Zoom: Save Your Recordings Long Term

All U-M Zoom accounts are set to delete cloud recordings after 150 days.  

This document shares how to save Cloud recordings long-term using Dropbox and Panopto.  "Local" recordings, those saved to the Host’s computer, can be manually uploaded to Dropbox or Panopto. 

Topics

• Enable Your U-M Dropbox Account
• Back Up Existing Cloud Recordings
• Automate Backup of Future Cloud Recordings
• Share Recordings in Canvas with Panopto

Dropbox Integration

Using your U-M Dropbox account, there are two options for transferring and storing your Zoom recordings

1. Back up existing recordings
2. Save future recordings 

Dropbox at U-M is approved for storing FERPA and some types of sensitive data.  See the Sensitive Data Guide for more information.

Enable Your U-M Dropbox Account

Begin by enabling your U-M Dropbox account if you have not yet done so.

1. Go to: https://dropbox.umich.edu/
2. Log in with your umich email address and Level-1 password

ITS also provides instructions for merging an existing Dropbox account to the U-M Enterprise license. 

Back Up Existing Cloud Recordings

Allow approximately 30 minutes to complete the following steps. If you encounter any issues, please contact 4help@umich.edu

1. Visit the Zoom Web Portal to view and recover any recordings that may be in the Trash: https://umich.zoom.us/recording/trash 
   
2. Begin this process using this link: https://zoominfo.euc.it.umich.edu/recordings
3. Log in with your U-M credentials and Level-1 password if requested
4. Wait on this page while the tool accesses your Zoom recordings.
   
5. Authorize the Zoom - Dropbox connection
   
6. On the next prompt, review the access details and click "Allow"
   
7. A list of your existing recordings will appear by date and Meeting name for your review.  Use the checkboxes to the left of the recordings to deselect any recordings you do not wish to back up.
8. When ready, scroll to the bottom of the list and click "Copy Selected Recordings to my U-M Dropbox Now" to begin the copy process.
   

The next screen should confirm that the copy process has started.  

You do not need to remain on the page while this runs, as it may take up to 24 hours for the transfer to complete.

Locating in Dropbox

Once completed, you will be able to view your Zoom recordings on Dropbox under Apps > My U-M Zoom Recordings with recordings organized in folders by date. Go There Now.

 

Automate Backup of Future Cloud Recordings

Allow approximately 10 minutes to complete the following steps. If you encounter any issues, please contact 4help@umich.edu.

This is a one-time step that will backup all future Zoom Cloud recordings to Dropbox.  

1. Begin by logging into your Dropbox and Zoom accounts:
   1. dropbox.umich.edu
   2. umich.zoom.us 
2. Go to https://www.dropbox.com/apps/zoom
3. Click Connect Zoom to Dropbox.
   
4. On the new page, click Connect to Zoom.
   
5. In the pop-up, click Got it to proceed.
   
6. On the Zoom sign-in page, click Sign in with SSO.
   
7. Enter "umich" in the Your company domain field and Continue.
   
8. In the pop-up, click Authorize to allow Dropbox access to your Zoom account.
   
9. Lastly, click Enable to complete the connection.
   

 
You should see "Connected to Zoom" on the final page.

Locating in Dropbox

Once completed, you will be able to view your future meeting recordings on Dropbox in a folder titled Zoom organized in folders by date.

Disable the Zoom-Dropbox Connector

If you decide to remove this connection in the future, you can do so from your Dropbox Settings.

1. From the Settings page, select Connected apps.
2. Under Launch from Dropbox, find Zoom and click the down arrow to open the app details.
3. Next to Settings, click "Edit settings for Zoom."
4. Finally, in the pop-up, uncheck the box "Copy Zoom cloud recordings to Dropbox" and click Update.

 

Share Recordings in Canvas with Panopto

Faculty can post Zoom recordings to a Canvas site for student access using the Panopto video platform.

Advantages:

• Panopto videos can be embedded into Canvas pages or displayed in a list under the "Panopto Recordings" menu.
• Closed captions can be added using the Zoom transcript file
• Videos can be edited down to only show certain portions 
• Video analytics are provided to show the number of views

Note that you should not share video that includes audio/video of past-semester students without their permission.

 

Locate Recordings on the Dropbox Desktop Application

University-owned computers will have the Dropbox desktop application installed, which makes the step to upload videos to Panopto more seamless.  The application can also be installed on non-University computers. Download available here. 

This will be located in Finder (Mac) or Windows Explorer (Win) as a drive location:

Zoom recordings will be in one of two locations: Dropbox > Apps >U-M Zoom Recordings or Dropbox > Zoom depending on how it was added to Dropbox.

Check for a green checkmark () next to the folder you want to use - this indicates these files are synced to your computer, and will help the upload step go quicker.  Learn more about the sync icons.

You can also right-click on the folder - select SmartSync, and choose "Local" to sync these files to your computer.

The .mp4 video file will be in a folder labeled with the Zoom Meeting Date and Title.

Upload to Panopto

Now that you have located your recording files, open Canvas, navigate to the course you want to add a video to.

Look for the Panopto Recordings menu in the Canvas site.

Don’t see it?

1. 1. Go to the Settings menu in the left-hand course navigation menu
   2. Look for the "Navigation" tab across the top
   3. Scroll through the list until you see "Panopto Recordings"
   4. Click the 3 dots to expand a menu and choose "Enable"
   5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save"

Locate and click the "Create" button and choose "Upload Media"

If you have Finder or Windows Explorer open, you can drag and drop your mp4 file into the dotted area.

You can also click in the dotted area to browse for your recording file.  You’ll navigate to the Dropbox menu.

In the Upload window, click on the title to re-name the video.

Continue adding files, or click the "X" in the upper right corner when finished.

Once the uploaded videos have finished processing, they will be visible to students enrolled in this Canvas site. (Students will not receive any notifications, so they may need to be informed where to locate the videos).

Next Steps

Hover your mouse over any video to access the "Settings" and "Edit" menus.

Rename Your Video

1. Click the "Settings" menu
2. Click "Edit" next to the Session name
   
3. Type the new name in the text field
   1. Consider using the "Description" field or "Tags" to help your students know what topics are covered in each video.
4. Click "Save" below the text field
   

 

Upload the Zoom transcript

Help the University meet ADA requirements and DEI goals by adding captions to all of your videos.  Learn more about captioning your video content.

1. Click the "Settings" menu
2. In the left-hand menu, select "Captions"
3. Click "Choose File"
   
4. In Dropbox, locate the .vtt file that corresponds to the recording, then click "Open"
   
5. Click "Upload File"
6. Panopto will begin processing the transcript file so it can be viewed as closed-captions for your students. Videos with captioning can be identified with the CC icon

 

Edit

You can cut out portions of your Zoom recordings that you may not need shared, such as times when the class worked in Breakout Rooms.

See How to Edit a Video in Panopto.

 

Need Help?

Contact sph.instruction@umich.edu for assistance with using Panopto.

Contact 4help@umich.edu with assistance with Dropbox or Zoom.

---