How to view captions in a meeting or webinar
If manual or automated captions are available during a meeting or webinar, you can view these as a participant. You can also view captions while in a Zoom Room.
View captions during a meeting or webinar
If the host hasn't disabled or restricted captions for the session, you can turn them on from the controls toolbar.
Sign in to the Zoom desktop app.
Join a meeting or webinar.
In the meeting controls toolbar, click the Show captions icon
.
Captions will automatically appear above the meeting controls toolbar.(Optional) Hover over the captions and click the gear icon
, then click any of the following options:
Caption language: Change the spoken language of the meeting. Captions will appear in this language for everyone.
Caption settings: Customize how captions are displayed to you by changing the font type, font size, caption color, and position. Learn more about customizing caption display settings.
Pop out overlay: Pop the captions out into a movable and resizable box. Click and drag the lower corners of the box to adjust the width. Click and move the box to move it to a different area of the meeting window. To pin it back to the bottom of the meeting window, click the gear icon
, then click Pin to bottom.
Set your caption language
You may be prompted to set the caption language when you enable captions. The caption language selection impacts all participants. The default language follows the host’s operating system language, but other languages can be selected. This tells the system which language it will hear participants speak in and to generate captions in that language. If a participant is speaking in language A but Zoom is expecting language B, the generated captions will be inaccurate. The availability of languages is determined by the host’s automated captioning settings.
In the meeting controls toolbar, next to the Show/Hide captions icon
, click the up arrow icon
.
Click Caption language, then select a language.
On the pop-up, confirm the language you want to set as the caption language, then click Save.
Zoom will transcribe captions in the chosen language for all participants.
Request captions be enabled
If the host has restricted who can enable captions in a meeting or webinar but hasn't disabled captions entirely, participants can request that captions be enabled for the current session. Instead of clicking Show captions in the controls toolbar, the option to Request captions is available. The host and potentially co-hosts, depending on settings, will receive the request and can approve or decline.
In the meeting controls toolbar, click the Request captions icon
.
Note: If you don’t see the Request captions option, click the More icon
, then click Request captions.
(Optional) Select the Send request with translation check box to request translated captions.
Click Send.
A request is sent to the host, with a notification in the center of their meeting window. The host and potentially co-hosts will review the request and then approve or decline. If approved, captions will immediately appear for the requestor and others. If you requested translated captions, you will be prompted to set the language you will read captions in for this meeting.
Automatically show captions when available
If you want to always have captions displayed, if they are available in that meeting or webinar, you can adjust your desktop app client accessibility settings to enable captions automatically.
Sign in to the Zoom desktop app.
Click your profile picture, then click Settings.
Click the Accessibility tab
.
Under Closed captioning, click the Always show captions in meetings and webinars toggle to enable it.
If captions are enabled by the host of the meeting or webinar, captions will be automatically displayed for you when you join a session.
How to customize caption font size, color, selection, and layout
You can make adjustments to the caption display at any time, either during a meeting or webinar or outside of a live event. Customizations that you make are only visible to you and do not change other participants’ caption display settings.
Windows | macOS
During a meeting or webinar
Sign in to the Zoom desktop app.
Join a meeting or webinar.
In the meeting controls toolbar, next to the Show Captions icon
, click the up arrow icon
.
Click Caption settings.
The Captions panel will appear on the right side of the meeting window.In the Captions panel, choose from the following customization options:
Font type: Choose a font type.
Font size: Move the slider to adjust the caption size from small to large
.
Caption color: Choose from the preset text and background color options.
Position: Choose if the captions are pinned to the bottom of the meeting window, or if they appear as a pop out overlay that you can resize and move as needed.
Outside of a meeting or webinar
Sign in to the Zoom desktop app.
Click your profile picture, then click Settings.
Click the Accessibility tab
.
Under Closed Captioning, choose from the available customization options. As you make changes, you will see a preview of how captions will be displayed.
Font size: Move the slider to adjust the caption size from small to large
.
Caption color: Choose from the preset text and background color options.
Font type: Choose a font type.
Position: Choose if the captions are pinned to the bottom of the meeting window, or if they appear as a pop out overlay that you can resize and move as needed.
(Optional) Click the Always show captions in meetings and webinars toggle if you want to always have captions displayed, if they are available in that meeting or webinar.
Resource: Zoom - Viewing captions in a meeting or webinar