Participating in a Zoom meeting
Video tutorial (3:30 min) here .
The participants' interface of a Zoom meeting (in the desktop app view) consists of the main menu bar at the bottom of the screen, the cameras view and the "View" options at the top right corner.
If you minimize the Zoom meeting window, you will see a small window showing only the speaker camera or pinned camera, like the image below. To open the normal view again, press the highlighted icon "Exit Minimized Video".
Read about in-meeting camera and microphone options here.
At the center of the screen, you will see the speaker by default (Speaker view). To see the participants' cameras side by side, click "View" and select "Gallery".
When you right-click your own video as a participant, you will find the options to hide your own camera (Hide Self View), to hide participants who don't have video on (Hide Non-video Participants), and to edit your own name in the meeting (Rename). The "Pin" option will keep a camera always visible at the center of your screen, regardless of who is speaking.
NB! The "Pin" feature only affects your own view of the meeting. By default, you can only pin one camera. To pin more than one camera, ask the meeting's host to grant you permission to multi-pin.
To make another participant always visible to you, right-click the desired camera and select "Pin".
You can also find the "Pin" option by opening the "Participants" window from the main menu bar, and clicking the "More" button next to the desired participant's name.
Open the chat tab by clicking the "Chat" button on the main menu bar. You can send messages to everyone in the meeting, but also private messages by clicking the arrow next to the "To:" field and selecting the participant's name. You can also send files to the chat by clicking the document icon.
Zoom allows participants to interact non-verbally using the Reactions menu. By clicking the "Reactions" button on the main menu bar, you can ask for a turn to speak with the "Raise Hand" button, and wait for your turn before turning your microphone on. After that, you will find the option to Lower Hand from the same place.
With the Reactions feature, you can react with (1) Yes or (2) No, ask for the speaker to (3) slow down or (4) speed up, or inform others that you are away from the keyboard by selecting (5) "I'm away". You can also react with several emojis. By pressing "..." you will find more emoji options.
Click the "Share Screen" button on the main menu bar to share your open tabs, windows or whole screen view with the participants in the meeting.
When other people are sharing their screen, you are able to interact by using the Annotate feature. On the screen share view, click "View Options" and then "Annotate".
Good to know!
If you want to show a video, remember to select the "Share sound" option at the bottom left corner of the share screen window, so that the participants will also receive the audio coming from the tab/window you selected.
In the Annotate menu, you will find options to add text and graphic elements to the shared screen. Press "Clear" to delete your own annotations. Your annotations will be visible to everyone in the meeting, but will not edit the file or page being shown in the shared screen.
Breakout rooms is a feature that splits the participants of a meeting into smaller groups. On Zoom, participants in breakout rooms can interact by sharing screen, camera, audio and chat. Participants do not have rights to record the main meeting or the breakout room activity, except when permission is granted manually by the host.
The chat of a breakout room can only be seen by the people in that breakout room, even if the message is sent "To: Everyone". The breakout room activity and chat are not included in the main meeting's recording.
Press the "Ask for Help" button > "Invite Host" to invite the host to join your room, if you need assistance during the activity.
