Accessibility settings in Zoom

Zoom offers various accessibility options. This article explains what is available and how to use each feature. We’ll do our best to keep this information updated, but you may wish to check Zoom’s Accessibility page.

Accessibility settings in the Zoom desktop app

This article covers how to adjust accessibility settings during a Zoom meeting, but most of these settings can also be adjusted outside of a meeting using the Zoom desktop app.

  1. Open the Zoom desktop app and sign in.
  2. Select your profile picture, then select Settings.
  3. Select the tab according to the setting you want to adjust.

Closed captions and live transcription

You can turn on closed captions and live transcriptions during a meeting. Both provide text versions of what is said in a meeting.

  • Closed Captions display a few lines of current speech on-screen.
  • Live Transcription records all spoken content in a separate, searchable, and saveable panel.

Turn on closed captions

  1. Join a Zoom meeting.
  2. In the meeting controls toolbar, select Show captions. Closed captions appear at the bottom of the screen, but they can be dragged to any position.
    For keyboard access: Press the tab key until you hear “Show captions.”
  3. Select Show captions and the captions will turn on.
  4. Select Hide captions and the captions will turn off.
Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Show Captions button is two Cs in a white rectangle.

Show the live transcript

  1. Join a Zoom meeting.
  2. In the meeting controls toolbar, next to Show captions, select the up-arrow icon.
    For keyboard access: Press the tab button until you hear “More options for captions.”
  3. Select View full transcript. The transcript panel appears on the right-hand side, displaying the meeting’s text transcript.

Optional:

  • Use the search bar to search through the transcript.
  • In the desktop app, the transcript panel can be undocked from the Zoom window and dragged to a different location.
  • To hide the full transcript, in the top-right corner of the transcript panel, select the X icon to close the window.
Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Show Captions button is two Cs in a white rectangle. Next to the button, an upwards arrow to open the captions menu. The arrow is highlighted.
Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Show Captions menu is open, and there are three options: Caption Language, View full Transcript, and Caption Settings. View Full Transcript is highlighted.

Change caption font size

You can adjust the font size for captions in the Accessibility settings.

  1. Join a Zoom meeting.
  2. In the meeting controls toolbar, next to Show/Hide captions, select the up-arrow icon.
    For keyboard access: Press the tab button until you hear “More options for captions.”
  3. Select Caption settings. This will open the Settings window with the Accessibility tab automatically selected.
  4. Under Closed captioning, drag the font size slider bar to adjust the size of captions displayed in a meeting. The preview below the slider will show the approximate caption size as they would appear in a meeting.
    For keyboard access: Tab into the font size slider. Use the left arrow key to decrease the font size and the right arrow key to increase the font size.
Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Show Captions button is two Cs in a white rectangle. Next to the button, an upwards arrow to open the captions menu. The arrow is highlighted.
Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Show Captions menu is open, and there are three options: Caption Language, View full Transcript, and Caption Settings, which is highlighted.
Screenshot of hte Zoom settings interface, showing a Closed captioning font size adjustment slider. The slider is set near the middle, with "Small" on the left, "Large" on the right, and the current size indicated as "(16)".

Screen reader alerts and tips

Manage which alerts your screen reader announces and optimize meeting audio and screen sharing.

Make sure your screen reader is installed and turned on before you use Zoom. Your Zoom desktop app version must be:

  • Windows: 5.2.1 or higher
  • macOS: 5.2.1 or higher

Enable or disable screen reader alerts

  1. Join a Zoom meeting.
  2. In the meeting controls toolbar, next to Show/Hide captions, select the up-arrow icon.
    For keyboard access: Press the tab button until you hear “More options for captions.”
  3. Select Caption settings. This will open the Settings window with the Accessibility tab automatically selected.
  4. Under Screen reader alerts, select the check box next to each alert to enable. Unselect the check box to disable.
    For keyboard access: Press the arrow keys to navigate the list of alerts. Press the space bar to enable or disable an alert.

Learn more about Zoom screen reader alerts.

Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Show Captions button is two Cs in a white rectangle. Next to the button, an upwards arrow to open the captions menu. The arrow is highlighted.
Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Show Captions menu is open, and there are three options: Caption Language, View full Transcript, and Caption Settings, which is highlighted.
Screenshot of screen reader alerts settings in Zoom. The Alerts table has two columns: "Description" on the left and "Enable" on the right. Descriptions include "IM chat received," "Participant has joined/left meeting (host only)," "Participant has joined/left waiting room (host only)," and "Audio muted by host." The "Enable" column has checkboxes, all of which are checked. A red outline highlights the "Enable" column.

Improve screen reader audio

Spatial audio is a setting on Zoom that makes voices sound like they’re coming from different directions. This makes it easier to identify each person by their voice when multiple people are talking. This can be helpful when you’re meeting with new people and aren’t completely familiar with the sound of their voices yet.

How to turn on spatial audio:

  1. Join a Zoom meeting.
  2. In the meeting controls toolbar, next to Audio, select the up-arrow icon.
    For keyboard access: Press the tab button until you hear “More options for audio.”
  3. Select Audio settings. This will open the Settings window with the Audio tab automatically selected.
  4. Select the checkbox next to Spatial audio to enable.
Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Audio menu is open and there are four options: Test speaker and microphone, Switch to phone audio, Leave computer audio, and Audio settings. The Audio settings option is highlighted.
Screenshot of Zoom speaker settings interface. Options include "Test speaker (dropdown menu), Output level (sound meter) and output volume (slider). Below, a checkbox labeled "Spatial audio: voices will sound like they’re coming from the position of each person on the screen" is outlined in red, and another checkbox for "Use separate audio device to play ringtone simultaneously" is unchecked.

Screenshare troubleshooting

If you’re sharing your screen and others report they can’t see it, ensure that your screen curtain is off. When screen curtain is on in TalkBack, VoiceOver, or NVDA, you will be unable to share your screen.

Keyboard shortcuts

Zoom provides keyboard shortcuts for navigation without using a mouse. These shortcuts are available in the Keyboard Shortcuts tab in your Zoom settings.

Open keyboard shortcuts

  1. Join a Zoom meeting.
  2. In the meeting controls toolbar, next to Audio, select the up-arrow icon.
    For keyboard access: Press the tab button until you hear “More options for audio.”
  3. Select Audio settings. This will open the Settings window.
  4. Select the Keyboard Shortcuts tab. The keyboard shortcuts are listed in this tab.
Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The Audio menu is open and there are four options: Test speaker and microphone, Switch to phone audio, Leave computer audio, and Audio settings. The Audio settings option is highlighted.
Screenshot of the Keyboard shortcuts tab in the Zoom settings interface. The Keyboard shortcuts tab includes a purple and white icon of a keyboard.

Edit keyboard shortcuts

  • To edit which keyboard shortcuts are available to you during Zoom calls, check or uncheck the checkbox next to each shortcut.
  • Checking the box enables the shortcut and unchecking the box disables the shortcut.
    For keyboard access: Use the arrow keys to navigate the list. Press the space bar to enable or disable the shortcut.

Learn more about Zoom hot keys and keyboard shortcuts.

Screenshot of the Audio settings in the Zoom interface. Two settings options are show: Mute/unmute my audio and Mute audio for everyone except host (host only). Next to each option are the keyboard shortcut and a checkbox to enable or disable each setting.

Meeting control toolbar visibility

If the meeting controls toolbar or a specific button is hidden, follow these steps.

Always show meeting controls toolbar

To ensure that the buttons are always visible when you need them, it’s best to turn on Always show meeting controls in Zoom settings, under General.

    1. In your computer’s menu bar, select Zoom.us or Zoom Workplace.
      For keyboard access:
      Windows/Linux: F10 key
      macOS: Fn-Control-F2
    2. In the dropdown menu, select Settings.
    3. Select the checkbox next to Always show meeting controls to enable.
      For keyboard access: Press the tab key until you hear “Always show meeting controls”. Press the space bar to enable.

    This will not affect your screen share in any way, but it will make sure that the Zoom buttons are always available to you when you need them.

    Screenshot of the Zoom interface. The "Zoom Workplace" menu option is highlighted in the top-left corner of the application window, with a red arrow pointing to it.
    Screenshot of the Zoom settings interface. There are four setting options each with a checkbox next to it.. The "Always show meeting controls" option is outlined in red, with an empty checkbox next to it. Other options include "Use dual monitors," "Enter full screen when starting or joining a meeting," "Copy invite link when starting a meeting," and "Ask me to confirm when I leave a meeting," which is checked.

    Missing buttons

    If you can’t find all the buttons you expect to find in a Zoom meeting, ensure that the meeting window is maximized. If the window is not maximized, Zoom will shorten the meeting controls toolbar, and you will not be able to see all the buttons or tab/arrow to some expected functions.

    A few ways to maximize your meeting window:

    • Drag the window: Drag the window toward the edges of the screen.
    • Double-click the title bar: Double-click the title bar of the Zoom window.
    • Use keyboard shortcuts:
      • Windows/Linux: Windows key + Up arrow key
      • macOS: Fn-Control-F

    Support and feedback

    If you have questions about Zoom accessibility or need troubleshooting support, email access@zoom.us.

    To share feedback about Zoom accessibility, email support@makeitfable.com.