How to view and join channels

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Team Chat tab  to see a list of channels, group chats, chat folders, and 1:1 conversations you currently belong to.
   The chat list will indicate if a channel is public or private , while 1:1 chats will show the user's profile picture or initials.
3. At the top of the panel, click the down arrow icon next to Team Chat, and click Join a Channel.
   A window will appear with a list of channels you can join or search for a specific channel.
   
4. Use the search bar to find a channel.
   Hovering your cursor over the channel names provides the following options:
   • Preview: View more information about the channel, including channel description, members, and recent messages (if previous messages are allowed to be viewed by new channel members). Click Join Channel to join the channel, or Close to exit this preview.
   • Join: Immediately join the selected channel.

How to create a new chat channel

If a chat channel suiting your needs doesn’t exist, you can easily create a new channel specific to your needs.

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Team Chat tab  .
3. At the top of the panel, click the down arrow next to Team Chat, and click Create a Channel.
   Note: If this option is grayed out, your account admin has prevented your group from adding channels.
4. Enter the following required details to create a new channel:
   • Channel Name: Enter a display name to help others identify your channel.
   • Channel Type: Select the channel type.
     • Public: Anyone in your organization can join your channel.
     • Private: Only invited people can join your channel.
       Note: If one of these options is grayed out, your account admin has prevented your group from creating that type of channel.
   • Add Members: Enter a name to search for contacts, then click the name to add them to the invite list.
     Note: You can invite individual users, or you can select an existing channel to invite all members of that channel. You must be a member of the channel to invite all of its members. Inviting all members of a channel is only available for Windows and macOS.
   • Advanced Permissions: Click to view additional channel permissions. 
     
     • Who can add members: 
       
       • Everyone: Any channel members can add additional users.
       • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and any designated channel admins can add additional users. 
     • External users can be added: If checked, users not in your organization can be added to the channel.
       Note: If you enable this option, make sure to review the channel privileges of external users.
       • By all channel members: Members internal and external to your organization can add external members.
       • By members in your organization: Only members internal to your organization can add external members.
       • Only by the channel owner and admins: Only the channel owner and any designated channel admins can add additional external users. 
     • Who can send messages: Select which channel members are allowed to post in the channel.
       • Everyone: All channel members can post in the channel.
       • Owner and admins, plus specific people: Only the channel owner, designated admins, and specified members can post in the channel.
       • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and designated admin can post in the channel.
     • Who can use @all: Select which channel members are allowed to use the @all mention in the channel.
       • Everyone: All channel members can use the @all mention in the channel.
       • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and designated admin can use the @all mention in the channel.
       • Disable @all for this channel: Disable the use of the @all mention for this channel. Use of @ mentions for specific users or defined mention groups, are unaffected. 
5. Click Create Channel.

Edit a channel's name and settings

If you're the channel admin, you can customize the channel's name and privacy settings.

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Team Chat tab  , then select a channel in the left-side panel.
3. In the top-right corner, click More Actions .
4. Click More Options to open that menu and select Edit Channel.
5. You can change the following channel settings:
   • Channel Name: Enter a display name to help others identify your channel.
   • Channel Type: Select the channel type.
     • Public: Anyone in your organization can join your channel.
     • Private: Only invited people can join your channel.
   • Message and File History: Choose if new members of the channel are able to see messages and shared files from before they joined the channel. 
   • Advanced Permissions: Click to view additional channel permissions. 
     
     • Who can add members: 
       
       • Everyone: Any channel members can add additional users.
       • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and any designated channel admins can add additional users. 
     • External users can be added: If checked, users not in your organization can be added to the channel.
       Note: If you enable this option, make sure to review the channel privileges of external users.
       • By all channel members: Members internal and external to your organization can add external members.
       • By members in your organization: Only members internal to your organization can add external members.
       • Only by the channel owner and admins: Only the channel owner and any designated channel admins can add additional external users. 
     • Who can send messages: Select which channel members are allowed to post in the channel.
       • Everyone: All channel members can post in the channel.
       • Owner and admins, plus specific people: Only the channel owner, designated admins, and specified members can post in the channel.
       • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and designated admin can post in the channel.
     • Who can use @all: Select which channel members are allowed to use the @all mention in the channel.
       • Everyone: All channel members can use the @all mention in the channel.
       • Owner and admins only: Only the channel owner and designated admin can use the @all mention in the channel.
       • Disable @all for this channel: Disable the use of the @all mention for this channel. Use of @ mentions for specific users or defined mention groups, are unaffected. 
6. Click Save Changes.

Edit a channel's description

The channel description provides a brief explanation to help users identify the channel and its purpose.

Note: You can only change posting permission in the Windows and macOS clients.

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Team Chat tab  , then select a channel in the left-side panel.
3. In the top-right corner, click More Actions .
4. At the top of the panel, click Add a channel description (if none currently exists) or Edit (if a description has already been added).

Invite additional members to a channel

After the initial creation of the channel, where the admin invited the first batch of members, others can be added to a channel by current members.

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Team Chat tab  .
3. Click the channel you want to invite members to.
4. In the top-right corner, click More Actions .
5. Next to the Members section, click the plus button .
   A window will appear to search for and add members.
6. Use the search box to search for users, select one or more users you want to invite.
   
7. Click Add to confirm the additions.
   Notes:
   • You can invite individual users, or you can select an existing channel to invite all members of that channel. You must be a member of the channel to invite all of its members.
   • You can also copy-and-paste email addresses to add contacts in bulk.
   • You can invite external Zoom users if allowed by the channel admin. Make sure to review the channel privileges of external users before you invite them.

How to star a channel

You can put a star on important channels, placing them under Starred in your chat panel and allowing you to quickly view them later on.

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click the Team Chat tab  .
3. Select the channel you want to star.
4. At the top left of the channel window, click the star icon .
   The starred channel will appear in the Starred section of the chat panel.

For more detailed organization of 1:1 chats, group chats, and channels, you can also create folders.

Information regarding external contacts

Users added to your contact list, who are not on the same account as yours, will be labeled as External.

For a 1:1 chat with that contact, External will be listed to their name at the top of the chat window:

For a group chat, External will be listed next to the name of any participants who are not a part of the account:

When composing a message in a channel with external users present, a notification above the compose box will appear, warning there are 1 or more external users present in the group chat or channel. 

Details on how channels are ordered in the chat panel 

Channels on the desktop client can be organized by sections (folders, 1:1 and group chats, channels, meeting chats, etc), or organized by folders, with those not assigned to a folder being listed under Recents. 

With either organization, channels are listed dynamically based on last modification or notification. This means when a channel receives a new notification it is moved to the top of the list in that section. This behavior can be changed through the Organize by section and Keep all unread messages on top in chat and channel lists settings on the desktop client. 

Folder organization

Group chats, 1:1s, and other channels within a folder are listed by when they were added to the folder, unless manually re-ordered. Any new channels added to a folder are added to the bottom of the list.