How Do I Enable Zoom Audio Transcripts and Captions?

Quick Links: | Prerequisites | Instructions | Troubleshooting |

Zoom has an automatic captioning feature that can be enabled through your Zoom account. This feature allows for live transcriptions during meetings and the ability to save the meeting transcript as an editable, searchable document. This guide will cover how to enable and use these features to improve accessibility and record-keeping in your Zoom meetings.

Prerequisites

• Access to Zoom
• Cloud Recordings must be enabled

Step-by-Step Instructions

To enable automatic captions for your Zoom meetings, do the following:

1. Sign in to your Zoom account using SSO at csuchico.zoom.us.
2. Select Settings from the column on the left.
3. Select In Meeting (Advanced) [1] from the column on the left.
4. Enable Manual Captions [2].
   • Toggling this setting ON is required to enable automatic captions, even if you won’t be using this feature directly.
5. Enable Automatic Captions [3].
6. (Optional) Enable Full Transcript [4].
   • Allows all participants to view a full live transcript through their Zoom client during the meeting.
7. (Optional) Enable Save Captions [5].
   • Enables participants to save a copy of the transcript.

Live captioning is now enabled in your Zoom meetings. During the meeting, there will now be a Show Captions button on the bottom row of your meeting. After launching your Zoom meeting, there will now be a Show Captions button on the bottom row of your client.

1. Select Show Captions (CC).
2. Select the meeting language.
3. Select Save.

To view the full transcript during the meeting, do the following:

1. Select the up arrow inside the Show Captions (CC) [1] button.
2. Select View Full Transcript [2].
   

You can also opt to create an automatic transcript of your meeting in Zoom when you record to the cloud. This transcript will also be used as the captions when the recording is transferred to Kaltura and is generally more accurate than the in-meeting captions. To enable automatic transcripts, do the following:

1. Sign in to your Zoom account using SSO at csuchico.zoom.us.
2. Select Settings from the column on the left.
3. Select Recording from the tabs on the top.
4. Scroll down to Cloud Recordings. If Cloud Recordings is not enabled, enable it.
5. Enable Create Audio Transcript.
   

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with automatic captions and live transcription in Zoom:

• Ensure that cloud recording is enabled.
• Verify that all necessary settings are toggled ON.
• Check your internet connection and reduce background noise for better accuracy.
• Refer to the Zoom Help Center for additional support.

Still need help? If you run into problems or still need help, faculty can reach out to the Technology & Learning Program and students can contact the Center for Technology Equity.