Zoom For Dummies
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Just like in real life, you won’t always host a Zoom meeting. Sometimes you’ll participate in meetings with people from external organizations. Zoom makes it remarkably simple to join an existing meeting, whether you know the host’s PMI or the meeting’s URL.

Joining a meeting using the host’s PMI

Walter invites you to a meeting via email. His message includes his PMI as well as the meeting’s password. You can join his meeting by following these instructions:
  1. Launch the Zoom desktop client.
  2. On the Home screen, click on the Join icon.
  3. From the prompt, enter the host’s PMI.
  4. (Optional) Enter the meeting password. By default, Zoom began enabling passwords for all meetings starting on April 5, 2020. (You can uncheck this box to disable this option, but I recommend leaving it enabled for security purposes.)
  5. Enter your name or what you want others in the meeting to call you.
  6. (Optional) Indicate whether you want to disable your audio by selecting the appropriate checkbox. Zoom’s default option connects you to the meeting with your computer’s audio enabled.
  7. (Optional) Indicate whether you want to disable your video by clicking the radio box on the left. Zoom’s default option connects you to the meeting with your computer’s video enabled.
  8. Click on the blue Join button. (Optional) If you chose to join with your video enabled, then Zoom presents you with prompt that allows you to preview what other attendees will see, as shown.

    Zoom video premeeting entry prompt. Zoom video premeeting entry prompt.
  9. If you like what you see, then click on the blue Join with Video button; if not, then click on the white Join without Video button. Assuming that the host hasn’t enabled meeting waiting rooms, you’ll join the meeting momentarily.

You’ll also have to enter a password if the meeting host required it.

You have now joined the Zoom meeting.

Joining a meeting via a URL

Donnie invites you to a meeting by emailing you a URL. You can join him on Zoom by following these steps:
  1. Copy and paste the meeting URL into the address bar of your web browser and press the Enter key. Assuming that you installed the Zoom desktop client, your browser prompts you to open it.
  2. Click on the Open or Allow button — or the equivalent button in your web browser.
  3. Click on the blue Join button.
  4. If you like the video preview, click on the blue Join with Video button; if not, then click on the white Join without Video button.
Joining via a URL eliminates the need to enter the meeting’s password because Zoom embeds the password in the link.

Waiting for hosts to begin their meetings.

Say that you have arrived early for James’s meeting, or he is running late. If James has turned on waiting rooms for his meeting, then you can expect to see a waiting room screen.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Phil Simon is a frequent keynote speaker, dynamic trainer, recognized technology authority, and college professor-for-hire. He is the award-winning author of ten books, most recently Slack For Dummies and Zoom For Dummies. He consults organizations on matters related to communications, strategy, data, and technology. His contributions have appeared in The Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, and many other prominent media sites. He hosts the podcast Conversations About Collaboration.

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