, zero trust security plus bug fixes

Improvement(s)

? Closed Captions Available to all Paid Plans

Previously, closed captions were only available if you had Webex Assistant. Now, all new meetings and events participants (paid meeting users) will automatically have closed captions and can turn them on in one click. The host doesn't need to turn on anything for attendees to have it.

• ? Note: In this update, only Webex Meetings and Webex Events (new) are supported. Support for Webex Events (classic) will be available in a future update.

It was initially communicated that Support for Webex Events (classic) will be available in a future update. However, there is no plan to support Webex Assistant and Auto Closed Captioning in Webex Events (classic).

If the host is a paid user, then free guest users who join this meeting and can have closed captions.

A captions panel will be available when the closed captions feature is turned on. Currently, closed captions will only show English transcription. If a user has the real-time translation add-on, then the English transcription can be translated to 100+ languages. For more information, see the Show or Hide Closed Captions During a Webex Meeting or Event.

? Note: This feature will be available on an independent release cycle. Check status.webex.com/maintenance to see when it will be available on your site.

? Turn on or off the Audio Announcement for Webex Assistant

As an administrator, you can now turn on or off the audio announcement for Webex Assistant for all site users. The audio announcement currently states Webex Assistant is enabled to save audio highlights.

• ? Note: This feature will be available on an independent release cycle. Check status.webex.com/maintenance to see when it will be available on your site.

? Layout Optimization Features

• See More Videos in The Filmstrip - You can now see more videos when scaling the filmstrip. This helps you keep an eye on more people, even when content is shared or if you're in one of the stage views.

• Move a User from the Participant Panel to the Stage - You can now move a user to the stage from the Participants panel. To do this, right-click on the user you want to move to stage and choose Move to stage.

? Interact with audience when streaming live in Workplace from Facebook

After starting the live stream to Workplace from Facebook, the host can view and reply to comments, as well as see the number of views and likes from the livestream viewers in the Workplace from Facebook panel.

This feature requires Live Streaming to be enabled for the host account. The administrator must also enable the Workplace from Facebook under Common Site Settings> Options> Live Streaming Services in Site Administration or Common Settings > Site Options in Control Hub.

? Zero Trust Security for Webex Meetings and Webex Room devices

Superior meeting security is now available using End-to-End (E2EE) Encryption for meetings, including:

• Modern, standards-based cryptography with strong identity verification

• Use Webex Room devices (Room Series, DeskPro, and Board)

• Verbal verification of meeting attendees using a new Security Verification Code

• Encryption Key exchange over Message Layer Security (MLS) standard, which uses a non-portable Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Public-Private Certificate for each user and device

• Media payload encryption using the new SFrame standard

The security icon lets all users know at a glance, that they are meeting securely with nobody else able to connect. The icon will also tell you when end-to-end encryption is enabled for the meeting.

? Note: This feature will be available on an independent release cycle. Check status.webex.com/maintenance to see when it will be available on your site.

? [Pre-Meeting Experience]Increase the Meeting Number Size to 11 Digits

With a tremendous increase in meeting traffic, Cisco Webex is quickly running short of meeting numbers. To address this challenge, Webex Meetings, Webex Events (classic and new), Webex Training, and Webex Support sessions meeting numbers will be increased to 11-digits.

We'll ensure that desktop apps, mobile apps, web app, video devices, our APIs, and our out-of-the-box integrations with Jira, Microsoft Teams, Slack and others are fully compatible with the meeting number increase. If you're using Webex APIs with your applications, we request that you test and ensure that your applications are working with this change.

• ? Note: This change applies only to newly scheduled meetings. The meeting number size increase doesn't affect existing meetings and Personal Room meetings.

This change to 11-digit meeting numbers is scheduled to begin in July 2021. You can find the date for your site based on its cluster atstatus.webex.com/maintenance.

This feature will be available on an independent release cycle. Check status.webex.com/maintenance to see when it will be available on your site.

? [In-Meeting Experience] First Participant Brought to the Stage View and Synced will be in Recordings

? Note: is available in the 41.7 update, but was added after the initial July 2021 (41.7) features were communicated.

Recordings will now always show the first participant video that was brought to the stage by host or cohost and synced across all the attendees in the meeting. This is bringing back the behavior of locking the video of a participant for everyone in the meeting and then recording.

? [In-Meeting Experience] See More Videos in the Filmstrip

You can now see more videos when scaling the filmstrip. This helps you keep an eye on more people, even when content is shared or if you're in one of the stage views.

For more information, see the Highlighted Features for this update.

? Move a User from the Participant Panel to the Stage

You can now move a user to the stage from the Participants panel. To do this, right- click on the user you want to move to stage and choose Move to stage.

For more information, see the Highlighted Features for this update.

? Interact with audience when streaming live in Workplace from Facebook

After starting the live stream to Workplace from Facebook, the host can view and reply to comments, as well as see the number of views and likes from the livestream viewers in the Workplace from Facebook panel.

For more information, see the Highlighted Features for this update.

? Closed Captions Available to all Paid Plans

Previously, closed captions were only available if you had Webex Assistant. Now, all new meetings and events participants (paid meeting users) will automatically have closed captions and can turn them on in one click. The host doesn't need to turn on anything for attendees to have it.

For more information, see the Highlighted Features for this update.

? Web App: Full-Screen View

Similar to the desktop app, the Web app now includes full-screen view, allowing you to maximize the view of the stage within your browser.

? Use the Tab Key to Navigate Anywhere in the Meeting Window (Windows)

You can now use the standard Tab orShift+Tab to navigate through the entire window, as long as the panel is visible (or opened).

You can still use F6 as a quick shortcut to switch between the panels area and the main window, CTRL+Tab can still be used as a quick shortcut to move between multiple panels that you have open.

• ? Note: Support for tab navigation on Mac will come in a future update.

? Keyboard Shortcut Management (Mac)

On Mac, you can now access and manage keyboard shortcuts directly from the Help menu in the desktop app meeting window. This feature was already released on Windows.

• Here, you can manage the Global Shortcut setting to determine if you'd like to be able to use the shortcut even when the Webex Meetings desktop app isn't in focus.

• You also have the to customize the shortcut and redefine it to the key combination of your choosing.

These settings are useful if you find the keyboard shortcuts conflicting with other applications.

? Security Enhancement

Superior meeting security is now available using End-to-End (E2EE) Encryption for meetings.

For more information, see the Highlighted Features for this update.

? [Administration Experience] Turn off the Audio Announcement for Webex Assistant

As an administrator, you can now turn on the audio announcement for Webex Assistant for all site users. The audio announcement currently states Webex Assistant is enabled to save audio highlights.

For more information, see the Highlighted Features for this update.

? [Administration Experience] Users are Forced to Sign out When their Password Change is Detected

You may realize a security risk with your credentials and then change your password to continue using Webex applications in a secure manner. If you're using a Control Hub managed site with SSO and are leveraging Directory Connector (another Webex product that provisions users of Webex), the backend service can detect this password change. It asks you to re-authenticate your accounts to ensure safety.

As an administrator, you'll need to go to Control Hub org settings and turn on the Force authentication when users change passwords.

? [Webex Meetings VDI] Webex Events (New) for VDI Environment

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) now supports Webex Events (new) for Linux OS-based thin client.

? [Webex Meetings Integrations] Slack and Webex Custom Status

Take the guess work out of your Slack status. If you have a custom status like 'on PTO' but then join a Webex meeting, your status changes to 'In a Webex meeting' for the duration of the meeting. Your status changes back to what you had originally set once the meeting is over.

? Insert a Box to a Meeting Invite

Quickly access Box files from meeting invites. When you start or schedule a meeting from Box, the Box file's Shared Link is included in the meeting invite. For more information, see Collaborate on Files with Box.

? [Webex Meetings for iOS and Android]Improved End-to-End Encryption

Similar to desktop, mobile will also support Zero Trust Security for Webex Meetings and Webex Room Devices.

• ? Note: This feature will be available on an independent release cycle. Check status.webex.com/maintenance to see when it will be available on your site.

? [Webex Meetings for iOS and Android] Sync the Stage from Mobile

Similar to desktop, hosts and cohosts on the mobile app can customize the stage by dragging a participant's video on to the stage area and syncing the stage for everyone in the meeting to see.

? [Webex Meetings for iOS and Android]Events to Support up to 10K Users

Similar to desktop, the mobile app will support Webex Events (new) with up to 10,000 attendees, dependent on the event's capacity.