Zoom Live Transcription (automated captioning)

The Live Transcription feature in Zoom enables participants to turn on (or request) automated captions in the form of subtitles or a transcript. 

Important terms 

Closed Captions: the CC button on the Zoom floating toolbar allows closed captions to be requested and enabled.  

Subtitle: in the floating toolbar in the meeting, Zoom uses the word Subtitle (for captions). 

Live Transcription: the term used for automated captions in Zoom, shown live on screen. When captions are enabled, a popup in Zoom will notify students saying: Live Transcription has been enabled.  

Full Transcript: the meeting transcript is a record of all the automated captions generated during a class/meeting and the transcript will also identify the speaker. We recommend waiting until the end of the class to download the full transcript, so all information is captured.

When you are setting up your Zoom meeting, check the following settings to ensure that automatic captions can be enabled: 

1. Go to your profile settings in Zoom.
2. Navigate to In Meeting (Advanced). Advanced settings are available from Zoom on the web, which you can access from the Zoom app under Settings > Profile > View Advanced Features. 
3. Select Automated captions, which allows users to enable captions in meetings.
4. Select Full transcript, which allows viewing of full transcript from the in-meeting panel.
5. Select Save captions, which allows participants to save full closed captions or transcripts.

Closed caption controls and settings

When Live Transcription has been enabled, an arrow icon next to the Hide/Show button on the toolbar will show for the host and all meeting participants. 

Select the arrow to display the following options:  

• Hide/Show Captions – hides/displays the live subtitles.  
• View Full Transcript – displays the full meeting conversation in a side window with live updates, timestamps, and each speaker’s name.
• Speaking Language: allows you to select the language everyone will be speaking in for detection. 
• Caption settings: allows you to customise the font size and appearance of your captions.

Caption settings

Opens the Accessibility settings where you can change the caption font size. 

To hide or show captions

1. Select the arrow next to the Hide/Show captions button on the toolbar. 
2. In the popup window, select Hide Caption.  

Note: you can select Show Captions to enable them again. 

Save class/meeting transcript

For all participants to be allowed to download a copy of the transcript you need to select the option in Zoom Settings In Meeting Advanced section, turn on the setting to Save Captions. This is the default setting unless you turn it off yourself. 

To save the transcript:  

1. In the transcript window Select Save Transcript. A copy of the transcript is downloaded as a text file to your device.  
2. As the host, if your meetings are recorded to the cloud, they will automatically generate a text file of the transcript with the recording. 

During class, there are several things you can do to improve the accuracy of the captions including: 

1. High-quality audio: Use a good microphone and ensure you always wear headphones as they reduce echoes.  
2. Reduce background noise:  Have classes/meetings in a quiet space to limit unnecessary background noise that can interfere with your words. Keep doors and windows closed to minimise noise. Let people know when you will be in a live class to prevent interruptions.   
3. Single speaker and mute participants: Set clear housekeeping rules for students about when they should and should not speak. This can reduce background noise and allow students to fully focus on one person at a time.  
4. Speak clearly and steadily: This gives the automated technology a better chance of picking up your words.  
5. Good internet connection: Ensure you have a strong internet connection so the class/meeting is not interrupted, as this can negatively impact closed captioning, create distractions, and detract from what is said.