Zoom: Chat

Introduction

Zoom is Quinnipiac University’s virtual presence and meeting solution. This tutorial will present the different ways to use the Zoom Chat feature, both in and outside of meetings. If you have not yet downloaded the Zoom Desktop application and to find out more about Zoom meetings, refer to the "Zoom: Getting Started with Zoom Workplace" solutions article.

Zoom serves as a virtual presence so that others can know when you are available to meet or chat with them. Instantly chatting via text is a great way to quickly communicate and share content with a colleague or student.

New Chat Experience Setup

Optional features are available for the in-meeting chat. Follow these steps to turn them on for you and your participants.

Go to the Quinnipiac Zoom web portal (https://quinnipiac.zoom.us) and click Sign in.
You may be directed to the Quinnipiac Single Sign-On (SSO) page where you will need to login with your standard Quinnipiac username and password.
From the Zoom web portal, click Settings in the left-hand navigation menu and select the Meeting tab at the top. Then click on the In Meeting (Basic) sub-section and scroll to the Meeting chat section. Ensure that its toggle switch is ON.
Next, ensure that the toggle switches for Allow participants to delete message in meeting chat, Allow participants to edit message in meeting chat, Enable the Screenshot feature in meeting chat, and Allow participants to use emojis in meeting chat are all in the ON position.

Pre-Meeting Setup for Persistent Chat

Schedule your meeting as you usually would via the portal, Zoom desktop application or Outlook add-in. The portal provides the most options when scheduling a meeting. Under Options make sure to check of Q&A to have it available during the meeting.

Invite attendees for a group chat by adding the emails of invitees when scheduling a meeting and make sure to check off Enable a dedicated group chat for this meeting.
OPTIONAL: Start Group Chat prior to meeting. If you want to start the group chat conversation prior to the start of the meeting, in the Zoom app go to your Meetings Tab and click on message invitees for the meeting. This will add the chat to the meeting chat area of your Zoom chats.
Decide how persistent chat will begin. Meeting members can start the conversation prior to the meeting (see optional Step 2 above). Then, when they get into the meeting, they will see the chat to be able to continue it. If the meeting chat is not started prior to the meeting, then the persistent meeting chat will appear in the meeting chat area of the Zoom App once the meeting is started by the host. When the meeting ends, the whole chat is accessible via the Meeting chats section to continue the conversation.
Access persistent chats via Meeting Chats. The Meeting Chats section of the Team Chats area in your Zoom Desktop App may not be visible depending on your settings. If you do not see it, look under Recents for recent persistent chats. To make Meeting Chats visible, go to the Zoom Desktop App Settings > Team Chat and check the box for Organize by section.

Out-of-Meeting Chat

Out-of-meeting Team Chat is the instant messaging tool available for synchronous communication when you are not in a live Zoom meeting. Use this to quickly connect with others without starting a Zoom meeting or access persistent chats created from scheduled meetings (see Pre-Meeting Setup for Persistent Chat section above).

Launch the Zoom Workplace desktop application and login by selecting the Sign In with SSO option. Type in quinnipiac into the domain text box. Click Continue.
Follow additional prompts to sign in with Quinnipiac username and password and open the Zoom Workplace desktop application.

How to chat

The Team Chat area of the Zoom desktop app is a feature-rich way to communicate with others via text, file sharing, and media.

Select Team Chat.
Communicate in the Team Chat window. Each chat window contains numerous features to help you easily communicate with one or more people in different ways. Both individual and channel (group) chats happen here.

Item Description A Team Chat sidebar – search for and access recent chats with contacts and/or channels, create new chats and channels, and connect with contacts using a submenu for each. B Message box – type your text and hit Enter or Return on your keyboard to send. Tip: use Ctrl/CMD + Enter to go to the next line and type without sending. C Compose options – format your message text; add emojis; insert a screenshot, image/GIF, or file from your computer; record an audio or video message; and add formatted code. D Star the Contact – Mark the current contact as a favorite to help access the chat more easily later. E Meet with Video or Phone Call – start a meeting with video or call the contact via Zoom phone. F Open in new window – pop the current chat out into its own window. G Information menu – invite others to chat with, view the contact’s profile information, view attached files from your chat, view starred messages from your chat, access whiteboards, block the contact, and clear your chat history with the contact(s). H Search – search all contacts, chat messages, and shared files.

Chat with Groups

Zoom desktop application Team Chat feature can be used to chat with more than one person at a time. Chatting with a group is done in a Channel. Channels are a great way to create a collaborative, synchronous form of communication outside of a meeting. In fact, you can use the desktop app Chat function while in a Zoom meeting. For instance, when using Breakout Rooms in a meeting, room facilitators can coordinate efforts using a Chat Channel in the Zoom desktop app. Here are steps to set up a Chat Channel.

Select Contacts.
Click Add Contact button and select Create a Channel. Notice that there is a Join a Channel option in the drop-down menu. This can be used when someone else has created a public channel that is searchable. It presents a searchable list of Channels, and you can hover over one and click the Join button.
Enter information and settings for new Channel and click Create Channel. These settings can be changed later.

Item Description A Channel Name – Enter group name for the Channel. B Channel Type – Public Channels are searchable within the app; Private Channels require the channel’s administrator/creator to invite people and/or other existing channels. C External users can be added – check this box to allow external users to be added with their own Zoom account email addresses; and select whether who can add external users to the channel – only members of your organization or all channel members, internal and external. D Add Members – Enter the names and/or email addresses of those you wish to be part of the channel. E Manage Posting Permissions – Click the link to expand the options, and then select who in your channel can post chat messages.
Manage your channel. If you are the administrator/creator of your channel, you can modify different aspects of the channel at any time, including membership, chat history, posting permissions, and more. To manage your channel, go to the channel in the Chat area, open More info, and select the channel setting you wish to modify. The example image below shows how to access More Options for a channel.

In-Meeting Chat

In-meeting Chat is an instant messaging feature for synchronous communication within a live Zoom meeting. If audio connection is not an option or not desired for an activity, Chat helps you maintain open communication. With large groups, Chat can be a great way to ask and answer questions to avoid too many participants speaking at once. Make sure Chat is enabled in your Zoom web portal under Settings > In Meeting (Basic) to use this feature.

Chat During Video/Audio Sharing

Click Chat in the meeting control bar.
Use the Chat panel that opens to manage and send messages to meeting participants.

Item Description A Message box – type your text and hit Enter or Return on your keyboard to send. B To: – select the recipients of your Chat message; send to Everyone (default) in the meeting or to individual participants. Note that the available options are dependent on what chat restrictions have been applied to the meeting. C Chat options – access more formatting options for the text, insert screenshots, browse your computer for files to attach, and insert emojis. D
More – Change the Chat settings; allow attendees (participants) to chat with specific groups of people; save the chat as a text (.txt) file on your computer if that option is enabled by the host.
- No one: disables in-meeting chat.
- Host and co-hosts only: participants can only chat with the host and co-host.
- Everyone: Participants can only send public messages visible to everyone in the meeting.
- Everyone and anyone directly: Participants can send messages to everyone in the meeting and change the “To” option to send private messages to individuals.
E Window options – Drop-down menu allows you to close the Chat window or pop it out of its docked position.
If the Chat panel is not open in a meeting, the Chat button displays a counter badge and a message preview appears when a new message is available to read.
In the Zoom chat, participants can have a threaded discussion by clicking the reply button to reply to each other.
All messages within the chat have the ability to use reactions. Participants can click on the reaction button.
There is an option within chat to send a screenshot. When you click the screenshot button, your mouse pointer will turn into a crosshair that you can use to capture a screenshot and then send it within the Zoom chat.
Participants can click on the ellipsis and delete any message that they sent.

Chat During Screen Share

The main Zoom Meeting control bar is relocated and possibly auto-hidden during a screen share, so you first must locate it and expand it to see the available buttons.

Click More on the Zoom Meeting toolbar and select Chat. Note that the Chat button may appear directly on the toolbar. Also, other controls may be available via the More menu. Depending on your meeting permissions and personal Zoom settings, not all options in the image below will be available to you during a meeting.

Red box outlines and arrows indicating the selection of the More button in the Zoom meeting floating toolbar and the subsequent selection of the Chat option.

Breakout Rooms Chat Persist in Main Meeting

A chat that starts in a breakout room will then persist in main room when the breakout room closes. This will allow for the chat to continue outside of the breakout room.

NOTE: Only people who are in the breakout room will see the chat outside of the breakout room. Also, you must be in the breakout room to have the chat, as it does not give you messages that you may have missed when you were not in the room.