Hosting a Meeting

What is a Meeting Host?

The host is a participant with special privileges that allow them to manage the meeting. For example, hosts can mute/unmute other participants, determine who can share content, and even pass on the host role to someone else.

Who is the Meeting Host?

For scheduled meetings, the person that scheduled the meeting is the meeting host. When scheduling the meeting, the scheduler can also specify other people as alternate hosts. For an instant meeting that is started in someone's Personal Meeting Room, the owner of the room will be the host.

The host of a meeting can pass the host role to another meeting participant at any time. Alternatively, the host can give another participant co-host privileges so that they can help manage the meeting.

If you are a scheduler/host or an alternative host that accidentally joined the Zoom meeting as a “guest” and you need to claim the Host role so that you can manage the meeting, do the following:

  1. Go to the Participant Panel and click the Claim Host button.claim host option
  2. A window will appear where you can click Login to Claim Host.Options to claim host role by entering host key or signing in with Tufts Zoom credentials
  3. The Zoom application window will appear. Select SSO.SSO option
  4. In the “company domain” field, enter “tufts” so the full domain reads as “tufts.zoom.us”. Then click Continue.tufts.zoom.us company domain
  5. A Tufts authentication window will load. Log in with your Tufts username (e.g. jjumbo01) and password.Tufts login window

During the meeting, click the More button next to a participant’s name in the Participants Panel and select Make Host or Make Co-Host.

Participant controls

If you made someone else a co-host, you can withdraw their co-host permissions the same way.

If you made someone else the host, you can click the Reclaim Host button at the bottom of the Participants Panel to take the host role back.

Reclaiming host role

 

After a meeting has started, it is possible for the host to change participants’ privileges.

Using the Host Tools Button

During a meeting, a Host Tools button will be present in the host’s and co-host's toolbars. This button provides quick access to some of the most commonly used features for managing meeting attendance and privileges, including the ability to:

  • Lock/unlock the meeting.
  • Enable/Disable the waiting room.
  • Hide participants' profile pictures
  • Manage participant privileges (e.g. the ability to share content, use the Chat Panel, and more)
  • Suspend participant activities
Host Tools

NOTE: The "Suspend Participant Activities" option is like an emergency brake for your meeting. If enabled, the meeting will be locked, screen sharing will stop, and all participant audio and video will be turned off (including hosts and cohosts).

 

Managing Sharing Settings

  1. Click the up arrow next to the Share button in the meeting toolbar and select Advanced Sharing Options.Share options
  2. A window will appear where you can select how many people can share simultaneously, who can share, and when they can share.Advanced sharing options
  3. When you are done, close the window.

 

Managing Participant Entry and Exit Settings

  1. Click the Participants icon in the meeting toolbar to open the Participants Panel.
  2. Click the More button at the bottom of the Participants Panel.More options menu in Participant panel
  3. A menu will appear with several options, including:
    • Mute All Upon Entry – If checked, this automatically mutes participants’ audio when they connect to the meeting.
    • Play Join and Leave Sound – If checked, a chime will play whenever a participant connects to or leaves the meeting.
    • Lock Meeting – If checked, no new participants will be able to join the meeting. Once locked, the meeting can be unlocked in the same way.
    • Enable Waiting Room – If checked, attendees will be placed in a virtual meeting room when they try to connect to the meeting. The host can then admit them into the meeting or reject their request to join.
    • Allow participants to...
      • Unmute Themselves – If checked, participants will be able to unmute themselves, even if the host mutes their audio.
      • Rename – If checked, participants will have the ability to change how their name appears in the Participants Panel.
      • Start Video - If checked, participants can turn on their cameras whenever they want and share video with the rest of the meeting.

 

Managing Chat Settings

  1. Click the Chat icon in the meeting toolbar to open the Chat Panel.chat panel
  2. Click the chat options button (Chat options button).
  3. A menu will appear with the following options.
    • Save chat – Allows you to save the contents of your chat window to your computer.
    • Allow Participants to chat with - Decide who participants can communicate with through the Chat Panel.chat controls

 

  • For minor disruptions, mute a participant’s audio or turn off their video. By default, a muted participant will be able to unmute their own audio whenever they want unless this ability has been disabled by a host/co-host.
    • If the participant is sharing screen content, an option will also be available to stop it.Options for dealing with disruptions
  • Move more troublesome participants to the Waiting Room or remove them from the meeting completely.
    • Participants who have been put in the Waiting Room will not be able to re-enter unless admitted by a host/co-host.
    • Participants who have been Removed will not be able to re-join the meeting on that same device.
  • In extreme cases, you can suspend all participant activities while you figure out how to move forward with your meeting.
    • Everything will get turned off/disabled (e.g. audio, video, screen sharing, etc.), including the host’s and co-hosts’, and the meeting will be locked.
    • A host/co-host can then unmute their own audio, explain to the rest of the meeting what is happening, and proceed however they feel comfortable.option to suspend activities

Co-hosts have elevated privileges in several areas that can make them very helpful during meetings. They can:

  • Manage participant audio and video.
  • Use the Security button to manage settings and privileges.
  • Manage the Waiting Room.
  • Share content even when sharing is restricted to the Host.
  • Record meeting content.
  • Launch polls that were previously created by the scheduler.
  • Help create and manage breakout rooms.

Overview

Zoom’s Focus Mode is a feature that makes it easier for the Host of a meeting to reduce distractions and keep everyone’s attention on them. Learn more on the Zoom Help Center page about Focus Mode.

More about Focus Mode:

  • Once the meeting begins, a Host or Co-host can turn Focus Mode on/off and manage additional settings from the meeting room toolbar.
  • How does Focus Mode affect attendee videos?
    • Host and Co-host videos will be spotlighted automatically and visible to everyone.
      • Hosts/Co-hosts can spotlight additional participant video feeds for a total of 9 spotlights (Host, Co-hosts, and participants).
    • Host/Co-hosts will be able to see everyone else’s video feeds and profile pictures. Participants will only be able to see Host/Co-hosts’ videos and any other spotlighted videos.
  • How does Focus Mode affect screen sharing?
    • As usual, only Hosts and Co-hosts can share content by default.
      • If the Host or a Co-host shares content, it will be seen by ALL PARTICIPANTS.
    • The Host or a Co-host can open up screen sharing to all participants in the Security menu.
      • By default, when a participant shares, their content will only be seen by the Host and Co-hosts.
        • The Host can make it so that ALL PARTICIPANTS can see participants’ shared screens.

Using Focus Mode

  1. A Host or Co-host can turn on Focus Mode by clicking More in their meeting toolbar and selecting Start Focus Mode.start focus mode

     

  2. A confirmation window will appear. Click Start.confirming that you want to use focus mode
  3. To allow screen sharing by other participants, open the Host tools menu and enable the Share Screen option.Host tools
  4. While Focus Mode is enabled, the Host/Co-hosts can control who sees shared screen content from participants by clicking on the up arrow next to the Share Screen icon and selecting either Host (and Co-hosts) only or All participants.Sharing options during Focus mode
  5. To end Focus Mode, click the More button again and select Stop Focus Mode. (Note: When Focus Mode is disabled, it takes a few seconds to turn off and for video and screen sharing to return back to normal. Focus Mode can only be turned back on after this happens.)stop focus mode

The Waiting Room is a useful tool for controlling who can get into your meeting and when. As with many other Zoom features, it can be managed by the Host or a Co-host!

For more information, see the page on Waiting Rooms

Overview

The Immersive View feature is a fun way to mimic in-person meetings in Zoom. When used, the pictures/video feeds of selected participants are pulled together into a single virtual background that mimics different physical settings (e.g. conference rooms, classrooms, etc.). Depending on the size of the meeting, all of the participants could be included in the Immersive View. Alternatively, it can be set up so that only certain participants, such as panelists, are included.

Example of Immersive View in use

Notes about Immersive View

  • To use the Immersive View in a meeting, “Immersive View” must be enabled in the scheduler’s Tufts Zoom settings before the meeting starts.
  • Immersive View can only be managed by the Host of a meeting. Co-hosts and other participants cannot manage Immersive View.
  • For participants who are included in one of the available Immersive View positions:
    • If the participant is not sharing video, the Immersive View will display their profile picture or display name.
    • If the participant is sharing video, that video will be displayed. Depending on the Immersive View selected, their virtual backgrounds and/or video filters may be included.
  • Participants who join a meeting late will NOT automatically be included in the Immersive View. However, they can be added to the Immersive View by the Host.
  • Any participants who are not included in the Immersive View will have their video/name/profile picture displayed in the Zoom meeting window the same way they normally would, usually in a bar along the top of the screen.
  • If Immersive View is in use during a meeting, it will temporarily be stopped when a participant starts sharing content, such as PowerPoint. Once content sharing stops, the Immersive View will reappear.

Click here for more information about Zoom’s Immersive View feature.

Enabling Immersive View in Your Tufts Zoom Settings

  1. Log in to tufts.zoom.us with your Tufts username (e.g. jjumbo01) and password.
  2. Select Settings in the left-hand navigation menu.
  3. Find the Immersive View setting and turn it ON.Enabling Immersive View Setting

Using Immersive View in Meetings

Reminder: Immersive View must be enabled in the scheduler’s Tufts Zoom Settings before the meeting starts. Immersive View can only be controlled by the meeting Host, not by co-hosts or other participants.

  1. Toward the top right portion of the Zoom window, click on the View icon and select Immersive.Selecting Immersive View
  2. A window will open where the Host can configure the Immersive View for the meeting. Within this window, the Host can:
    • Choose a virtual background image to be used in the Immersive View. Hosts can select one of the available images or upload a custom image of their own. Note that each image is set up to accommodate a particular number of video participants, ranging from 2 to 25.
    • Determine how video participants will be placed in the Immersive View. Regardless of which option is selected, the Host can later adjust which participants are included in the Immersive View and their positions relative to each other on the screen. Options include:
      • Automatically – Zoom will automatically move participants into the available Immersive View spots.
      •  Manually – The Host determines which participants will be included in the Immersive View.Configuring Immersive View
  3. When you’re ready, click Start to begin the Immersive View. Once the Immersive View has started, all meeting participants will see it exactly as the Host has set it up. They will no longer be able to independently choose Speaker or Gallery view.

Making Changes to the Immersive View

Once Immersive View has started, the Host can manage it in several ways.

  • To move an Immersive View participant to a different location, click and drag them to the appropriate spot.click and drag Immersive View participant
  • To remove a participant from the Immersive View, click on their video, then click on the X. They will be moved to a non-Immersive View position.Removing a participant from Immersive View
  • To add a participant to the Immersive View, drag their video to an available Immersive View position.Adding a participant to Immersive View
  • Click on the View icon toward the top right corner of the Zoom window and select Change Immersive ViewMake any necessary changes to the Immersive View and click Start to implement them.Change Immersive View option

     

Stopping Immersive View

Click the View icon toward the top right corner of the Zoom window and select Speaker or Gallery.

Selecting Speaker or Gallery View

A notification will appear stating that Immersive View will stop for everyone and participants will return to whatever their previous view was (Speaker or Gallery). Click Stop to confirm.

Stopping Immersive View

 

When you are ready to leave a Zoom meeting, click the End button in the bottom toolbar. Depending on the type of meeting and your role, a window will appear with options.

Option to end or leave a meeting

Note: If you are the host of the meeting and want the meeting to continue without you, use the Participants Panel to assign someone else the host role before you leave!