Starting

with Zoom

Our friendly guide to getting going and using Zoom .... Dont worry its easy!

We recomend you follow this very friendly guide above and use the written instructions below as a reference. If you find you get stuck then dont worry we hope to be able to help you or point you in the right direction.

Please send an email to webmaster@yorkshirebutterflies.org.uk roughly describing your problems and I wll try and assist and we can even have a test run together to give you confidence. Thanks, Nick

You've heard everyone talking about Zoom and many, possibly like yourself, are not so confident to try. Be assured it relatively easy and it should not be a barrier to a new way of communicating, enjoyment and learning

It may never replace speaking to one another in person but Zoom is the closest to the real thing. It is actually quite rewarding with quite a number of side benefits we did not appreciate before. In the branch we have found significant savings from people not needing spend a good part of a day travelling across Yorkshire to attend meetings. In additionmeetings can be at more conveneniet times of the day and be very significantly shorter.

From school kids to grandads it is becoming our primary means of keeping in contact for what we value most during these months of lockdown: seeing, sharing and talking with friends, family and those with common interests.

Yorkshire Branch plans to hold of series of meetings and events from volunteer training, informative webinars to live moth trapping events usually for an hour in mid evening weekdays. We see it as a way to reach out to those who have never travelled to one of our events or it has never been convenient time. We hope you will embrace Zoom and join us.

It is likely Zoom will be our primary means of reaching our members for much of 2021 and beyond.

What to do when you receive a Zoom invite

The first thing to do when you get invited to a Zoom meeting for the first time is to download the Zoom app  on your computer, tablet or smartphone, even if it’s days before the meeting. It should only take a couple of minutes, but it’s good to do it well in advance, in case you encounter any problems.

Head to Zoom’s download page  and download the "Zoom Client for Meetings". If you scroll further down the page you can also download the apps for your smartphone or tablet. You can also find this on your smartphone or tablet’s app store (eg Google Play) for free by searching "Zoom" within the store search bar.

Alternatively you can just click the meeting link you’ve been sent and you’ll be prompted to download the app. If you’re on a computer, your screen will look something like this:

Once you’ve downloaded the app for your first meeting, you won’t have to do it again for others.

If you can’t download the app, you can also join the meeting in your web browser (such as Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Internet Explorer), but it is strongly recommended that you download the app for the most reliable, easiest and best experience.

Joining the meeting

When it’s time for the meeting to start, open the email in which you were sent the meeting link and click on the link to join. It should open a new tab or window.

Joining on your computer

If you’re on a Windows computer and have already downloaded the app, you’ll then be shown a screen like this:You’ll likely see something similar if you’re on a Mac too. Click the "open Zoom" pop-up (or "click here" if that doesn't appear) and follow the instructions to join the meeting with the app.

If you haven’t downloaded the app yet, or if it didn’t download properly last time, you’ll be prompted with an option to download Zoom. If you want to join in your browser (rather than downloading an app) you can click "join from your browser" at the bottom of the screen.


Joining with a smartphone or tablet

On a smartphone or tablet app you’ll see something like this if you’ve already downloaded the app:

When asked what you’d like to open the link with select "Zoom".

If you haven’t downloaded the app you'll be automatically taken to a webpage asking you to download it. You can’t join in browser on tablets or smartphones.

Once you're in the meeting

If you’ve joined the meeting before the host, you might be shown a holding screen until they join and start the meeting. It’ll look something like this:



Once the meeting has started you'll be asked how you'd like to join the meeting audio if you're on a computer. You should select 'join with computer audio' as below:


You might also be prompted to let Zoom or your browser access your microphone and webcam. This is necessary for Zoom to work and you should allow it to do so.


Finally, there are some basic controls that are good to know when you’re in a meeting, such as how to mute or unmute yourself, turn your video or or off and open up the chatbox. We’ve circled these for you in the image below.

When you join a call it’s a good idea to open the chatbox and then unmute yourself to test that everyone can hear you and that you can hear them. You can use that chatbox to communicate if you’re having any problems hearing or getting your mic to work. Once you’ve tested your mic it’s a good idea to put yourself back on mute until you need to talk again. This helps reduce background noise, feedback, and people hearing themselves.