In a remote working world, make sure you know how to master the web-based video call platform Zoom with these 12 top tips and shortcuts.
A month or so into the lockdown, you've probably heard of Zoom by now – it’s already added more users in 2020 than in all of 2019. You might have been using the software for years already – but if not, here are a few top tips to help maximise your use of it and make you a master ready for your next session…
1. ‘Push to talk’
If you’re muted in a meeting, press and hold the spacebar to quickly unmute your mic if you’re suddenly called on to speak.
2. To quickly mute yourself during a call…
Mac: ⌘Cmd+Shift+A
PC: Alt+A
3. Mute everyone
If you’re the meeting host – use the power to mute everyone on the call at once...
Mac: ⌘Cmd+Ctrl+M
PC: Alt+M
4.Quick invite
When you’re in a meeting, hold ⌘Cmd+I (PC: Alt+I) to open the Invite window. You can copy the URL and send it direct, send an email from the same window or use the contacts tab to invite a colleague.
5. Record a session
Type ⌘Cmd+Shift+R (PC: Alt+R) to start recording any meeting or use the ‘Record’ button on the bar along the bottom of your screen. (You can only record meetings if you are the host or have permission from the host)
6. Gallery view
You can choose to see everyone in the meeting, rather than just the person talking, by turning on the ‘Gallery View’ tab in the top right corner of your screen when on a call.
7. Look glowing
The ‘Touch Up My Appearance’ feature can help make it look like you haven’t just rolled out of bed 5 minutes before the meeting… Turn it on by clicking the up arrow next to the video icon on the bottom task bar, then Video Settings. Under My Video, tick ‘Touch Up My Appearance’.
8. Fix your background
This is also where you’ll find the wonders of virtual backgrounds that you’ve probably already seen a million of… which can actually be really useful for creating a professional backdrop if you’re on an important business call! For best results, position yourself in front of a plain backdrop. (Also really useful to hide your messy room from your boss…)
9. Use Zoom keyboard shortcuts even when you’re in another window
Head to Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts and select the checkboxes for ‘Enable Global Shortcut’.
10. Check your audio
During any meeting, you can check your audio by clicking the up arrow to the right of the microphone icon then heading to ‘Test speaker and microphone’.
11. Join a private test meeting
If you’re not sure what you’re going to look like or whether your internet settings are set up correctly, you can join a private test meeting via this URL: http://zoom.us/test
12. Host a meeting for longer than 40 minutes
Zoom’s free account lets you host a group meeting for up to 40 minutes. You’ll need to upgrade to a paid account to get unlimited time with a group.