Zoom: Using Meeting Timers

Environment

U-M Zoom

Issue

Does Zoom have built-in meeting timers?

Resolution

Yes, Zoom has a built-in meeting timer feature that allows you to:

  • View how much time has elapsed since joining the meeting/webinar
  • View how much time remains in the meeting/webinar (based on its scheduled duration)
  • Open a timer app to set a custom countdown or start a stopwatch

Enable meeting timer

The meeting timer can only be enabled via your Zoom desktop app settings.

  1. Open the Zoom desktop app.
  2. Click your profile picture in the top right corner and select Settings from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click Meetings & webinars from the left navigation.
  4. Toggle Show meeting timer on under "In-meeting and in-webinar settings."

After this setting is enabled, the timer will appear in the top right corner of the Zoom window each time you start or join a meeting/webinar.

Note: If you are sharing your screen, the timer appears below the share screen controls.

Allow meeting participants to set and share their timers

If you would like to allow meeting participants to set meeting timers that can be seen and heard by everyone in the meeting, you can enable that via your Zoom account settings.

  1. Go to zoom.umich.edu and click Sign in.
  2. Click Settings from the left navigation.
  3. Click the Meeting tab at the top.
  4. Click In Meeting (Basic) and scroll down until you find the "Meeting timers" setting.
  5. Toggle the setting on.

Switch timers

There are two timer types you can display during a meeting/webinar: Meeting duration and time remaining.

  • Meeting duration shows how much time has elapsed since joining the meeting/webinar.
  • Time remaining shows how much time remains in the meeting/webinar (based on its scheduled duration)
    • You will only have this option if the meeting was scheduled ahead of time. (i.e., It will not be an option you can choose if you start an unscheduled meeting.)

To switch between the two, click the timer in the top right of your Zoom window while in a meeting/webinar (beside the green shield icon) and select either Meeting duration or Time remaining.

Note: The timer shows a different time for each meeting/webinar participant because the timer is based on when that participant joined the meeting/webinar.

  • If you start an unscheduled meeting, the timer defaults to meeting duration.
  • If you start a scheduled meeting, the meeting timer will default to time remaining. 

Use the Timer App

Zoom's timer feature also offers a Timer App that allows you to set a custom countdown or start a stopwatch.

To access this app, click the timer in the top right of your Zoom window while in a meeting (beside the green shield icon) and select Timer App. This will open the app in the right side panel of your window.

  • Under the Timer tab, you can customize a countdown timer, including whether you want an alarm to sound when it reaches zero.
  • Under the Stopwatch tab, you can click Start to begin a stopwatch.

By default, both the countdown timer and stopwatch will show to all participants unless you toggle them off individually at the bottom of the panel.

Additional Information

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.

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