The FarSightNet Document Conferencing System allows two or more users to view, discuss orally, and annotate almost all forms of digital documents in a shared-screen environment. The users are connected through a server by any common computer network including the Internet (see below). The most obvious use of the system is in a scenario that requires intense review and discussion of documents, in real time, where the participants need not be in the same location.

Due to the special capabilities of the FarSightNet server, the term "conference" takes on an expanded meaning. Any interactive session is assigned a unique conference ID by the server. In addition to identifying an interactive session, such a "conference ID" identifies a unique folder in which the documents used on one session may be preserved for the next. The same conference ID spans multiple sessions, thus allowing the FarSightNet system to act as a repository for information in scenarios where a series of meetings must be conducted with continuity.