Zoom

Zoom, formally Zoom Meetings, is a proprietary videotelephony software program. Though very widely used Zoom can be a confusing program and at times seem non-intuitive for such a popular app, perhaps partly because, unlike other videotelephony clients like Microsoft's Skype or Apple's FaceTime, Zoom's focus from the start has been on multi-user conferences for business or education where the needs are different from one-on-one. Hopefully what follows will help lift the fog of confusion. Keep in mind this exploration is created with Linux users in mind. For those using other platforms like Windows, iOS, or Android some things might not conform to what is written below.

Let's Get Started

If Zoom isn't already open, let's open it. From the Linux menu (click on icon at far left of panel at bottom of screen) choose Internet --> Zoom. This will bring up the Zoom Free Account dialog box. Click on "New Meeting", and then, if prompted, select "Join with Computer Audio". The Zoom meeting window will open. If your camera is set up and working you'll see a picture of yourself and your background. This is how others will see you so make any needed adjustments.

At this point there are two possibilities: either you are in full screen mode or you are not in full screen mode. If you are in full screen mode your whole computer screen will be taken over, as if you are watching yourself on TV.

Full Screen

Part of the difficulty of Zoom may be a side-effect of being so easy to use. All that's needed is to click on a Zoom link received in an email and we are there. But this leaves us with no knowledge of how we got there or what other options we might have. This is particularly so if we have been left in Zoom's full screen mode which hides everything else on the computer screen. Full screen mode is what you see in most advertisements for Zoom or other videoconferencing software. Full screen mode mimics television and is visually very appealing.

Since our interest at the moment is not visual appeal but empowerment if we are in full screen mode let's exit it. We can come back at any time. Exit full screen mode by moving the cursor toward the upper right corner of the computer screen. The word "View" should appear there in small print. Click on that and choose "Exit full screen." The view option will remain at the top right of the screen where you can toggle full screen mode but you'll have to move the cursor, even slightly via mouse or trackpad to see it. Notice when you move the cursor other options appear at the bottom of the screen too amd disappear a few seconds after the cursor is released. More on these options later.

The Other Possibility

What are the advantages of being out of full screen mode?

• You can more easily access chat. The chat icon is one of the options we mentioned earlier that appear at the bottom of the screen when the cursor is moved. In full screen mode the chat box opens in a separate window which can easily disappear behind the main conversation window. Other participants may be sending chat messages of which you are unaware. However, out of full screen mode clicking the Chat icon opens the chat dialog to the right in the same window (see image), easy to read and access. Try this out for yourself by clicking on the Chat button both in and out of full screen mode.

• As with any window size can be adjusted at the top right corner by the three small icons at the far right of the window's title bar. In the picture here these three are an up arrow, a down arrow, and an "X" but these could be anything depending on what theme the window is using. Clicking on the "X" gives you the opportunity to end the meeting. Clicking on the icon in the middle, an up arrow in this case, decides whether the window takes up the entire screen or not. If not it can be resized as desired. Clicking on the minimization button, the farthest left of the three, a down arrow in this case, puts the meeting into a small window in the upper right that can moved to any part of the screen. This is useful if you want to perform other computer tasks while still keeping an eye on the video conversation. The window will remain visible on top of whatever else you are doing. To get out of this you'll have to place the cursor over the window and click on the icon that appears at the bottom right, in this instance a box with an arrow emerging out of it.

Meeting Menu

Whether or not in full screen mode you should be able to access the menu you see above. As mentioned before you'll have to wiggle your mouse or touchpad to get it to appear as it autohides by default. Here are a few pointers.

• The audio icon is to the farthest left shaped like a pair of headphones or a microphone. Here you control whether others can hear you or not. Why this option? Remember Zoom's focus on multi-user conferences. In large group conversations the host may have audio muted by default to decrease background noise. In such a case you would click to unmute if you have something to say and mute again when finished. If you see a red line through this icon or you see the words "Join Audio" know that other people CAN'T hear you. Click when you want to be heard. Check Sound and Audio for other audio related troubleshooting and fine-tuning.
• The Video icon to the right of the audio icon in the shape of a camera toggles video on/off and controls whether others can see you. If your camera is set up and plugged in but others claim they cannot see you be sure there isn't a red line through this icon. Practicing on your own will give you an idea how it works.
• Partipants tells you how many people are in the call and, if you click on the icon, who they are.
• Chat enables you to enter text messages, useful when you have a short message for the group but don't want to interrupt the flow of conversation. Also useful if, for example, you can't hear the other person and want to get their attention. The chat box is great too for sending links or quotes.

• Share Screen is one of Zoom's most useful features. Click on it if you want others to see what is on your screen. You can use it for instruction, for show and tell, or to watch a movie together on Netflix. After clicking on Share Screen you will have to choose what you want to share. Click the window you want to share (highlighted green in the example). If you wanted to share a YouTube video then you would click on that (assuming you have previously opened YouTube in a browser). Note: To avoid security issues such as zoombombing, by default only the host is allowed to share their screen, the host being the person who set up the meeting. However, the host can manually enable other participants to share their screen. If you happen to be the host and want everyone to be able to share their screen, click the arrow next to Share Screen and select Advanced Sharing Options. Under Who can share? select All Participants.
• Record will record the conference. Other persons can see they are being recorded but to be polite you might want to request their permission. Recording will allow you to watch the video conference again at some point. Keep in mind file sizes can be pretty large.
• White Board does the same thing a blackboard does. Clicking on the arrow to the right of it brings up options as to who can use the whiteboard.

Settings

Many users find it difficult to get into Zoom settings. If you ever plan on doing more with Zoom than clicking on emailed links then have a good look through Zoom Settings. Let's explore two ways to do this on Linux.

From the Linux menu (click on icon at far left of panel at bottom of screen) choose Internet --> Zoom. This will bring up the Zoom Free Account dialog box. At the top right, find a gear shaped icon . Clicking on this icon will open up Zoom settings.

Another way to get into Zoom's settings is from the system tray. Zoom has to be open first for this to work. The system tray sits at the lower right corner of your Linux screen. If Zoom has been opened, either manually through Internet --> Zoom or by clicking on an emailed link, the Zoom icon will be sitting in the system tray. Since the Zoom icon is always there, this may be an easier and more direct way to open Zoom settings. Right click on the Zoom icon and choose Settings.... Note that in order to see the System Tray you can't be in Zoom's full screen mode. Full screen mode will hide everything but itself.

By either method the settings dialog will open. Go through these settings to know what your options are but here are a few of note:

• General You might want to uncheck "Enter full screen automatically when starting or joining a meeting." You can always enter full screen at any time. Unchecking this gives you the choice.
• In Video you can see how you will appear to others as well as fine tune. If you don't see yourself first be sure your camera is properly connected then click on the camera button and try selecting a different camera.
• In Share Screen you might want to uncheck "Enter full screen when a participant shares screen" to give yourself more control.
• In Virtual Background choosing a background image will hide your real background. However, this function requires a lot of computing power. Rarely perfect it looks okay if you are sitting very still but when in motion you may come across in a "ghostly" fashion because the background breaks up. Many observers don't like this feature though it can seem cool the first time. Try it out sitting still and moving your hands and head. Notice how it looks. You don't have to be in a real meeting to do this.

Exiting Zooom

A good way to cleanly exit Zoom in Linux is again from the System Tray. Right click the Zoom icon and choose "Exit". If you are in a meeting it will exit the meeting. This is useful as with Zoom it is easy to still be in a meeting even though you think you've closed it. If so, you will have to repeat this step to cleanly exit from Zoom. You can know you have cleanly exited from Zoom when the Zoom icon disappears from the System Tray.

Advanced Settings

For advanced settings you will have to login at the Zoom website using the email address you used to register with Zoom and your Zoom password. Here you'll be presented with a plethora of settings. It's worth having a look around but while enlightening to look through be careful here! A lot of these settings are more for professional hosts and can create security issues if you don't know what you are doing. However, if you wish to make it permanently possible for all users to share their screen when you are hosting a meeting you can do that here. You can also upload an image to use with your profile.

Hopefully this lifts the fog a little and will serve you well in your future Zoom sessions. Maybe it's even been fun! To find out more about Zoom and its possibilities, your favorite search engine is your friend!