Zoom
Here are CS50’s recommended client-side settings for Zoom, for students and teachers alike, for:
And here are CS50’s recommended server-side settings for Zoom, for teachers alone.
Settings not specified here are up to you!
Also helpful for teachers might be this blog post on teaching from home via Zoom and these instructions for using Open Broadcaster Software (OBS).
Client-Side Settings
as of version 5.12.2
Linux
To access these settings after launching and signing in Zoom, click the gear () icon in Zoom’s top-right corner.
General
-
Enter full screen automatically when starting or joining a meeting
Uncheck this box in Zoom, else it's harder to access other windows during class.
-
Always show meeting controls
Check this box in Zoom so that buttons don't disappear on you.
-
Ask me to confirm when I leave a meeting
Check this box in Zoom, lest you accidentally leave class!
-
Stop my video and audio when my display is off or screen saver begins
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, lest you continue live-streaming during a break.
Video
-
Original ratio
Uncheck this box in Zoom to ensure your video is widescreen.
-
HD
Check this box in Zoom to ensure your video is of high quality.
-
Mirror my video
Check this box in Zoom so that you appear mirrored (to yourself only) so that you can gesture right and left without confusing yourself.
-
Adjust for low light
Check this box in Zoom to improve your lighting.
-
Always display participant names on their video
Check this box in Zoom so that you always see names.
-
Turn off my video when joining meeting
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, so that your camera stays off until you're ready to turn it on.
-
Always show video preview dialog when joining a video meeting
Check this box in Zoom so that you can test your video before joining a class.
-
Hide Non-Video participants
Uncheck this box in Zoom so that you know who's in the class.
-
See myself as the active speaker while speaking
Uncheck this box in Zoom so that you still see others when speaking.
Audio
-
Automatically adjust microphone volume
Suppress background noiseCheck this box in Zoom to improve your audio.
-
Automatically join audio by computer when joining a meeting
Check this box in Zoom to avoid having to click a button before every class.
-
Mute my microphone when joining a meeting
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, so that your microphone stays muted until you're ready to unmute it.
macOS
To access these settings after launching Zoom, select Zoom’s Home tab, then click the gear () icon in Zoom’s top-right corner. Or click the zoom.us menu in your display’s top-left corner, then select Preferences….
General
-
Enter full screen when starting or joining a meeting
Uncheck this box in Zoom, else it's harder to access other windows during class.
-
Always show meeting controls
Check this box in Zoom so that buttons don't disappear on you.
-
Ask me to confirm when I leave a meeting
Check this box in Zoom, lest you accidentally leave class!
-
Stop my video and audio when my display is off or screen saver begins
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, lest you continue live-streaming during a break.
Video
-
Original ratio
Uncheck this box in Zoom to ensure your video is widescreen.
-
HD
Check this box in Zoom to ensure your video is of high quality.
-
Mirror my video
Check this box in Zoom so that you appear mirrored (to yourself only) so that you can gesture right and left without confusing yourself.
-
Adjust for low light
Check this box in Zoom to improve your lighting.
-
Always display participant name on their videos
Check this box in Zoom so that you always see names.
-
Stop my video when joining a meeting
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, so that your camera stays off until you're ready to turn it on.
-
Always show video preview dialog when joining a video meeting
Check this box in Zoom so that you can test your video before joining a class.
-
Hide non-video participants
Uncheck this box in Zoom so that you know who's in the class.
-
See myself as the active speaker while speaking
Uncheck this box in Zoom so that you still see others when speaking.
-
Maximum participants displayed per screen in Gallery View:
49 participants
Check this radio button in Zoom so that you can see more participants at once.
Audio
- Automatically adjust microphone volume
-
Zoom optimized audio
Background noise suppressionAuto
Check this radio button in Zoom to improve your audio.
-
Automatically join computer audio when joining a meeting
Check this box in Zoom to avoid having to click a button before every class.
-
Mute my mic when joining a meeting
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, so that your microphone stays muted until you're ready to unmute it.
Share Screen
-
Window size when screen sharing: Maintain current size
Check this radio button in Zoom so that your screen isn't reconfigured when someone else shares their screen.
-
Scale to fit shared content to Zoom window
Check this box in Zoom so that you can see everything at once.
-
Side-by-side Mode
Check this box in Zoom so that you still see participants when someone's screen is shared.
Windows
To access these settings after launching Zoom, right-click Zoom’s icon in your taskbar, then select Settings….
General
-
Enter full screen automatically when starting or joining a meeting
Uncheck this box in Zoom, else it's harder to access other windows during class.
-
Always show meeting controls
Check this box in Zoom so that buttons don't disappear on you.
-
Ask me to confirm when I leave a meeting
Check this box in Zoom, lest you accidentally leave class!
-
Stop my video and audio when my device is locked
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, lest you continue live-streaming during a break.
Video
-
Original ratio
Uncheck this box in Zoom to ensure your video is widescreen.
-
HD
Check this box in Zoom to ensure your video is of high quality.
-
Mirror my video
Check this box in Zoom so that you appear mirrored (to yourself only) so that you can gesture right and left without confusing yourself.
-
Adjust for low light
Check this box in Zoom to improve your lighting.
-
Always display participant names on their videos
Check this box in Zoom so that you always see names.
-
Turn off my video when joining meeting
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, so that your camera stays off until you're ready to turn it on.
-
Always show video preview dialog when joining a video meeting
Check this box in Zoom so that you can test your video before joining a class.
-
Hide non-video participants
Uncheck this box in Zoom so that you know who's in the class.
-
See myself as the active speaker while speaking
Uncheck this box in Zoom so that you still see others when speaking.
-
Maximum participants displayed per screen in Gallery View:
49 participants
Check this radio button in Zoom so that you can see more participants at once.
Audio
- Automatically adjust microphone volume
-
Zoom optimized audio
Background noise suppressionAuto
Check this radio button in Zoom to improve your audio.
-
Automatically join audio by computer when joining a meeting
Check this box in Zoom to avoid having to click a button before every class.
-
Mute my microphone when joining a meeting
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, so that your microphone stays muted until you're ready to unmute it.
Share Screen
-
Window size when screen sharing: Maintain current size
Check this radio button in Zoom so that your screen isn't reconfigured when someone else shares their screen.
-
Scale to fit shared content to Zoom window
Check this box in Zoom so that you can see everything at once.
-
Side-by-side mode
Check this box in Zoom so that you still see participants when someone's screen is shared.
-
Silence system notifications when sharing desktop
Check this box in Zoom for privacy's sake, so that others don't see your private notifications.
Server-Side Settings
Meeting
To access these settings, visit https://zoom.us/profile/setting?tab=meeting.
Security
-
Waiting Room
Enable this setting so that you can get settled before class begins (and optionally admit only names that you recognize).
-
Waiting Room Options
Everyone will go in the waiting room
Also enable this setting so that you can get settled before class begins (and optionally admit only names that you recognize).
-
Meeting Passcode
Enable this setting so that someone can't join the class just by knowing (or guessing) a meeting's ID alone.
-
Require passcode for participants joining by phone
Enable this setting so that someone can't join the class (by phone) just by knowing (or guessing) a meeting's ID alone.
-
Embed passcode in invite link for one-click join
Enable this setting so that students don't need to input passcodes manually.
Schedule Meeting
-
Host video
Disable this setting for privacy's sake, so that your camera stays off until you're ready to turn it on.
-
Participants video
Enable this to start meetings with participant video on. Participants can change this during the meeting.
-
Audio Type
Telephone and Computer Audio
Enable this setting so that participants can resort to their phones if having microphone issues.
-
Allow participants to join before host
Enable this setting so that participants can join the waiting room right away.
-
Mute all participants when they join a meeting
Enable this setting for privacy's sake so that everyone's microphone is off by default.
In Meeting (Basic)
-
Meeting chat
Enable this setting so that students can ask questions via chat and so that you, e.g., can share links via chat.
-
Sound notification when someone joins or leaves
Disable this setting so that class isn't interrupted if someone joins late (or rejoins after being disconnected).
-
Co-host
Enable this setting so that you can promote others (e.g., teaching assistants) to co-hosts.
-
Meeting Polls/Quizzes
Enable this setting so that you can poll the class.
-
Always show meeting control toolbar
Enable this setting so that buttons don't disappear on you.
-
Show Zoom windows during screen share
Disable this setting to avoid Zoomception.
-
Screen sharing
Enable this setting so that screens can be shared.
-
Who can share?
Host Only
Enable this setting so that only you can share your screen until you grant others permission during class itself.
-
Disable desktop screen sharing for meetings you host
Disable this setting so that screens can be shared.
-
Annotation
Enable this setting so that you can annotate your shared screen.
-
Only the user who is sharing can annotate
Enable this setting so that students can't annotate your (or another student's) shared screen.
-
Whiteboard (Classic)
Enable this setting so that you can use a whiteboard during class.
-
Remote control
Disable this setting for privacy's sake, so that students can't control your (or another student's) shared screen.
-
Non-verbal feedback
Enable this setting so that students can answer questions nonverbally, as via icons for "yes" and "no".
-
Allow removed participants to rejoin
Disable this setting so that unexpected guests can't rejoin (as easily).
In Meeting (Advanced)
-
Breakout room
Enable this setting so that you can use breakout rooms.
-
Remote support
Disable this setting for privacy's sake, so that students can't control your (or another student's) computer.
Recording
To access these settings, if planning to record classes, visit https://zoom.us/profile/setting?tab=recording.
Recording
-
Local recording
Enable this setting so that you can record locally as needed.
-
Hosts can give participants the permission to record locally
Uncheck this box for privacy's sake, so that students can't record locally.
-
Cloud recording
Enable this setting so that you can record to the cloud as needed.
-
Record active speaker with shared screen
Check this box so that you record, at least, each active speaker and any shared screens.
-
Allow cloud recording sharing
Enable this setting so that you can easily share a recording after class as needed.
-
Automatic recording
Enable this setting so that you don't forget to record a class.