How does captioning work in Zoom?

Audience/Target Users

  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Students

What You Need Before You Start

  • Zoom Workplace Client: You must update to Zoom Workplace client version 7.0.5 or later to see these features.

Important Notes or Exceptions

Zoom has changed how meeting captions and transcriptions work to create a clear difference between live accessibility (captions) and saved records (transcripts).

  • No Downloads: In the past, you could view live captions and save them as a text file. This is no longer possible.

  • Live Use Only: Captions are now strictly for use during the live meeting so everyone can follow along.

  • Time Limit: You can scroll back to read what was said within the last 3 minutes, but participants cannot download them as a post-meeting asset.

What if I need a permanent text copy of the meeting?

Because captions can no longer be downloaded, you must enable the dedicated "Transcripts" feature before or during your meeting if you want a saved record.

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