Zoom: Chat

This article details troubleshooting and usage methods for the chat function in Zoom.

The chat allows you to send messages to other users in a meeting. You can send messages to the entire group or to an individual, and the host can choose who the participants chat with or disable chat entirely. The chat can be saved manually or automatically.

Accessing the Chat

  1. Click Chat in the meeting controls.

    Screenshot of Zoom controls on bottom of main screen with chat option highlighted

  2. This will open the chat window on the right side of the screen (if you are using Zoom in full-screen mode, this chat will appear as a pop-out window). You can type a message to send to the entire group or click on the drop-down menu that follows "To:" and select a specific name if you want to send a message to only that attendee.

    Screenshot of Chat pop-upScreenshot of changing the recipient of  your chats

  3. When new chat messages are sent to you or everyone, a preview of the message will appear (you can turn this setting off). Please note, these previews may not appear when you are screensharing. 

Accessing Chat While Screensharing

  1. While screensharing, you can select the Chat icon in the meeting controls to open the chat in a pop-up window. If you exit out of the Chat while screensharing, notifications will still appear in the floating meeting controls. If you have accidentally hidden these meeting controls, press the Esc key to pull them up again. 

    Screenshot of the floating meeting controls with a chat notification


KeywordsZoom, chat   Doc ID126679
OwnerKiran W.GroupSchool of Information Sciences
Created2023-03-17 10:58:35Updated2024-03-22 08:52:05
SitesUniversity of Illinois School of Information Sciences
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