Zoom Meetings

Owned by John P
Last updated: Mar 16, 2020
3 min read


Duke has a site-license for Zoom meetings to allow for remote audio- and video-conferencing.  

For DUL-issued computers:

  • The Zoom client application should already be installed on your computer. 

    • For Windows PCs, click on the Start-Menu and search for "Zoom"; for Macs, go to the Applications folder and it should be there.

    • If you cannot find the app on your computer, please contact DUL IT Staff (https://support.lib.duke.edu) and we can install it for you.

  • It may be helpful to login to the web-UI once prior to joining or creating any Zoom meetings:

    • Go to https://duke.zoom.us and click on the "Sign In" button
    • You will be forwarded to the standard Duke Shibboleth login page 

    • If you have issues connecting to the web-UI, please contact the OIT Helpdesk and they should be able to fix that (https://oit.duke.edu/help or 919-684-2200)

  • The Zoom client will automatically be started when you click on a Zoom link (e.g. https://duke.zoom.us/j/123456789)

    •  You may need to click on a pop-up window to allow the client to be started

Basic Operation:
  • To start a new meeting:
    • From the Zoom client on your computer, you can click on "New Meeting" button (the orange square) to launch a new meeting with a new room-ID (this will be a different ID and URL than any previous meetings)
      • You can also click on the down-arrow and use the checkbox to use your "Personal Meeting ID" – this will use an ID number (and URL) which will persist from meeting to meeting (so you can share it with others for regular meetings); NOTE that since the ID and URL are permanent, others may be able to join in any future meeting you create
    • A new window will pop-up with information on your new meeting room – including the Meeting ID Number that you can share with your collaborators
    • When you are ready to end the meeting, you will be prompted whether you want to simply leave the meeting (allowing other participants to continue without you) or to "end the meeting for all" (which will close out the whole meeting for all participants)
  • To join a meeting:
    • If someone sends you a URL link to a meeting, simply click on it – this will first bring up a browser to resolve the URL, which will then forward you to the Zoom client
    • If someone sends you a meeting ID number, you'll need to run the Zoom client first, click on "Join a meeting" and then enter that ID number
  • While in a meeting:
    • Moving your mouse in the window should pop-up a set of menu-icons at the bottom of the window – use these to mute yourself or disable video
    • To share content, use the Share button (green square) which will open a window where you can select what you wish to share
      • It is often easiest to share the entire screen of your computer – but this can have privacy issues (participants will see any and all windows that you have open)
      • You can also share just one application's window (e.g. PowerPoint)
  • Notes:
    • Zoom attempts to use the "system default" microphone and speaker system – but that could be set/overwritten by other applications!
      • While in a meeting, click on the upward arrows next to microphone and videocam icons on the bottom menu (the microphone icon may be labeled "Mute"); in there, you can find audio and video setting selections where you can review/set which specific microphone or camera you want to use (e.g. to select your headset instead of the built-in microphone)
    • In the Zoom client, you can click on the Gear icon (upper-right), you can set defaults for various settings:
      • Under "Video", you can select "Turn off my video when joining meeting" (set default to no-video, then enable video when needed)
      • Under "Audio", you can select "Mute my microphone when joining a meeting"; you can also enable "Press and hold SPACE to temporarily unmute yourself" (can be helpful in larger meetings when most participants are muted most of the time)
For more information: