How to Set Up a Zoom Meeting: Create and Schedule Meetings

How to create a Zoom meeting

Creating a Zoom meeting is extremely easy and convenient to do, and generally uniform across all versions of the app. Follow the instructions below to create and start a Zoom meeting.

1. Create a new meeting

After signing into the app, you will see four main action buttons on the screen. Click the New Meeting drop-down arrow to select meeting options. Here, you can make selections for the meeting prior to initiating it. You can also skip right to step 4 to initiate the meeting immediately with default settings.

Important

For mobile versions of Zoom, simply tap New Meeting. This will advance you to the “Start a Meeting” selection screen. Use the toggle buttons to make the selections for the steps below.

2. Choose video settings when joining meeting

Choose whether your meeting will start with your video on by clicking the Start with video checkbox to be on or off. This will enable or disable the host’s (your) video when the meeting is started.

3. Choose to use your Personal Meeting ID

If you want to use your Personal Meeting ID for the meeting you are starting, you can click the Use My Personal Meeting ID checkbox. This will ensure that the meeting will use your Personal Meeting ID rather than a randomly generated meeting ID.

4. Initiate the new meeting

Once you’ve made all the selections for the meeting, simply tap New Meeting to create – and automatically start – a new meeting. By default, this button will automatically use a randomly generated meeting ID. The meeting will open and be in progress.

Important

For the Zoom mobile app, tap Start a Meeting once you’ve made the meeting selections.

You’re done! The meeting will launch in the Zoom app that you are using. You can now send people invitations so they can join.

How to schedule a Zoom meeting

To help you schedule a meeting using any Zoom client or app, we’ve broken down the basic steps below. These apply across all versions, with some small differences in the way the buttons look and function. However, in general, follow the steps below to schedule a meeting.

We also have a more comprehensive article covering how to schedule a meeting for each specific app version.

1. Start to schedule a new meeting

From the home screen of the Zoom desktop and mobile apps, click or tap Schedule.

Using the browser version, click Meetings on the left side menu to access the meetings menu. Then click Schedule a New Meeting.

2. Set the meeting options

This will open the “Schedule Meeting” options screen. Here, you will choose meeting settings and options, including the meeting topic, date and time, and more.

3. Set the meeting topic by naming the meeting

Name your meeting using the Topic form field. Click the form field and enter the Topic to set the name of your meeting. On the browser version, you can also add a Description.

4. Set the date, time, and duration of the meeting

Next, set the date and time of the meeting. On desktop, use the Start drop-down options to set the date and time the meeting will start. Use the Duration drop-down options to set the length of the meeting in hours and minutes.

Click the Recurring meeting checkbox to set this meeting to repeat.

Tap the Time Zone drop-down and select the time zone you want to use for this meeting.

On mobile, use the Date field to set the start date, use the From field to set the start time, and use the To field to set meeting end time. To make the meeting a recurring meeting, tap the Repeat field and select the frequency of the recurring meeting.

5. Choose between random meeting ID and your Personal Meeting ID

Choose to use an automatically generated meeting ID or your Personal Meeting ID. Use the radio buttons to toggle between Generate Automatically or Personal Meeting ID. Next, click the Require meeting password checkbox to require a password for participants to join the meeting. A password will automatically generate; you can also set your own by typing a unique password.

On mobile, tap the Use Personal Meeting ID (PMI) toggle to use your personal meeting ID for the meeting. Tap the Meeting Password toggle to require a meeting password. Tap the Password field and enter a password to set a unique password.

6. Set meeting options, settings, and preferences

Set the remaining video and advanced meeting options available using the options available. On desktop, use the on/off radio buttons for Host and Participants to enable or disable host and participant videos when joining the meeting.

On mobile, use the Host Video On and Participant Video On toggle buttons.

Tap Advanced Options to open up further meeting options on both desktop and mobile versions. Use the check boxes (toggles on mobile) to Enable Waiting Room, Enable join before host, Mute participants upon entry, and Automatically record meeting on the local computer. Phrasing is slightly different on the mobile version.

7. Choose to schedule your meeting to the calendar

Use the Calendar radio buttons to select the calendar you wish to schedule your meeting to. Choose between Outlook, Google Calendar, and Other Calendars on desktop.

On your mobile device, tap the Add to Calendar toggle to enable or disable scheduling your meeting via the default calendar you use on your mobile device.

8. Finish scheduling the meeting in Zoom

Once you’ve made all of the selections for the meeting you are scheduling, click Schedule to schedule your meeting.

On your mobile device, tap Done.

If you did not choose to add this meeting to a calendar, skip to step 11.

9. Sign into calendar scheduling app

Depending on the calendar option you chose, you will be prompted to sign into that calendar application. For our example, we scheduled using Google Calendar.

A browser will open that prompts you to sign into your Google account. Sign in via the correct Google account.

10. Schedule meeting via Google Calendar

For Google Calendar, you advance to the calendar event creation screen. Here, you create the calendar event for the Zoom meeting you are scheduling.

Use the calendar app event creation screen to set the event details. Set the date and time of the calendar event, add a notification and set how far in advance of the meeting the reminder is sent, and customize your meeting event invitation message. Add guests and modify the guest permissions for the event, and click Save when done.

You’ll see the meeting scheduled on your Google Calendar app.

11. Access and manage scheduled meeting

With your meeting now scheduled, you can access, view, and manage your meeting from the Zoom desktop client or mobile app. Click / tap Meetings menu button to access the menu settings. Click / tap the meeting to access and manage the meeting.

From here, click Start (tap Start Meeting on mobile) to initiate the meeting. Click Copy invitation to copy the invitation message. You can then paste this message into an instant messaging service or send directly to an attendee to invite them. Click / tap Edit to change the meeting settings. Click Delete (tap Delete Meeting on mobile) to delete the meeting and cancel it for all invitees.

To invite participants on mobile, tap Add Invitees. You can then select the method to add invitees, choosing from your device’s native messaging system, Gmail, Outlook, and more. You can then select invitees and send invitations.

12. Invite attendees to join your meeting

After you’ve created the meeting, there are a number of ways to invite attendees. We’ll cover each method below, with instructions and images of how to invite participants via desktop, mobile, and browser versions of Zoom.

Invite attendees via Meeting ID and password

No matter what version of Zoom you are using (desktop, mobile, or browser), meetings are assigned a Meeting ID and password. You can share this Meeting ID and password with invitees, and they will be able to input these credentials on any version of the Zoom app to join the meeting.

Invite attendees using Copy Invitation button

The Copy Invitation button (available on the desktop and browser clients) copies an automated invitation message to your clipboard. You can then paste this invitation into an email, a text message, an instant messaging system, or virtually any other messaging software to quickly and conveniently send them a meeting invitation.

The automated invitation includes the meeting topic, the date and time of the meeting, a Join Zoom Meeting URL link, and the Meeting ID and password. You can often customize the message using the messaging service you use to send invitations.

Pro Tip

To invite attendees using this automated message via the mobile app, the process is slightly different. With the Meeting screen open, tap Add Invitees followed by Copy to Clipboard. With this copied, you can paste the message into any messaging app on your mobile device, and send it to invitees. You can also make adjustments to the message before sending it.

Invite attendees by sharing the Join Zoom Meeting URL link

You can highlight and copy the invitation link itself. You can send this to any invitee as you would any other message, via email, a text, an instant messaging system, or essentially any other means.

This invite link can be pasted in the address bar of a browser, and will lead users directly to the meeting room, where they will be prompted to join. On desktop, invitees will be able to join via the desktop or browser client by clicking the URL link. On mobile, they will be able to join via the mobile app by tapping the URL link.

‘Add Invitees’ using the mobile app

Tap the Meetings menu button to access your list of meetings. Tap the meeting from the list to view and manage the scheduled meeting. Tap Add Invitees, and then tap to choose the method to send invitations.

After selecting a method, you will be taken to that app on your mobile device to complete the message. An automated message will generate so that you can easily, quickly, and conveniently send invites. If you want, you can customize the message via the messaging tool you are using. Tap to send via the messaging app you are using.

If you want to send an invitation via a messaging app that isn’t coming up using this method, you can copy an invitation to your clipboard.

You can now start and schedule meetings easily using any version of the app. Now that you’ve learned how to create and schedule meetings using Zoom, you can learn how to use Zoom and how to join a meeting.