How to Schedule a Zoom Meeting
Set up a Zoom meeting in advance from the desktop app or the zoom.us web portal, pick security options, add it to your calendar, and copy the invite.
You need a meeting link to send to people ahead of time. Scheduling creates the meeting, gives you the link and passcode, and can add it to your calendar in the same step.
Open the scheduler
In the Zoom desktop app, click Home, then Schedule. Or go to zoom.us in a browser, sign in, click Meetings in the left sidebar, then Schedule a Meeting. Both open the same set of options.
Set the topic, time, and length
Type a Topic that tells people what the meeting is for; it appears in the invitation. Set the Date, start Time, and Duration. Check the Time Zone if attendees are elsewhere. The duration is only an estimate on paid accounts, but on a free account the meeting is limited to 40 minutes regardless of what you enter.
For a meeting that repeats, check Recurring meeting and set the pattern. One link then works for every occurrence.
Choose the meeting ID and security
Under Meeting ID, keep Generate Automatically so each meeting gets a unique number. Leave Passcode on; Zoom fills in a random one and embeds it in the link so attendees do not have to type it. Turn on Waiting Room if you want to admit people one at a time. Set Video for host and participants to on or off as they join, and decide whether participants can join before you under the advanced options.
Pick a calendar and save
Under Calendar, choose Google Calendar, Outlook, or Other Calendars. Click Save. With Google or Outlook selected, a calendar event opens with the meeting details already filled in, so you add attendees there. With Other Calendars, Zoom shows the invitation text instead.
Copy the invitation
Back on Home, click the meeting under Upcoming, then Copy Invitation. Paste it into an email or chat. The invitation contains the link, meeting ID, and passcode. To find it later, click Meetings in the desktop app or Meetings in the web portal.
About the Personal Meeting ID. The option Personal Meeting ID uses a fixed room number tied to your account. It is convenient for a regular team that meets often, but anyone who has the link can join any future meeting in that room, so do not use it for public events or one-time calls with outside parties.
On a phone. In the Zoom mobile app, tap Schedule on the home tab. The same options appear in a shorter list, and saving adds the meeting to the phone's calendar.