Introduction

Zoom Chat allows free and paid users to streamline communications between team members and external Zoom users. With Zoom Chat, you can:

• Quickly find contacts, messages, and files, keeping knowledge and information at your fingertips.
• Organize what’s most important by using starred chats and customized notifications to help you cut out the noise.
• Communicate in public or private channels organized by projects, teams, or topics. Share files, emojis, screenshots, and more.

Accessing Chat

Follow these steps to view a list of your chats:

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Chat tab.

Zoom will list the following types of chat. Click on an existing chat to continue your conversation:

1. 1-on-1 chats: Private, direct chat between you and another Zoom user.
2. Group chats: Chats with two or more Zoom users.
3. Channels: Chats for a specific project, team, or topic. Public channels are open for anyone to join, while private channels have invite-only membership.

Starting a new chat

To begin messaging other Zoom users, you can easily start any of the chat types we previously mentioned:

1-on-1 chat

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Chat tab.
3. Click the search bar at the top of the chat list or the one beside your profile picture.
4. Enter a name to search through your directory of Zoom users.
5. Click a name to start chatting with them.
6. Enter your message, then press Enter to send it.

Group chat

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Chat tab.
3. In the chat list, click the add button next to RECENT.
4. Click New Chat.
5. Enter a name of someone to search through your directory, then click their name to add them to the chat. Repeat this step to add two or more users to the chat.
6. Enter your message, then press Enter to send it.

Joining a public channel

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Chat tab.
3. In the chat list, click the add button next to RECENT.
4. Click Join a Channel.
5. Use the search bar to find a channel, then hover over the channel name and click Join.

Replying and managing chat messages

You can edit or delete messages, files, or images that you have already sent. The search results that recipients see in the chat will reflect the content of your edited message. Although the recipient does not receive a notification, deleted chat content and files are no longer accessible within Zoom. All platforms support the typing indicator, which notifies you when the other party is typing a message.

Formatting text

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. In the Chat tab, select a chat thread.
3. Enter your message.
4. Highlight the portion that you want to format.
5. Zoom will display these formatting options.
6. Click an icon to format text.

You can also use these keyboard shortcuts to format text:

• Bold: Ctrl/Cmd + B
• Italicize: Ctrl/Cmd + I
• Strike-through: Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X
• Bulleted list: Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + 8

Replying to a message

You can reply to a message to keep all related replies in the same thread; this allows users to easily identify replies.

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. In the Chat tab, select a chat thread.
3. Hover over the message you want to reply to.
4. Click the reply icon .
5. Enter your reply, then press Enter.

Presence status

Your presence status is the small icon that appears before your name in the Chat and Contacts tabs and in the top-right corner of your profile picture. This gives a quick indication to other users whether you are available or unavailable to chat. Please see the guide below for different presence statuses available on Zoom

Using chat mentions and slash commands

Chat Mentions

You can use chat mentions to notify certain users in a channel or group chat. The users being mentioned will see a notification unless they changed their notification settings. You can also use chat mentions to link to a channel.

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client or mobile app.
2. Select a chat thread.
3. Enter the first character of the mention (@ or #). Zoom will display a list of mentions.
4. Enter a few characters to search through users or channels, then click or tap a mention from the list. On desktop, you can also use your arrow keys to select a mention then press Enter.
5. Continue composing your message.
6. Press Enter to send.

Slash commands

Allow you to quickly perform an action by typing a forward slash (/) in a 1-on-1, channel, or group chat.

• /call: Make a Zoom Phone call with a user or room in your contacts directory. The user or room must have a Zoom Phone license to receive the call. You can also call the user if they added a verified phone number to their profile.
• /zoom: Start an instant meeting with a user or room in your contacts directory.

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client or mobile app.
2. Select a chat thread.
3. Enter a forward slash (/).
4. Zoom will display a list of slash commands.
5. Click or tap a slash command from the list. On desktop, you can also use your arrow keys to select a command then press Enter.
6. Enter a few characters to search through users or rooms, then click or tap a user or room from the list. On desktop, you can also use your arrow keys to select a command then press Enter.
7. Press Enter run the command.

Sending a screen capture and file

Zoom chat allows you to send text, screenshots, images and files to a contact or group. These features are available for both encrypted and unencrypted chat.

Screenshot

1. Click Screenshot above the chat box.
2. Click and drag your mouse around the portion of your screen that you want to capture, then add any additional annotations, such as arrows, lines, boxes, or text. 
3. Click Capture. After you have captured it, it will appear in your chat window.
4. (Optional) Enter any text to accompany the screenshot. 
5. Press Enter to send. 

File

1. Click File above the chat box, or click and drag the file to the chat box. 
2. Select the file source. 
3. Browse the file system and select the file you want to send.
4. When the file is uploaded, click × if you want to cancel the upload. 
5. (Optional) Enter any text to accompany the file. 
6. Press Enter to send. 

The chat window will show the filename and a green checkbox indicating that it was sent successfully. If you sent an image, the image will display directly in chat.

Conclusion

Although Zoom is primarily used for video and audio calls and conferences, old school texting using Zoom chat is still helpful when you want spell a word you are unable to pronounce something correctly, when you want to send a screenshot or attach a file, or even when you want to secretly convey a message to any of the participants during an on-going voice/video call. This is what makes Zoom chat a very useful tool.