> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.proctorly.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Running an exam live

> Watch active sessions in real time, understand each session state, and use pause, lock, messaging, snapshots, mass actions, and the waiting room.

The **Live monitor** shows every active session for a test as a tile, in real time. Each tile carries a **status dot** and a set of controls. From here you watch the room, step in when needed, and admit students if you're using a waiting room.

## Session states

The status dot tells you what state each student is in.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Active" icon="circle-play">
    The student is taking the exam normally.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Paused" icon="circle-pause">
    A legitimate break or interruption. The student **can't answer**, but monitoring continues and full-screen is relaxed until you resume them.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Locked" icon="lock">
    Review or intervention. The student **cannot interact** with the test until you explicitly unlock it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="System-paused" icon="rotate-cw">
    Screen sharing was interrupted and Proctorly paused the session automatically.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Warning>
  **System-paused is a recovery state, not a discipline action.** When you see `system_paused`, it usually means screen sharing dropped — the student didn't necessarily do anything wrong. Treat it as "needs to resume sharing," not "caught cheating."
</Warning>

## Actions you can take

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Pause / Resume a session">
    Pause a single student for a legitimate break, then resume them. While paused, they can't answer but monitoring keeps running.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Lock / Unlock a session">
    Lock a student out of interacting with the test for review or intervention. They stay locked until you unlock.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Take a snapshot">
    Capture a snapshot of a specific student on demand.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Send a message">
    Send a message to a student — either a **preset nudge** (for example, *"Need a moment? You can request a pause…"*) or your own custom text.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Admit from the waiting room">
    If the **Waiting room** is enabled, students are held after setup until you admit them from the live monitor.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Approve pause requests">
    Students can request a pause. You approve it from the live monitor, which moves the session into the paused state.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Force-end a session">
    End a student's session.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Mass actions

When you need to act on the whole room at once, mass actions apply across every active session:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Screenshot all" icon="camera">
    Capture a snapshot from every active session.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pause all" icon="circle-pause">
    Pause every active session at once.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Lock all" icon="lock">
    Lock every active session at once.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What the student sees

The student side mirrors the live monitor:

* A student can **raise their hand** with the **"I have a question"** button.
* A student can **request a pause**, which you approve.
* If **Student alerts** is enabled for the test, the student sees on-screen warnings as violations happen.

## Next

<Card title="Reviewing results" icon="bar-chart-3" href="/teachers/reviewing-reports" horizontal>
  Once sessions finish, read each student's integrity score and decide on their flags.
</Card>