Zoom: View Closed Captions and Full Transcript

Topics included in this article:

  • View closed captions on a computer (Windows and Mac)
    • Caption settings
    • Always show captions
  • View closed captions on a phone or tablet (Android, iOS)
    • Always show captions
  • View and save full transcript

View closed captions on a computer (Windows and Mac)

Automatic captions should be available in all meetings hosted through a Minnesota State Zoom account. If you need professional captions please contact Center for Accessibility Resources (interpreting.services@metrostate.edu) at least 2 weeks prior to the event.
  1. Join a Zoom meeting from a computer
  2. Select the Show Captions button from the meeting controls toolbar at the bottom of your screen
    Zoom meeting controls with show captions button highlighted
    1. If the Show Captions button is not visible, select More, then select Captions, and finally select Show Captions
      More menu from Zoom meeting controls highlighting the Captions option
      Captions settings in Zoom with Show Captions highlighted
  3. If prompted, select the language that will be spoken in the meeting
  4. Captions will appear at the bottom center of the Zoom window, click and drag the captions to a new location on the screen if desired

Captions Settings

The caption settings can be adjusted during a meeting or in the Zoom application without joining a meeting. Changes made during a meeting will apply to future meetings you join.

  1. Open the Zoom Settings
    1. During a meeting, select the arrow next to Hide (Show) Captions and then select Caption Settings. If you do not have a Hide Captions button, select More, then Captions, then Caption Settings
      Zoom captions menu highlighting caption settings
    2. From the Zoom application select your profile in the upper right corner and then select Settings
      Opening settings from the Zoom application
  2. This will open a settings window. If necessary select Accessibility from the category list on the left.
    Zoom Captions Settings window
  3. Use the slider to set the font size
  4. Select a caption color from the provided options or use the select your own color option to choose a custom color
  5. A preview of the caption display is shown below the controls
  6. Check the box for Always show captions to have captions enabled any time you join a meeting from this account
  7. Close the settings window

Always show captions (Windows or Mac)

In the same accessibility settings menu, check the box for Always show captions to have captions enabled any time you join a meeting from this account.

View closed captions on a mobile device (iOS or Android)

  1. Join a Zoom meeting on your mobile device.
  2. Select More in the bottom right corner.
  3. Select Show Captions

Always show captions (iOS or Android)

Through the Zoom app on iOS and Android devices you can set it to always show closed captioning (when available) so that you do not need to enable captions at the beginning of each meeting.

  1. Open the Zoom app on your mobile device.
  2. Navigate to Meeting Settings
    • If you are signed in to a Zoom account, tap More in the lower right corner, then tap Meetings.
    • If you are not signed in to Zoom, tap the Settings icon in the upper left corner, then tap Meetings.
  3. Scroll down to find Show Closed Captioning (when available) and toggle it on

View and Save Full Transcript

In addition to closed captions during a meeting, you can view a full transcript. Depending on the host’s settings you may be able to save this transcript.

  1. Click on the arrow next to Hide/Show Captions, then click View Full Transcript.
    1. If you do not see the Show Captions button on the toolbar you may need to click the More button, then select Captions, then View Full Transcript
  2. The transcript will appear in a pane on the right or in a separate window titled Transcript.
  3. If available, select Save Transcript at the bottom of the transcription pane to save a copy of the transcript to your computer. The saved file will contain the transcription up to the point Save is clicked, so be sure to click Save towards the end of the meeting
    1. To update the saved transcription file click Save Transcript again.
  4. After you have clicked Save Transcript a new Show in Folder button should appear, which you can select to go directly to the file location.
  5. The file should go to a Zoom folder within Documents on your computer and it can be opened with a text editor like Notepad.

Additional Information:

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