There are channels that you can create in Zoom that allow users to chat with each other and communicate with each other. The main purpose of having them is to keep track of a specific project, team, or topic. Channels that are public are open to everyone, while channels that are private are only open to invitees.

With the help of the web portal, account owners and administrators can view, create, and manage channels within their accounts. The channel can also be assigned to individuals and groups of users (as well as groups of IM users); and use IdP attributes to assign individuals and groups of IM users to channels; or use SAML attributes to automatically assign users to channels.

• There are channels that are used for creating private or public chat groups in which members can share files, images, and messages as well as start an instant meeting with other channel members.
• In the desktop client and mobile app, you are able to assign users to groups which will show up in the Contacts tab of your account (under All Contacts) among all the users in your account.

Note:

You may create as many channels as you like when you use the web portal, but you are limited to 1,000 members at any given time.

Important: The New Admin Experience will be implemented across all accounts starting on June 1st, 2022, and our engineering team will be starting this migration and enabling process. There will not be any downtime during the migration process, but it is possible that the day when the New Admin Experience on your account will be enabled may vary from one day to the next. A notification will be sent to your account owner as soon as it has been completed. There has been a merger of IM Groups with User Groups, and IM Groups now show up as Groups in the New Admin Experience. If the New Admin Experience has not been enabled on your account yet, please refer to the article about the old experience instead.

The following topics are covered in this article:

• Channel management in the web portal versus desktop client
• How to create a channel by adding members from a group
• How to create several channels by selecting groups
• How to add more members or groups to a channel
• How to edit channel settings
• How to delete a channel

Prerequisites for managing channels

• An account with Zoom that is paid
• There is a chat setting in the account settings that allows users to chat with others if they want to do so.
• The account owner, the admin, or a custom role with access to the chat channels is able to access the chat channels

Important: In order to ensure accurate channel notifications and avoid compatibility issues, users should be on client version 5.5.0 or higher. If you are using Zoom versions 5.4.9 or lower, system messages are displayed notifying the user that made the changes to the channel, but instead identifying the user who made the changes to the channel (ex. “Gloria Song removed Ashley Smith from this channel”). With the newer versions (5.5.0 and later), we will display a generic “Your account admin” rather than the person who owns the channel (e.g. “Your account admin removed Ashley Smith”) in place of the channel admin’s name. Unless updates are made to the document, this will be one of many inaccuracies that will occur in the future.

The following steps should be taken in order to display accurate system messages:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal by entering your email address and password.
2. Select Account Management from the navigation panel and then click Account Settings from the Account Management menu.
3. Select the Meetings tab on the left side of the screen.
4. It is recommended that the Admin Options be enabled and that the latest Zoom version be selected under Require users to update the client.

Channel management in the web portal versus desktop client

Using the web portal or the desktop client, you can manage channels in a variety of ways.

If you want to do any of the following, you can use the web portal:

• Add members from a user group to a channel in order to create it. Adding or removing users from this user group will reflect in the channel you create, as well as any changes you make to the user group.
• Delete public channels and/or private channels that are created by users within certain groups that belong to those groups.
• By choosing Groups, you will be able to create several channels at the same time. Any changes you make to these user groups (for instance, if you add or remove users from them) will be reflected in the new channels which you create after making the changes.
  Note: After creating a channel in the web portal, you will still be able to add individual members to it.

If you wish to use the desktop client, you can do the following:

• Add members from another internal channel in order to create a new channel.
• Specify the individual members of a channel in order to create it.

How to create a channel by adding members from a group

1. Log in to the Zoom web portal by entering your email address and password.
2. You can access Zoom Chat Management by clicking the Zoom Chat Management link on the navigation menu.
3. You can create a channel by clicking the Create Channel button.
4. If you choose to create a single channel, you will be able to add members from various groups.
5. After clicking Next, you will be directed to the next screen.
6. Please enter the necessary information in the fields provided. For more information, please refer to the channel settings section of this document.
7. The next step is to click the Continue button.
8. In order to make this channel accessible to existing users, you will need to specify an existing user group. This group can be edited at any time (for example, adding or removing users) and any changes you make will be reflected in the channel you create.
9. It is important to specify the channel administrator under Channel Admin. The admin of a channel can change the name of the channel, its description, as well as its settings through the channel admin console.
10. Select the members of the channel that you want to have the ability to post in your channel under Permissions for Posting.
    • Everyone: There is no restriction on the number of posts a channel member can make.
    • Admin only: The only person who is able to post in the channel is the admin.
    • Admin, plus specific people: Posts in the channel can only be made by the admin and certain members who have been specified.
11. Then click on the Done button.

Note: There will be an automatic inheritance of storage retention policies from the account or group level when creating a new channel after the channel has been created. If a specific channel is unlocked and enabled at the account level, you can only change the storage retention policies for it when you are editing it and it is enabled when you are editing it.

How to create several channels by selecting groups

1. The Zoom web portal can be accessed by logging into your account.
2. Select Zoom Chat Management from the navigation panel, then Channels from the drop-down menu.
3. You can create a channel by clicking the Create Channel button.
4. Select the groups you would like to create channels for and create a channel for each one.
5. After clicking Next, you will be taken to the next screen.
6. To create channels, you need to choose one or more groups from which to create them. Whenever you select a group, a new channel will be created for that group.
   Note: You will be required to enter a new channel name if the name of the group is also in use as a channel name, in which case the web portal will request that you resolve the naming conflict by creating a new channel name. As soon as the conflicts have been resolved, click the Continue button.
7. Please enter the required information in the following fields:
   • Channel Name: Unless you choose to change the names of the channels, they will appear as part of the names of the groups you have previously selected.
   • Type: There are several types of channels that can be selected.
   • • Public: There is no restriction on who can join your channel within your organization.
     • Private: Channels can only be joined by people who have been invited by you.
   • You can select which channel members have the privilege of posting in your channel under the Posting Permissions feature.
     • Everyone: Posts can be made in the channel by any member of the channel.
     • Admin only: There is only one person who is allowed to post in a channel, and that is the admin.
     • Admin, plus specific people:  This channel can only be accessed by the admin and members who have been specified by the admin.
   • Can Add External Users by: It is possible to add users outside of your organization to your channel if you specify that they are allowed to do so.
   • Notes: Ensure that the permissions of external users have been reviewed if you choose to enable this option.
   • • • No one: The channel should not be allowed to be added to by external users.
       • All channel members: You can add external members to your organization both from within your organization and from outside.
       • Members in your organization: Adding external members to your organization is only possible for members who are internal to your organization.
   • New Member Can See History: Messages and files that were sent before the new member became a member can be viewed if the check box is checked.
   • Channel Admin: The name of the channel administrator should be specified. It is the channel’s admin who will be able to change the name of the channel, its description, as well as its settings.
8. After clicking Done, you will be taken to the next step.

How to add more members or groups to a channel

It is possible to add members to the channel after you have created it using one of the methods above that are not part of the user groups that you have chosen. Additionally, the channel can be expanded to include more groups.

1. Register on Zoom’s web portal by logging in with your Zoom account.
2. Click Zoom Chat Management from the navigation menu, then click Channels from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the channel name by clicking on it.
4. You can add members by clicking on the Add Members button.
5. In order to add members or groups, you need to specify them.
   Note: If you change these user groups (for example, adding or removing users), any changes you make to these channels will also be reflected in the user groups you have created.
6. Save your changes by clicking on the Save button.

How to edit channel settings

1. The Zoom web portal can be accessed by logging in to your account.
2. Select Zoom Chat Management from the navigation menu and then select Channels from the drop-down menu.
3. Click the ellipses button in the right-side column, then click the Edit button at the bottom.
4. Change the following settings:
   • Channel Name: Give your channel a display name in order to make it easier for others to identify it. As a default setting, the name of the channel is the same as the name of the group that you selected earlier.
   • Channel Type: There are several types of channels that can be selected.
   • • Public: There is no restriction on who can join your channel within your organization.
     • Private: Channels can only be joined by people who have been invited by you.
   • Privacy
     • External users can be added: It is possible to add users that are not part of your organization to the channel if this option is selected.
     • Notes: It is important to review the channel privileges of external users if you decide to enable this option.
     • • By all channel members: You can add external members to your organization by both internal and external members of your organization.
       • By members in your organization: External members can only be added by internal members of your organization.
     • The following messages and files will be visible to new members: Messages and files that have already been sent before new members were members can be viewed if the option is selected.
   • Posting Permission: Make sure that only those channel members who are allowed to post in the channel are allowed to do so.
   • • Everyone: Posts can be made in the channel by all channel members.
     • Admin only: The channel can only be posted to by the admin.
     • Admin, plus specific people: Those who have access to the channel can only post in it if they are an admin or one of the specified members.
   • Cloud Storage Retention: The Zoom cloud can be configured to save messages and files for as long as you want, if the feature is enabled and not locked at the account level. There will be no effect on any account or group-level retention settings, and any channel-specific cloud storage periods will override them.
5. Please click on the Save button to save the changes.

How to delete a channel

1. Log into the Zoom web portal by entering your Zoom username and password.
2. Click Zoom Chat Management from the navigation menu and then click Channels from the drop-down menu.
3. Click on the ellipsis button, then click on the Delete button on the right-hand side of the column.