Run video appointments
A video appointment is a live call between one client and one resource — for example a 30-minute online consultation with a practitioner. The client books it on the booking site like any other treatment, receives a link, and both take part in the browser on go flow's video page. No app needs to be installed.
go flow's video calls run on the organisation's own Twilio Video account. They are built for exactly two participants and are not recorded.
Known problems in the current version
Read this before you offer video appointments:
- The host has no working link. Only the resource can let the client into the call (see How the host joins), but go flow currently gives the resource no working way to open the appointment: no email to the resource contains a link, and the Client video url and Resource video url fields in the scheduler's appointment dialog show addresses that do not belong to the appointment. Without the host, the client stays in the waiting room. Until this is fixed, video appointments cannot be held through go flow.
- Appointments created in the scheduler get no join link. When staff create an appointment in the Scheduler and tick Video appointment, the client's confirmation lists the appointment with "(Video)" but contains no link.
- Changing the type later does not reach the client. Ticking or unticking Video appointment on an existing appointment does not send the client a new confirmation or a link.
The rest of this page describes the set-up and the call as the product implements them.
Before you start
- Manage access to Configuration & settings.
- A Twilio account with Programmable Video, and its Account SID, an API key and that key's API secret. Any Twilio charges are billed to that account.
- At least one standard resource that will hold the calls, with availability (see Create a resource).
Switch on video and enter the credentials
- Open Configurations > Organisation and the Modules tab.
- Make sure the Video switch is on (it is on unless someone switched it off).
- Fill in Account SID, API key and API secret, and save. The secret cannot be read back: after saving, the field shows "Stored — type a new value to replace it, or clear it".
Only when all three values are present does the dashboard offer video: the Appointment types toggle on treatments, the Appointment types column on resource availability rules, the Video appointment field in the scheduler and the video texts on booking templates. With a value missing these simply stay hidden; there is no warning.
A member organisation of a group can tick Use group integration settings on its Modules tab to take the group's video settings, which are then locked on the member. When a member organisation's own three values are incomplete, the video page also falls back to the group's credentials. Details: Organisation settings.
Set up a video treatment
Open the treatment (Configurations > Treatments) and set Appointment types to Video, or to Both when the same service is offered in person and by video. Give a remote service its own treatment rather than switching an existing in-person one. The toggle is not offered in group organisations. See Create a treatment.
When you tick the treatment on a resource's Treatments tab, the resource takes the treatment's appointment type; there is no separate setting per resource. Saving the treatment later copies a changed type to every resource that offers it.
Open video times on the resource
Video times come from the resource's availability rules. On the resource's Availability tab each rule has an Appointment types column: Physical, Video or Physical & video. A new rule starts as Physical. Save the resource after changing the rules.
The booking site offers a time only where the rule and the treatment agree:
| Treatment | Rule Physical | Rule Video | Rule Physical & video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical | in person | nothing | in person |
| Video | nothing | video | video |
| Both | in person | video | client chooses |
Video and in-person appointments share the resource's one calendar: a booked video appointment blocks that time for in-person bookings and the other way round. Out-of-office, parallel bookings and the booking horizon apply in the same way. See Resource details.
What the client sees and receives
On the booking site, a treatment set to Both shows a filter above its free times — All, In person, Video. If the client picks a time that is open for both while All is selected, a dialog Choose appointment type asks for In person or Video. A treatment set to Video only shows no choice.
The join link is sent only in the booking confirmation email. The appointment's row carries "(Video)" after the name and, below it, a line "Video appointment — join here" with the link. You can reword that line in the confirmation email template (see Message templates); a template saved before the line existed shows a plain "Video:" line with the link instead. Reminder emails and SMS show "(Video)" but no link, and the booking confirmation page shows no link.
The confirmation, and with it the link, is sent only while the resource's Confirmation switch under Email notifications is on (see Resource details).
How the client joins
The link opens go flow's video page in the browser, in the language of the browser (English, German, French, Italian or Swedish; otherwise English).
- Too early. Until 6 minutes before the start the page shows Your appointment with the time and "Please come back shortly before your appointment starts."; it opens the waiting room by itself when the time comes.
- Waiting room. From 6 minutes before the start, the client sees the resource's name, first picture and treatment, the time, and "Please wait — you will be admitted shortly." Test your camera shows a preview. Once the host has admitted the client, the line changes to "You can join now." and Join call appears.
- Too late. The page closes 120 minutes after the start time — not after the end — and then shows "This appointment has ended." People already in the call are not cut off.
- Cancelled or deleted. The link then shows "No upcoming appointment could be found." Moving the appointment to another time keeps the same link; the window moves with it.
The browser asks for camera and microphone access when the client clicks Test your camera or Join call.
How the host joins
See Known problems: go flow does not currently deliver a working host link. The host side of the video page works as follows:
- The host sees the client's name, email address and mobile number, the treatment and the time, and a line "The participant has not arrived yet." or "The participant is waiting."
- Admit participant becomes active when the client is in the waiting room. Click it, then Start meeting.
- Start meeting works without admitting, but the client then keeps waiting: leave the call, click Admit participant, and start again.
- The admission is kept only in the host's open page. If the host reloads the page, admit the client again.
During the call
The controls are Mute microphone / Unmute microphone, Switch camera (shown only when the device has more than one camera) and Leave call. Each side sees a small picture of itself, and "Participant is muted" when the other side has muted the microphone.
go flow's video calls have no camera-off button, no screen sharing, no chat, no recording and no choice of camera or microphone — the browser's default devices are used. A third person cannot join. Leave call returns to the waiting room, from where the participant can join again while the appointment window is open; the same happens when the connection drops.
When someone cannot connect
| What the person sees | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Your current settings do not allow this application to access your camera and microphone. Please adjust these settings and reload this page." | The browser has blocked the camera or microphone for the page. | Allow camera and microphone in the browser's site settings, then reload the page. |
| "This application could not access your camera or microphone. Please make sure they are not in use by another application." | Another program is using the camera. | Close the other program (another call, a camera app) and reload. |
| "The service is currently not available, please try again in a few minutes." | Network problem, no camera found, too many attempts from one network, or the video service is unreachable. | Wait a moment and reload; try another network or device with a camera. |
| "No upcoming appointment could be found." | The link is incomplete, or the appointment was cancelled or deleted. | Check the appointment in the scheduler; send the client the link from the confirmation again. |
| "This appointment has ended." | More than 120 minutes have passed since the start time. | Book a new appointment. |
| Join call or Start meeting spins and nothing happens. | The organisation's video credentials are missing or wrong. | Check the three values on the Modules tab. |
| The client keeps seeing "Please wait — you will be admitted shortly." | The host has not admitted the client. | The host clicks Admit participant. |
To resend a lost link, open the client's confirmation on the Emails page, copy the link and send it with Compose email. If the call cannot take place, phone the client and move or cancel the appointment.
Switching video off
Switching the Video module off or clearing the credentials hides the video controls in the dashboard, but treatments and availability rules already set to video stay bookable on the booking site, and clients with a link can still open the waiting room — without credentials the call itself cannot start. Before switching video off, set your treatments to Physical and your availability rules to Physical.
Not the promotional video
A video clip that plays on a session's detail sheet is a promotional video, unrelated to video appointments. See Add images and promotional video.