Managing the Session tab for single-session events


In the Sessions tab of the Zoom Sessions event setup, hosts can customize their event appearance and resource links in the In-Session Branding and Resources tabs. They can also manage and add information to the Polls/Quizzes, Interpreters, and Session Control tabs.

Note: When account owners and admins disable and lock web portal settings that affect core features in Zoom Events (i.e., polls, resources, etc.), those features will be greyed out and display the lock icon . The host can hover their mouse over the locked feature and view the message that they cannot use that feature because it has been disabled and locked by an admin.

Learn more about creating a Zoom Sessions event.

This article covers:

Prerequisites for managing the Session tab for Zoom Sessions

How to access the Session tab for Zoom Sessions

  1. Create a Zoom Sessions event or edit an upcoming event to access event setup.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Event Content then click Session.

How to manage the Basic Info tab

Complete the Session Info section

  1. Under the Session Info section, add the following information:
    • What type of session is this?: Select if this event will be a Webinar or Meeting session type.
    • What kind of attendee experience is this session?: View the following options:
      Note: You must go to the Event Configuration tab to change this option.
      • Virtual: The event will only be online.
      • Hybrid: The event will be online and in-person.
        • Under Session Location, enter the address where the session will be held.
      • In-Person: The event will only be in-person.
        • Under Session Location, enter the address where the session will be held.
    • For the Webinar Type (if you selected the Webinar session type), select from the following options:
      • Live: Create a regular webinar session where you can share information.
      • Simulive: Simulive allows you to share a previously recorded session as a video file within a live session. You can start the event on time without the host being present and can interact with the audience with live chat and Q&A. You can share pre-recorded content or upload a recording as the session. You can only access videos that belong to the hub; the videos can be existing cloud recordings created by the hub or a newly uploaded recording. Uploaded recordings are also visible in the Zoom web portal recording list and are tagged with the From a Zoom Events Hub label.
        Note: The option to upload a video to be used with simulive is available by request only. For additional questions, contact Zoom Support to discuss whether this feature is available for your account.
      • To upload a Simulive recording:
          1. Under Simulive Recording, click the + sign in the video tile.
          2. Select the video you want to use in the following ways:
            • Choose a previously recorded webinar or meeting for Simulive.
              Note: The maximum recording size is 5GB. The video can be in .mov, .mp4, .avi, .wmv, or H.264 format.
            • Click Upload Recording  to upload your preferred video.
              Once the video is processed, it can be selected in the simulive recording pop-up window.
              Note: Uploaded recordings will be stored in the hub owner's cloud storage. Recordings viewed on the web portal will have a tag to identify them as belonging to a hub.
          3. Click Save.
            The recording will appear in the Basic Info tab. Uploaded recordings will also appear in your recording list on the Zoom web portal.
          4. (Optional) In the Basic Info tab, hover your mouse over the recording and click the pencil icon  to select another recording.
          5. (Optional) In the Basic Info tab, hover your mouse over the recording and click the trash icon  to remove the recording.
    • Captions: Under Captions, click Edit. You will be directed to the Captions tab.

Add and manage speakers and alternative hosts

Speaker(s) will join the session as an attendee in a meeting session and a panelist in a webinar session. Alternative hosts for sessions can start the session associated with them on the host’s behalf; an Alternative Host ticket will be automatically assigned to alternative hosts.

Add Speakers

  1. Under Speakers & Alternative Hosts, locate the Speakers section.
    The Speaker Name, Displayed Speaker, Session Editor, and Alternative Host columns will appear.
  2. Click + Add Speaker.
    You can also click the Select Speaker box under the Speaker Name column, then click + Add a new speaker.
    The Add Speaker panel will appear.
  3. In the Add Speaker panel, add the speaker information:
    • Speaker's Photo: Click + Speaker's Photo to upload a speaker photo, then click Open once you have selected a photo. Use JPG/JPEG/PNG files only. The recommended image dimensions are 160x160 pixels. The maximum image size is 15 MB.
      Note: If a speaker has an existing networking profile or Zoom profile, their avatar will be used as their speaker profile photo. Zoom Events will use an existing profile picture if one is associated with the speaker's email, and you can change this later. The existing photo will appear after the host adds a speaker.
      • To add custom alternative text: 
        1. Under Speaker's Photo, click Add description to add custom alternative text. This description will make it easier for everyone to access and understand the images uploaded.
        2. In the Image description box, add a description of your image.
    • Speaker's Name: Enter the speaker's name.
    • Email Address: Enter the speaker's email to ensure that speaker roles receive important information and notifications regarding the event. After this event is published, an invitation will be sent to this email. The speaker will receive a Speaker Ticket to use for joining this event; the speaker must use this email address to join the event.
      Notes:
      • A speaker role is required to include an associated email address to ensure that all the speaker role users for an event can receive important information and notifications regarding the event.
      • The calendar invitations speakers receive are only for the specific sessions that they are assigned in the event.
    • Company Logo: Use JPG/JPEG/PNG files only. The recommended image dimensions are 160x160 pixels. The maximum image size is 15 MB.
    • Company Name: Enter the speaker's company name.
    • Company Website: Enter the speaker's company website URL.
    • Speaker Video: Add a video to showcase the speaker.
      Note: Maximum video length is 5 minutes. The maximum video size is 150MB, MP4 files only.
    • Speaker's Title or Position: Enter the speaker's title or position.
    • Speaker's Biography: Write a brief biography about the speaker. You can personalize your event through branding elements, using the rich text editor for description fields in the event creation flow.
    • Social Presence: Enter their Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn social links.
  4. Click Save.
    The speaker will appear under the Speakers section.

Manage speakers

  1. Add speakers.
  2. Control each speaker’s access using the in-session options:
    Note: Hosts can be assigned as a speaker, granting themselves additional functionality, to the sessions at their event. When the host assigns themselves as a speaker, the Alternative Host and Session Editor checkboxes will no longer be available for the hosts.
    • Displayed Speaker: Select this checkbox if you want a speaker to appear on the event details page. If this checkbox remains unchecked, the speaker will not appear on the event details page but will still be visible in the lobby’s Speaker section.
      Note: If a speaker is hidden at the event level, they will have a (Hidden) label appear by their name and the Displayed Speaker checkbox will not be available.
    • Session Editor: Select this checkbox if you want to allow a speaker permission to edit and add information to their session details. A speaker email address is required.
    • Alternative Host: The host or co-editor with permission can choose to enable or disable a speaker's alternative host access on a per-session basis. Additionally, alternative hosts can start a session, without being part of the speaker list for the event, and have the same in-session permission as the host. This role is available for both meeting and webinar sessions.
      Notes:
      • This option is automatically selected by default.
      • If speakers are not assigned as an alternative host:
        • Webinar speakers will automatically be granted panelist access to the session.
        • Meeting speakers will keep the same behavior as before and have attendee access.
    • Attendee: Speaker(s) can join meeting sessions as an attendee; if you do not select the Alternative Host checkbox, then the speaker will only have attendee permissions.
    • Panelist: Speaker(s) can join webinar sessions as a panelist; if you do not select the Alternative Host checkbox, then the speaker will only have panelist permissions.
    • First speaker: An orange star will appear on the first speaker listed in session details, and they will also appear on the session card along with their session name and image.
  3. (Optional) Reorder speakers: To the left of a speaker, click and hold down the six dots icon , then move the speaker to your desired location.
  4. (Optional) Delete speakers: To the right of the speaker row, click the trash icon  to delete a speaker.
  5. Click Save.

Add alternative hosts

  1. Under Speakers & Alternative Hosts, locate the Alternative Hosts section.
  2. Enter the alternative host(s)’s email address(es).
  3. (Optional) To remove an email address, to the right of an added email address, click the X button.
  4. Click Save.

Add a Zoom Room

The added Zoom Room(s) can join this session as attendee(s).

  1. In the Basic Info tab, locate the Zoom Room section.
  2. Enter the Zoom Room name.
    You can add multiple Zoom Rooms.
  3. (Optional) To remove a room, to the right of an added room, click the X button.
  4. Click Save.

Add downloadable material in the lobby and event detail page

Include a PDF for the audience to download; this file will be listed on the event detail page.

  1. In the Basic Info tab, find the Downloadable material in the lobby and event detail page section.
  2. Click Choose Files.
  3. Select a file to upload, then click Open.
    Note: PDF file only, with a maximum file size of 15 MB. You can upload up to 5 files.
  4. Click Save.

Note: Once an event is underway or has ended, hosts can still upload downloadable material to the event details page and lobby, as well as remove existing materials from these sections.

Pre-assign participants to breakout rooms

Create breakout rooms and assign attendees to rooms before the start of the session. Pre-assign participants to a breakout room by creating rooms or importing from a CSV file.

Learn more about pre-assigning participants to a breakout room.

Note: This is for meeting session types only.

How to manage the Resources tab

After you enable the Allow sessions to access Resources during a webinar toggle in the Meeting & Webinar tab, you will have a specific resource location for attendees to view information about the event. You can also use this in-session tool to create a resource link that directs attendees’ attention to your resources, provide more event information and details, or direct attendees to another Zoom Sessions event.

This feature is available for webinar, meeting, and simulive events. Meeting resources are only available with client version 5.16.5 or later.

Learn more about managing and launching resources in a session.

Notes:

Create a resource link

Resource links can be activated during a live session to call attendees to do something. As you edit your resource link information, you can preview how it’ll look on the right side of the pop-up window.

  1. Access the Session tab in the Zoom Sessions event setup.
  2. Click the Resources tab.
  3. In the Resources tab, click + Create.
    A Create Resource Link pop-up window will appear.
  4. In the pop-up window, upload and edit information for the resources:
    • Image: Click Upload to upload an image.
      Note: Upload a JPG/JPEG or 24-bit PNG file type. The maximum dimensions are 800px by 800px. The maximum file size is 15 MB.
    • Headline: Enter headline text.
      Note: You can enter up to 25 characters.
    • (Optional) Description: Enter description text.
      Note: You can enter up to 34 characters.
    • Button Link: Enter a URL for the button link.
    • Button Label: Select how your button will appear to participants by using options from the dropdown menu.
  5. Click Save.

Your resource link will appear in the Resources tab.

Edit a resource link

  1. Create a resource link.
  2. In the Resources tab, to the right of the resource link you want to edit, click the pencil icon .
    The Edit Resource Link pop-up window will appear.
  3. In the pop-up window, edit the information.
  4. Click Save to confirm your changes.

Delete a resource link

  1. Create a resource link.
  2. In the Resources tab, to the right of the resource link you want to delete, click the trash icon .
    A confirmation window will appear.
  3. In the confirmation window, click Yes, Delete to confirm.
    Your resource link will be removed.

Upload documents

Note: File requirements are JPG/JPEG, 24-bit PNG, PDF, PPT. The maximum upload single file size is 15 MB.

  1. Access the Resources tab.
  2. Under Documents, upload files in the following ways:
    • Drag and drop files onto the page.
    • Click Choose Files to select a file, then click Open.

The uploaded file will appear on the page.

Manage speakers

Displayed speaker(s) for this session will also be shown to the attendees in the live webinar. Click here to view and manage displayed speaker(s).

Once you click here, you will be directed to the Basic Info tab, where you can manage your session's speakers.

How to manage the Polls/Quizzes tab

  1. Under the Polls/Quizzes tab, click + Create to add 1 or more questions to the poll.
    A pop-up window will appear.
  2. Click the title to edit the title.
  3. At the bottom of the pop-up window, click + Add Question to add more poll questions.
  4. Click Untitled Question to change the name of that polling question.
  5. Click the question area to edit the following details:
    • To the right of the name of the polling question, click the dropdown menu to choose the question type:
      • Single Choice: Poll participants can select only one of the provided answers. Possible answers can be listed all at once or under a drop-down menu.
      • Multiple Choice: Poll participants can select multiple provided answers.
      • Matching: Poll participants can match prompts on the left side with answers on the right side. The order of prompts and answers can be adjusted as needed. Up to 10 prompts can be provided for each question, with the possible matches ranging between 2-10 options.
      • Rank Order: Poll participants can rank each item based on the provided scale. Up to 10 items can be provided for each question, with the scale allowing a range of 2-7 options.
      • Short Answer: Poll participants can respond with a short answer response. The minimum and maximum allowed characters for the response can be set.
      • Long Answer: Poll participants can respond with a long answer response. The minimum and maximum allowed characters for the response can be set.
      • Fill in the blank: Poll participants are presented with the statement and a blank, asking them to fill in the missing information based on the statement and other context provided. Multiple blanks can be added and each blank has its own answer box.
      • Rating Scale: Poll participants are given a statement or topic, then they are given the opportunity to rate the topic on a given scale. The range of the scale can be adjusted from the default of 1-10, and the ends of the scale can be labeled to indicate what the scale is based on, for example Not likely to Extremely likely.
    • Click the blank for each choice to enter an answer for participants to select from.
    • Click Add Choice, Add Row, Add Column, Add Prompt, or Add Answer (depending on the type of poll question selected) to add additional answer options.
    • Click the trash bin icon  to delete the current polling question.
    • Click the ellipsis  to access additional options:
      • Upload Image: Allows an image to be uploaded and displayed below the question.
        Note: Use JPG/JPEG/PNG files only. The recommended image dimensions are 1920x1080 pixels. The maximum image size is 15MB.
      • Duplicate Question: Duplicate the current polling question as it currently is.
    • Select the check box next to Required to ensure a question must be answered before a participant can submit poll answers.
    • Pencil icon : Edit the existing poll.
  6. (Optional) Click + Add a Question to create an additional question.
    Note: Each question and individual answers for a question can be reordered as needed.
  7. Click the ellipsis button to access the following options:
    • Allow participants to answer questions anonymously: Poll participants can choose to have their answers associated with themselves or to provide answers to the poll anonymously.
    • Make a quiz and set correct answers: If you want to set correct answers and score respondents' accuracy, you can turn the polling feature into a quizzing platform.
      Note: Only Single Choice, Multiple Choice, Matching, and Rank Order polls can set a correct answer. Short-answer and long-answer questions will require manual scoring.
      • Create and add a poll.
      • Click the ellipsis  and click Make a quiz and set correct answers.
      • Click Set answer shown on each question.
      • Select which answer(s) you want to be the correct option.
      • Click Done.
      • Repeat for each question.
      • Click Save.
  8. Click Save.

During a meeting event, all questions under a single poll will be asked when launched. You can create additional polls to ask questions at different times during a webinar event session.

Additionally, the host, alternative host, co-editors, and speakers (who have been given permission) can edit and create new polls or quizzes while a session is live/ongoing. The new or updated polls/quizzes will be published and available during the live session.

Notes:

How to manage the Interpreters tab

Interpreters will be auto-assigned an Interpreter ticket.

Add Language Interpreter

  1. Click + Add Interpreter.
  2. Enter the interpreter's email.
    Note: After the event is published, an invitation and interpreter ticket will be sent to this email.
  3. Click the first Language dropdown menu to select which language the interpreter will interpret.
  4. Click the second Language dropdown menu to select which language the interpreter will interpret.
  5. (Optional) Click + Add Interpreter to add another interpreter.
  6. Click Save.

Add Sign Language Interpreter

  1. Click + Add Sign Interpreter.
  2. Enter the sign language interpreter's email.
    Note: After the event is published, an invitation and sign language interpreter ticket will be sent to this email.
  3. Click the Sign Language dropdown menu to select which language of sign language will be interpreted.
  4. (Optional) Click + Add Sign Language Interpreter to add another sign language interpreter.
  5. Click Save.

Delete an interpreter

After you add a language interpreter or sign language interpreter, you can remove them. To the right of the interpreter you want to delete, click the X button. 

Once you remove this interpreter, the interpreter permissions will be removed for this user. The interpreter will not receive an email or notification about being removed from the event.

How to manage the In-session Branding tab

  1. Under Webinar In-session Branding, set the style for each special role at the session level and how they appear in any of the webinar sessions they join in the event:
    • Webinar Wallpaper: Your wallpaper is displayed behind video tiles and shared content for this session only.
      • Under Webinar Wallpaper, hover your mouse over the image tile and click the pencil icon  to + Upload Wallpaper or select a wallpaper for this session.
        Note: Use JPG/JPEG/PNG files only. The recommended image dimensions are 1920x1080 pixels. The maximum image size is 10MB.
      • (Optional) Click Preview Wallpaper to preview how your webinar wallpaper will appear to Attendees. You can preview your webinar wallpaper between the Speaker and Gallery view.
    • Virtual Background: Click Manage virtual background to upload virtual backgrounds or remove virtual backgrounds. All hosts, alternative hosts, interpreters, panelists, and speakers will have an event-wide default virtual background.
      • Click Preview Virtual Background to preview your virtual background.
    • Name Tag Design: Click + Create New to create a new name tag design or click Manage name tags to update the name tag text and template. All hosts, alternative hosts, interpreters, panelists, and speakers will have an event-wide default name tag design. and assign a different virtual background.
      • Enter the panelist’s information into the Name, Description, and Pronouns fields.
        The entered information will appear under Preview.
      • Choose a name tag design that you created to display under Preview.
      • Under Virtual Background, select an uploaded virtual background to display under Preview.
      • Click Save.
  2. Click Customize In-session Appearance to view how all roles will appear when they join.
    • At the top of the preview Customize In-session Appearance window, switch the preview between a desktop or mobile layout by clicking the swap-view icon .
    • On a tile, click the pencil icon  to update the name tag text and template, and assign a different virtual background.
      • Enter the panelist’s information into the Name, Description, and Pronouns fields.
        The entered information will appear under Preview.
      • Choose a name tag design that you created to display under Preview.
      • Under Virtual Background, select an uploaded virtual background to display under Preview.
      • Click Save.
    • + Add more branding: Click + Add more branding to add a new virtual background or add a new name tag template.
      • Add New Virtual Background: Select a virtual background to upload and add from your computer.
      • Add New Name Tag Template: In the Add Name Tag Template window, customize your name tag template. Changes are previewed live in the left preview panel.
        Note: You can create up to 20 name tags.
        1. Enter the Template Name in the text box.
        2. Select the Text Color.
        3. Select the Background Color.
        4. Select the Accent Color.
        5. Click Save.
    • When you’re finished customizing in-session elements, click Done.

How to manage the Captions tab

  1. Under Speaking language, click the dropdown menu to select the language you and the speakers will be speaking in this webinar.
    Captions will appear in this language for everyone.
  2. Click Save.