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How to join a Zoom meeting as a guest

If you are the guest, you will receive a meeting invitation containing the meeting ID (a number). Most of the time, you will get a Zoom link - if you have the Zoom app installed, you can click on it and the meeting will open automatically - so you would be at STEP 4 below. (After you click on the link, your computer may ask you whether you want to open the link in Zoom - confirm that you want to go to the Zoom app.) Or else, find the meeting ID in the invitation at the end of the link (numbers at the end of the Zoom link) and start at STEP 1 below.

  • STEP 1: Open your Zoom app. You can click on "Join a meeting" without logging in, or if you have an account you can sign in and then in the meeting platform select "Home" and click on "Join a meeting" (circled in pink in the example picture).

  • STEP 2: You will then be asked to put in the meeting ID and to type your name in the box underneath. Then click "Join".

  • STEP 3: If the host of the meeting has the waiting room option enabled, you will need to wait until the host (in the example picture Alexandra) will let you into the meeting.

  • STEP 4: Join with computer audio.

  • STEP 5: When you are in the meeting, you will see the basic functions such as microphone/camera settings on the bottom black bar; these are explained in the section below.

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Use of the different functions in the meeting

       NOTE:

  • The meeting functions are mostly similar for the host and the guest, so if you have already read through the "Set up a meeting" section, you're good to go!

  • The example pictures below were taken in the "host" mode; if you join a meeting as a guest, you will see the same symbols except for one - you won't have the little shield symbol, which is the security options.

  • For action you have to click in the middle of the symbol. Some symbols have a small arrow next to them; if you click on it, a list of additional options opens.

  • STEP 1: Microphone and speaker settings. The two symbols on the very left side, the microphone and the camera, will let you modify the settings for those. Mute yourself by clicking directly onto the microphone symbol (circled in blue). The other(s) will not hear you anymore and a red line will appear across the microphone symbol. Click on it again to unmute. The small arrow next to the microphone opens the options for testing the microphone.

  • NOTE: it is useful to remember about this symbol during the meeting - check that you are unmuted when you want to speak (i.e. your microphone is on), and that you are muted when you would like to stay quiet.

  • If you click directly on the camera symbol, you can stop the video, and the other participants won't be able to see you (instead they will only see your name). Click on the same symbol to start your camera again. If your microphone is on, the other participants will still be able to hear you. The small arrow next to the camera opens the options for changing the video settings (for example, you can choose a virtual background).

  • STEP 2: Security. This is a "host" option, so you will not see it if you join the meeting as a guest.

  • STEP 3Participants. If you click on "Participants" (two heads with a number next to them - the number shows how many people are active), you will see who is in the meeting - in the example picture these are Sasha (the guest) and Paloma Talk (the host). At the bottom of the window you will see more options that you can click on (circled in blue in the example picture). (Note: you might see the window as a side bar if your Zoom window is not maximised to full screen.)

  • STEP 4: Chat. Using the chat function is a way of exchanging written messages with either one or all participants of the meeting. Click on "Chat" in order to start writing messages. You can chat at any time during the meeting. You can either message everyone who is on the meeting, or individual participants by choosing them in the drop down menu within the chat (this option is only available if there are several people on the meeting). In order to send a message, just type the text into the bottom box, make sure to select the correct recipient and then hit enter. In the example picture, Paloma Talk first sent "Hello" to everyone and then "Hello Sasha" to Sasha privately. You can also attach and send a file (circled in blue), and clicking on the three dots (circled in pink) will allow you to save the chat or adjust the participant chat settings (for example, you can block the chat during a lecture to avoid distracting the participants).

  • STEP 5: Share screen. You can use this function to show your computer screen or a white board to the other participants, for example if you would like to explain something. Click on the "Share screen" symbol and under "Basic" (option shown at the top) choose between the different options for sharing by clicking on the one you want. If you choose a program, for example Firefox, they will see a mirror image of that. If you choose "White board", you will then see the white screen you can draw and write on. Click on "Stop sharing" (in red, at the top) when you want to finish the screen sharing. Clicking on the little arrow next to the screen sharing symbol allows you to control the screen sharing options of the participants.

  • STEP 6: Recording. You can record your meeting or a part of it by clickig on the "Recording" symbol. Whilst recording, you will see the recording sign converted into a pause and stop sign (circled in blue). By pressing it you can pause or stop the recording. When you stop it, the recording will be saved as an mp4 file on your computer at the end of your meeting (in a folder called Zoom). If you decide to record your meeting, make sure that the other participants are aware and agree to it.

  • STEP 7: Reactions. If you click on the "Reactions" sign (circled in blue), you can send little emojis into the meeting (they will appear on top of your picture).

  • STEP 8: Leave the meetingTo leave the meeting, simply click on the red "Leave" button in the bottom right corner of your screen. If you joined as a guest, you leaving will not affect the meeting room for other participants.

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How to arrange the screens

When you are in a meeting, there are different variants of how you can arrange the pictures you see.

  • STEP 1: You can change how you see the other people by clicking on "View" on the top right-hand side and can choose from "Gallery" or "Speaker view".

  • STEP 2: By choosing "Speaker view", you can select which person you want to see in the big picture, and your picture will get smaller

  • STEP 3: You can also exit full screen and have Zoom running as minimal video. Click in the right-hand corner on the symbol with the green arrow (circled in blue in the example picture) to change to full screen again.

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Congratulations - you have reached the end of the Zoom tutorial!

You may have noticed that sometimes there are several ways to do something in Zoom and that there are plenty of advanced options, which may make things a little confusing. However using Zoom is quite straightforward once you get used to its interface, and we do hope that this tutorial helped you to achieve your goal.

 

If you have any questions or suggestions, always feel free to drop us a line in the CONTACT US section of this website. Good luck in exploring Zoom further!

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