Zoom – getting started / basics
April 2020
There are various ways to join a zoom meeting.
- The easiest method for you to use if you are only ATTENDING a meeting and not creating a meeting invite yourselves is to click on the link that will be provided for you in the meeting invitation before the meeting is due to start. Then follow the steps below:
- Once you have clicked on the link, you will be taken automatically to the zoom application in order to access the meeting
- There will be a pop up window on screen saying “this site is trying to open zoom meetings,” click “open”
- You should then see a pop up window – click on “join with video” if your computer has a camera and another prompt to click on “join with computer audio”
- You should then be in the meeting. You can choose to disable/enable your camera (you will see a camera icon at the bottom of your screen to click on.) And there will be an icon and option at the top right hand corner to enter full screen mode, speaker mode or gallery mode (the latter shows a selection of participants – as many as can fit on the screen).
Mute / unmute your microphone
- Muting cancels out unnecessary background noise making it easier to hear the speaker more clearly, you may be muted automatically at the beginning of meetings
- Click or tap on the mute button to mute yourself and on the unmute button to speak when invited by the host, although the host can also control this function for everyone.
- Please note, if you have a very old computer that does not have a microphone built in then it is likely you will be unable to join the meeting from your computer. If this is the case and you have a smart phone we advise you access the meeting using the same link on your phone.
- If your Wi-Fi signal is not very strong or consistent you may find it easier to join with audio only and not video
- Or you can Register for a free Zoom account
Go to https://zoom.us/ and follow the sign-up steps (this step is only required if you need to create meetings rather than just attend)
- Or Download the free Zoom client/app
- From a PC / Laptop – go to https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting and download Zoom client for meetings
- From a Tablet / Mobile Device – go to the app store and download Zoom app
- Join your meeting proper
- A link will be emailed to you, sign-in to your account, click the link and join the meeting
- Suggestion – to familiarise yourselves with zoom if it’s new. Set-up a trial meeting with friends/family to test it out
- log-in to your account, select schedule and follow the steps to generate your meeting link which you can then copy/paste and email or text to people
- in the meeting – ensure your audio/video is working – if you get stuck, it might help to get Google to help with your issue, there is likely to be advice online and tutorials on YouTube, or you could get in touch with a more tech savvy relative
- if you find that you have slow internet, reduce the amount of devices connected to the internet in your household temporarily and/or run as audio only, having the most up to date version of the app will help to reduce any glitches