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How to Use Zoom

Zoom is Carnegie Mellon's preferred web conferencing platform and offers a wide selection of features to master your study groups, classes, or meetings. Review the sections below for more information on all you can do with Zoom!

Get Started  Join a Meeting  Host a Meeting  Enhance Meetings with AI Security

Learn About Zoom

Want to learn more about all of the Zoom tools available to you? Zoom's got you covered!

VISIT ZOOM'S SUPPORT RESOURCES

Get Started

Step 1: Download, Install, and Log In

  1. Download the Zoom app. 

  2. Double-click the downloaded file and follow the prompts to install.

  3. Click Sign In.

    View Video

  4. Click Sign In with SSO.

  5. Enter cmu into the Enter your company domain field and confirm .zoom.us is selected.

  6. Click Continue.

  7. Enter your Andrew userID and password. 

  8. The Zoom app will open, and you may close the browser.

  9. Click your profile icon (upper right) and select Settings from the drop-down list.

  10. Click General (left), and under Zoom Updates, click the Automatically keep Zoom Desktop client up to date option to enable it.

Note: Never use a personal Zoom account for CMU business or classwork.

Step 2: Configure the Recommended CMU Settings

  1. Visit cmu.zoom.us and click Sign In.
  2. Click Settings (left), Meeting (top), and Schedule Meeting (left). 
  3. Turn off the following settings:
    • Host video
    • Participant video
    • Allow participants to join before host
  4. Enable Mute all participants when they join a meeting.
  5. Click Profile (left) and click the Edit link to the left of your name to update your preferred name and pronouns.
  6. Close your browser.

Participate in a Meeting

Join a Meeting

  1. Click the Zoom meeting link you received from the event host, then enter the meeting passcode if prompted.
  2. Enter your name if prompted. You will only be asked to provide this if you are not already logged in to Zoom.
  3. Click Open Zoom, if prompted, to join your meeting with the Zoom app.
  4. The meeting will launch, and you will be given the option to join audio or automatically join audio for future meetings.
  5. Click Leave when the meeting has ended to leave the meeting.

Popular Meeting Controls for Participants

Other Features You Might Use

Host a Meeting

Schedule and Start Meetings

Note: Meeting hosts do not require a separate link to join the meeting. If you are logged into the Zoom app, you will automatically become the meeting host once you join the meeting.

Hosting a Large Meeting?

Consider adding Zoom large meeting or webinar subscriptions to your account or visit Web Conferencing Comparison.

Popular Meeting Controls for Hosts

Other Features You Might Use

Enhance Your Meetings with AI Companion

Host more efficient meetings with Zoom AI Companion, an optional feature that allows you to generate meeting summaries, catch up if you miss part of the meeting, and organize your recordings.

As you work with AI Companion, remember Zoom’s AI model is always learning and can make mistakes. Review meeting summaries, next steps, in-meeting responses, and smart recordings for accuracy.

Generate Meeting Summaries

Meeting Summary allows meeting hosts to create an AI-generated summary of their meeting. If the host chooses, they can then share the summary automatically with participants after the meeting ends.

Visit Using Meeting Summary with AI Companion to learn more, including how to start Meeting Summary as a host, request it as a participant, and manage past summaries.

Ask In-Meeting Questions

In-Meeting Questions allows participants to ask questions about the content of the meeting. For example, you may ask AI Companion to “Catch Me Up” if they join late, or “Did we agree on a due date?”.

Visit Asking In-Meeting Questions with AI Companion to learn more, including how to enable AI Companion as a host, request it as a participant, and how to ask questions.

Create Smart Recordings

Smart Recordings allows you to organize your cloud recordings into chapters, generate key highlights in a simple, easy-to read format, and identify action items and next steps.

Visit Using Smart Recording with AI Companion to learn more, including how to access your recordings and features like smart chapters, recording highlights, and next steps.

AI Companion is disabled by default. Complete the following steps to enable it.

  1. Visit cmu.zoom.us.
  2. Sign in with your Andrew userID and password.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Click AI Companion.
  5. Enable the features you wish to use and modify their settings to meet your preferences.

Yes, AI Companion is private and secure. Zoom does not use your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or any other data to train its artificial intelligence models. Further, we’ve configured AI Companion to interact with your data through Zoom’s own AI model only, and not any third-party models, like OpenAI or Anthropic.

Secure a Meeting or Class

To help keep your Zoom meetings safe from cybersecurity threats, CMU requires you to enable one of the following three security options:

  • Require a passcode 
    Participants must have a passcode to join the meeting. This is the default setting for standard meetings. We recommend creating meetings in the Zoom App or Google Calendar, which embed the passcode in the meeting link. Participants can then join the meeting without entering the passcode themselves.
  • Enable waiting room
    Participants enter a virtual waiting room where they wait for the host to admit them. This is the default setting for meetings hosted with your Personal Meeting ID (PMI).
  • Admit only authenticated participants
    Only participants who have signed into Zoom via CMU Web Login can enter the meeting. Hosts can also opt to admit participants signed in to any Zoom account. We do not recommend using this option if you frequently meet with people from outside the university.

Additionally, only the host can share their screen in a meeting unless they update their in-meeting security options.

Though these security features will protect your meetings from common threats, we strongly discourage you from sharing Zoom meeting details publicly to prevent unwanted guests from attending.

Follow the steps below if you prefer to use a security setting other than the defaults listed above.

  1. Visit cmu.zoom.us and click Sign In.
  2. Click Settings, and then click Meeting.
  3. Review the options and select your preferred method(s).

If your meeting is interrupted by uninvited participant(s), sometimes referred to as Zoombombing, the host can suspend their activity.

  1. Click Security > Suspend Participant Activities > Suspend.
  2. Immediately report the incident to iso-ir@andrew.cmu.edu.

Is your data safe?

Your data is secure in the Zoom cloud. Learn all the facts before you record.

VISIT OUR PRIVACY POLICY