Gather.Town Quick Guide

Joining the Event

  • You will need a computer or laptop with Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Firefox. The platform works best in Microsoft Edge on Windows or Chrome on Mac. 
  • Click on this link from your registration email to join the event.
  • On the day of the event, the meeting room will be accessible, and you will be prompted for a password (case sensitive, check your event reminder email).
  • Enter your full name, select your video device, microphone, speaker, then click “Join the Gathering”.
  • Upon entry, a window will open with the message “Welcome to Gather” with a link to the tutorial, which you can follow or skip.

Moving Around and Interacting in the Space

  • Use your arrow keys to move through the space and around other avatars and objects. You can also click on g to go into ‘ghost mode’ to go through avatars and objects.
  • You will be automatically connected by video and audio when you are in certain proximity to someone else.
  • When you step into a private space, only participants within that space can interact with each other. You won’t be able to see or hear participants outside of that space.
  • Interactable objects such as shared documents, presentations, videos, and photos will highlight in yellow when you are close to them. Press “x” to open them.
  • If you find yourself in an overlapping conversation, or if a user forgot to mute themselves, you can mute the audio of another user on your end by clicking their microphone. Later, if you would like to hear their audio, you can unmute it.

Bottom Controls

  1. Change the appearance of your avatar.
  2. Change your audio/visual/user settings (see User Control Menu).
  3. A mini-map to show where you are on the whole map.
  4. Screen share function. This is only to be used by panelists.
  5. Reactions that you can select, including raising your hand if you have a question.
  6. Your own video will appear here if you have your camera turned on. Click on the mic and video icons to turn your mic and/or video on and off.


User Control Menu

  • Changing Your Name: Click on “Edit” next to your name. 
  • Add Text Status: Under your name, please add your organization as the text status, to support the networking aspect of the event.
  • User/Video Preferences: Change your audio/video inputs. You can enable Auto Idle Muting, which will turn off your mic and video when you are not in the gather.town tab.
  • Quiet Mode: In Quiet Mode, you will only send and receive audio and video from others if they are immediately next to you (including diagonals). This will greatly reduce the number of videos you will see and interactions you will have. You can toggle this on and off from the User Control Menu found by clicking on your name on the blue bar at the bottom of your screen or by using the mapped hotkey (Ctrl/⌘ + u). When you are in quiet mode, your status indicator will turn red both on your icon and on your name over your avatar’s head.
  • Reset Position: You may use this if you encounter a problem with moving around in the space. Alternatively, refresh your browser. When you reach the poster/white board, click “X” to interact with the poster.

Left Panel (Chat and Participants)

  • Chat: You may use the chat feature on the left side of the screen to send a chat message for tech support or other participants. However, we encourage you to take advantage of direct interaction as part of this new platform. The chat options are:
    • Everyone: This message goes to everybody in the meeting.
    • Nearby: This message goes to everyone in your breakout group. Use this chat function to ask questions in your breakout group if your audio is not working.
    • Individual Users: This message only goes to the person you choose in the participant panel.
  • Participants: The left side of the screen also has a menu to view the names of all participants.