Basic Meeting Features
This section will cover how to navigate the menu options while in a meeting.
Table of contents
Overview
After starting a Zoom meeting, a window will be created and it should look something like this:
Here is a brief overview of the UI:
“Meeting Information” - A button that brings up more detailed information about the meeting such as the meeting’s ID, host’s name, passcode, invite link, your participant ID, whether encryption is enabled, and an option to report the meeting.
“Full Screen Button” - A button that can make the meeting enter or exit full screen mode.
“Profile Picture” - The participant’s profile picture.
“Mute Button” - A button that can activate or deactivate the user’s microphone.
Clicking the caret symbol (^) allows the user to change their audio settings.
“Video Button” - A button that can activate or deactivate the user’s webcam.
Clicking the caret symbol (^) allows the user to change their video settings.
“Security Button” - A button that allows the user to change the security settings and user permissions of the meeting.
Note: This button is only available to the host of the meeting.
“Participants Button” - A button that opens or closes a list of all of the participants in the meeting.
Clicking the caret symbol (^) allows the user to invite other users.
Note: The ability to invite is only available to the host of the meeting.
“Chat Button” - A button that opens or closes the text chat of the meeting.
“Share Screen Button” - A button that brings up a window that allows the user to select what screen or program they wish to show the other participants.
Clicking the caret symbol (^) allows the user to change the sharing options of the meeting.
Note: The ability to change sharing options is only available to the host of the meeting.
“Record Button” - A button that allows the user to record a video of the meeting.
“Reactions Button” - A button that allows the user to react with an emoticon or raise/lower their hand.
“End Button” - A button that allows the user to leave the meeting.
Note: The host of the meeting is also given the option to end the meeting for all participants.
Basic User Settings
These are settings that are recommended to be set up before entering a meeting.
The “Settings” menu can be found by clicking on the gear icon in the top right corner of the application’s main menu.
Video
From the “Settings” menu, click the “Video” tab on the left.
Select the device you would like to use as a webcam by clicking on the dropdown menu under the “Camera” section. There are additional options to keep the original ratio and to enable HD.
Ensure “Always display participant names on their video” is checked to have an easier time associating names with faces and profile pictures.
Check mark “Turn off my video when joining meeting” to guarantee that you join all meetings with your webcam off from the beginning.
Caution: Having this setting unchecked can cause unintentional video to be seen by participants in the meeting.
Audio
From the “Settings” menu, click the “Audio” tab on the left.
Select the device you would like to use as a speaker by clicking on the dropdown menu to the right of the “Test Speaker” button. The volume of the speaker can also be adjusted under the dropdown menu.
Select the device you would like to use as a microphone by clicking on the dropdown menu to the right of the “Test Mic” button. The volume of microphone can also be adjusted under the dropdown menu.
Under the “Suppress background noise” section, select the level of background noise suppression that is appropriate for your environment. “Auto” is recommended if you are unsure. Consider selecting “Medium” or “High” if in a noisy environment.
(Optional) Under “Music and Professional Audio”, check mark ‘Show in-meeting option to “Turn On Original Sound”’ if using a high quality microphone.
Ensure “Automatically join audio by computer when joining a meeting” is checked to avoid having to manually join audio every meeting.
Check mark “Mute my microphone when joining a meeting” to guarantee that you join all meetings muted from the beginning.
Caution: Having this setting unchecked can cause unintentional audio to be heard by participants in the meeting.
User Profile
When in a meeting, press the “Participants” button to bring up the list of participants.
Click on your own name to reveal a “Mute” button and a “More >” button on the right of your name.
Click on the “More” button to reveal a dropdown menu.
Click on the “Rename” button to change your screen name. Click “OK” to save your new name or “Cancel” to undo the change.
Note: All name changes are reverted after the meeting is over. Sign into Zoom’s website and rename your profile to permanently change your screen name.
From the “More” button dropdown menu, click on “Edit Profile Picture” to make changes to your profile picture. The current picture can be cropped using the zoom slider and dragging the picture with the mouse.
Click on the “Change Picture” button to select a different image from your files.
Note: Profile pictures must be less than 2MB. JPG, GIF, and PNG file types are accepted as profile pictures.
Click the “Save” button to save all changes or click the “Cancel” button to remove all changes made.
Backgrounds & Filters
How to set up a virtual background and filters for your webcam.
From the “Settings” menu, click the “Background & Filters” tab on the left.
Select any of the preset backgrounds to set up a virtual background.
Click on the “+” button to reveal a dropdown menu.
Click on the “Add Image” button to select a virtual background image from your files.
Note: Images must be less than 5 MB. They must have a minimum dimension of 960px and a maximum dimension of 1920px. A 16:9 aspect ratio is recommended to avoid seeing black bars beside the image. JPG/JPEG, GIF, and 24-bit PNG file types are accepted as virtual background images.
Click on the “Add Video” button to select a virtual background video from your files.
Select the “Video Filters” tab to bring up the list of preset video filters that can be applied to your video output.
Note: Videos must have a minimum resolution of 360p and a maximum resolution of 1080p. MP4 and MOV file types are accepted as virtual background videos. There is no limit to the video file size.
Chat and Reactions
How to interact within a meeting.
Chat
When in a meeting, press the “Chat” button to bring up the chat window.
Click inside the chat box where it says “Type message here…” to write your chat message.
Click the dropdown menu above the chat box to change who your message can be viewed by.
Click the “File” button to send a file to the meeting’s participants.
Click the “…” button to view the chat options. Participant chat permissions can be changed from here as well.
Note: Changing participant chat permissions is only available to the host of the meeting.
Click the “Save Chat” button to save a transcript of the chat to a text file.
Note: The default location the file will be saved is your Documents folder / Zoom / Folder with meeting name, date, and time.
Reactions
When in a meeting, press the “Reactions” button to bring up the available reactions.
Click on an emoticon to react with it or click on the “Raise Hand” button to get the host’s attention.
Note: The “Raise Hand” button changes to “Lower Hand” after being pressed. Remember to lower your hand after you have been addressed by the host.
You can now navigate the basic features of a Zoom meeting at this point. We recommend you learn the more advanced features by taking advantage of the screen sharing feature.