How to record a meeting

Updated on Aug 31, 2023

There are several reasons why recording a Zoom meeting can be valuable. Whether you are an instructor, student, or employee of Alamo Colleges, recording a Zoom meeting can serve the following purposes:

Documenting conversations, actions, and decisions made or discussed
Reviewing and analyzing information at a later time to gain a deeper understanding of the discussion
Sharing the recording with participants who were unable to attend
Meeting legal requirements: Recording a meeting can help ensure an accurate record of discussions for potential legal or compliance purposes.

By recording your Zoom meetings, you can effectively achieve these objectives while preserving the original content.

Recording your meeting

As a host, at the start of you meeting, you will see a task bar at the bottom of the video conference. In the task bar, there is an option to select record.

The Record menu will open and you will have two options to select from.

Record on this Computer: Record locally to your device, creating a .mp4 file capturing audio, webcams, and screen-shared materials. Easily upload to Mediasite, Canvas, or other online resources.
*Record to the Cloud: Have Zoom host your recording, providing access to recorded audio, webcams, screen-shared content, and a transcript of the audio and chat. Share a link for others to view or download the recordings as .mp4 files.

We recommend that you Record to the Cloud.

Recording to the cloud is advantageous as it offers easy access to recorded content, including audio, webcams, and transcripts, with the ability to share links for viewing, while avoiding the need for local storage and facilitating collaboration. You are less likely to lose valuable recorded content as well.

Pausing or stopping a recording

While you are recording, you can Pause or Stop the recording at any time.

By pausing a Zoom Recording, you can temporarily halt the recording without interrupting the overall flow, ensuring a continuous recording once the meeting concludes.
On the other hand, stopping a Zoom Recording is meant for the end of the session. If you stop and restart the recording during a meeting, it will result in multiple separate recordings.

Therefore, if you are in the middle of a meeting, don't stop a recording unless you are finished. If you need to take a break, simply pause your recording.

When you stop a Cloud Recording, a message appears ensuring that you want to stop the recording. If you would like to continue with stopping, click Yes. If you choose to continue recording, click Cancel.