Getting started on Windows and macOS

Zoom unifies cloud video conferencing, simple online meetings, and group messaging into one easy-to-use platform. Our solution offers the best video, audio, and wireless screen-sharing experience across multiple platforms. Follow this article to learn about the basic features of the Zoom client on Windows and Mac.

Prerequisites for using Zoom on Windows or macOS

This article covers:

Sign in and join

After launching Zoom, click Join a Meeting to join a meeting without signing in. If you want to log in to start or schedule your own meeting, click Sign In.

To sign in, use your Zoom, Google, or Facebook account. You can also log in using SSO. If you don't have an account, click Sign Up Free. If you have a Zoom account but cannot remember your password, click Forgot.

Home

After signing in, you will see the Home tab, where you can click these options:

Chat

Select the Chat tab to view private conversations with your contacts or group conversations in chat channels.

You can access these features in the left-side panel:

After selecting a contact or channel in the left-side panel, you can use these features in the chat window:

Phone

Select the Phone tab to make phone calls, view call history, and play voicemail messages using Zoom Phone.

Note: Zoom Phone license is required.

 

Learn more about using Zoom Phone features.

Meetings

Select the Meetings tab and click Upcoming to view, start, edit, and delete scheduled meetings.

You can click the following options after selecting a scheduled meeting in the left-side panel:

Contacts

Select the Contacts tab to view and manage your contacts.

In-meeting controls

Once you have started or joined a meeting, you can access the meeting controls located at the bottom of the meeting window (move your mouse in the Zoom window to display meeting controls).

Learn more about meeting controls for hosts, co-hosts, and attendees. You can also join a test meeting to familiarize yourself with meeting controls before joining a scheduled meeting.

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