How to Record Your Screen with Zoom on Windows and macOS

Quick Tips

• You can change the default location of recordings by using Zoom’s preferences before the meeting or set a prompt to ask to save every time.
• Zoom creates both video and audio recordings for a recorded meeting.
• You can record a meeting or record a screen or Whiteboard.

How to Record Your Screen with Zoom on Windows

Here’s how to record your computer screen on Windows and Mac using the Zoom desktop app.

Step 1: Launch the Zoom app, and as a host, start a new Zoom meeting by clicking the New Meeting icon, as indicated in the image below.

Step 2: Click on Share from either the main screen or the toolbar.

However, if you’ve turned your computer’s camera on, your experience will be slightly different. So, you’ll have to use the Share option on the toolbar.

But that’s if you’re not looking to record a video of yourself. Here’s how to do it if you’d instead record yourself before recording your screen, maybe as an introduction or something. On the Zoom toolbar, you’ll see Record. Click on it. You’ll see the video recording, as your Zoom app will indicate ‘Recording.’

Step 3: When you’re done making a recording and want to switch to recording your screen, you can do either of two things. You can click the Share icon on the toolbar and then open the program you want to record on your screen. Alternatively, pause the video and then click on Share. Then, when you’ve selected the file you want to share, click on Resume Recording.

I assume you want to record just your screen for this guide. You can easily use the suggestions above if you ever decide to include yourself in your screen recording.

Step 4: Select any screen, window, or application you wish to share.

You may also select from the list of windows or applications open on your computer.

Step 5: Click on Share at the bottom right of the screen.

Sharing your screen will reveal a toolbar and meeting control that can be dragged around the screen.

Step 6: Tap the More icon to reveal other options.

Step 7: From the drop-down menu, click on Record to start your screen recording.

You may pause, resume, and stop your screen recording.

Step 8: When you have completed your screen recording, go back to More, and then from the drop-down menu, you’ll click on End Meeting.

Step 9: After you have ended the meeting, the software will convert the meeting recordings into audio and video files for storage on your PC.

Step 10: The recorded file folder will automatically open after conversion. The audio/video file (MP4) is usually named ‘Zoom_0.mp4’ by default, while the audio-only file (M4A) has the default name ‘audio_only.m4a’ appended to it.

How to Record Your Screen with Zoom on macOS

Step 1: Open the Zoom application on your MacOS. If you are the host, start the meeting. If you attend a conference, join the one you want to record.

Step 2: In the meeting, click the Record button on the bottom toolbar; if it isn’t available, click More to find it there.

Step 3: Now click Record. As a participant, you will need permission from the host to record.

The recording indicator will appear at the top left-hand side of your window. This indicates that your recording has started. To pause or stop the recording, click the Pause/Stop Recording button on the bottom toolbar.

Step 3: Once the meeting is over or you’ve stopped the recording, Zoom will convert it into a watchable format and save it to your computer.

Step 4: By default, these recordings are captured under a Zoom subfolder in the Documents folder. Each recording is named with the date and time of the meeting.

Step 5: Before the meeting, you can set the default location of the recordings according to Zoom’s preferences. Go to the menu bar, click on zoom.us, then Preferences, and go to the Recording tab.

Step 6: In the Recording tab, Zoom can prompt you for a save location after each meeting, optimize the recording for third-party video editors, and record separate audio files for each participant.

How to Record Whiteboard Screen in Zoom

The Zoom whiteboard feature allows you to share a whiteboard that the meeting host and other participants can annotate. You can also record your whiteboard screen while giving vocal explanations.

Step 1: Launch the Zoom app, start a meeting, and click Share from either the main screen or the toolbar. After that, click on Whiteboard.

Step 2: Click on Share at the bottom right of the screen.

Step 3: Tapping on Share will reveal the whiteboard and meeting control that can be dragged around the screen.

Here’s the Whiteboard.

Here are the meeting controls.

Step 4: Tap the More icon to reveal other options.

Step 5: Click on Record to start your screen recording.

You may pause, resume, and stop your screen recording.

Step 6: After annotating on your Whiteboard, Click on Save. That option will save your annotation to your PC’s default Zoom storage folder.

Step 7: When you have completed your screen recording, you may click on End Meeting.