Learn more about recording in Zoom.

FERPA Compliance:
Public recordings cannot capture any student-identifying data (including images, names and voices) without express written consent from the students. Please submit the media release form (PDF) to receive consent. Visit Rice University’s FERPA and Lecture Capture FAQs for more details.

Return to the School's main Zoom page.

How do I start a local recording?

  1. Select the meeting link.
  1. Join the meeting audio either through telephone or computer audio in order to record the meeting’s audio.
  1. Once you have connected to the Zoom meeting, move your mouse around the screen to display the menu bar shown below.
  1. Select the Record button.


All participants in the meeting will see a recording indicator in the upper-left corner of their screen.

The person who is recording will see this button appear in the upper left corner:
  1. To stop the recording, select the white square. To pause the recording, select the pause icon.
How do I start a cloud recording?

Please note that links to Zoom Cloud Recordings are public and are not password protected by default. Anyone with the view link to the video can view it.

During the recent increase and need for remote conferencing, Gillings users will temporarily be able to cloud record without making a formal request. The cloud recording option should be visible on your Gillings accounts.

To record a meeting to the cloud:

  1. Start a meeting.
  2. Select the Record button in the Zoom toolbar.
  3. Select Record to the Cloud to begin recording.
  4. To stop recording, select Pause/Stop Recording or End Meeting. PauseStopCR.png Note: Once the recording has been stopped, the recording must be processed before viewing. Zoom will send an email to the host email address when the process is completed.


For more information see our guide on getting Zoom cloud recordings into Sakai.

How do I access my local recording?

After you have ended your meeting, your recorded files will be converted and saved to your local device or computer. To access your recorded meeting folder, open the “Documents” or the “My Documents” folder on the computer where you recorded the meeting. You will have up to four (4) different files to choose from:

  • M3U playlist (a playlist to play the individual MP4 files – Windows only)
  • M4A file (a single audio-only file)
  • MP4 file (single file for video and screen sharing)
  • Chat (txt) file (single file for in meeting group chat)

How do I download my Zoom cloud recording?

All videos recorded AFTER October 15, 2020, will automatically be saved in the campus lecture capture video management platform. We encourage users to download any material before that date as soon as possible.

1. Access your recorded meeting by logging into your Zoom account and navigating to My Recordings.


2. Select the meeting in the "Topic" column to identify the recording you'd like to download by clicking the meeting link. Zoom screen shot
3. Download your recording by clicking the "Download (3 files)" button. The following will download to your computer's Download folder:
  • Complete Video/Audio (MP4 file)
  • Audio Only (M4A file)
  • Transcripts (M3U playlist file)
Zoom screen shot
4. Retrieve your downloaded recording and manually move it to your desired folder or storage.

How to Manually Upload to Lecture Capture.

Due to space limitations, Gillings Cloud Recorded files are stored on a short-term basis and can be accessed for up to only 30 days. At that time, your recorded file will be automatically deleted. Alerts and reminders will not be sent to users.

Who can record the meeting?

By default, only the host can record the Zoom meeting. However, the host can choose to give other meeting participants the ability to record. To do this, the host will need to select the “Manage Participants” icon on the Zoom menu bar and select the “More” tab to the right of the participant’s name. Then select “Allow Record” to give the participant permission to record the meeting.

Note: If you are recording a meeting in an advanced classroom or auditorium, please contact AV Services to discuss your recording options.

Can I make multiple recordings in the same meeting?

Yes. You can stop and restart recordings as many times as you’d like. Separate files will be created for each recording. You can also pause the recording and resume recording when you are ready.

What exactly gets recorded?

You can choose to record in Active Speaker mode (current speaker fills the frame) or Gallery View (multiple participants seen on screen at the same time). If the content is being shared by a meeting participant, the view will switch to Content Sharing with Active Speaker. In this mode, the slides or content will fill the screen and you will see a picture-in-picture window of the active speaker.

The Zoom meeting will be recorded in the layout that the person recording is currently viewing. For example, if the host is recording in Gallery View, the recording will be in the gallery view. This is independent of what the participants are viewing. If a participant is watching the meeting in active speaker view and they start recording because the host granted them recording permission, the resulting recording will be in Active Speaker.

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