Help! I Need Some Remote Assistance - RA Invitation Through Email or File
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The other two ways to start a Remote Assistance session are interconnected. It involves connecting via email or through a file. Either scenario is useful if one of the users doesn't have Windows or MSN Messenger. This may involve a little more work but it is by no means difficult. Just take the following steps (geared toward the person who needs help) to complete this process:

1. Choose Start, then Help and Support. Under the heading labeled Ask For Assistance, click Invite a Friend to Connect to Your Computer with Remote Assistance.

2. Click Invite Someone to Help You. There are three options: Use Windows Messenger, which we already discussed, use email, or Save invitation as a file (the latter two work in the same way).

3. Type the email address of the person you wish to invite in the box provided and click Invite This Person. Or click Save Invitation as a File (as I said, both work the same).

4. Type your name in the box that says, "Enter your name: From (the name you would like to appear on the invitation)." After this, specify how long you want the invitation to last before it expires. The maximum time allowed by default (except for XP Professional) is thirty days. You should also come up with a password and communicate it through the message somehow.

5. Click Send Invitation (if you chose the email option) or Save Invitation (if you chose to save a file). Tell the person you sent it to that he must verify the message even though a warning may come up through Outlook or your browser. The file you are sending will either be called RcBuddy.MsRcIncident or RAInvitation.msrcincident.

6. In order to open the file, the person you sent the file to will have to double click it. They will then be shown the window from Remote Assistance asking for the password and the option to connect to your computer.

7. If he gets past this point, you will then be asked for permission to allow him to share control of your computer.

At this point, you should know how to start a Remote Assistance session. It's up to you and the person you're working with to fix the problem that required Remote Assistance in the first place. So make sure you trust the person you invite. The reasons are obvious.

Next: Reconfigure the Expiration Date >>
 

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