Summary
How to turn on and use live captions (live transcription) in Zoom. Covers enabling auto-transcription as a host, viewing subtitles and the full transcript as a participant, saving a transcript, adjusting caption text size, and tips for better accuracy. Applies to all Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students using Zoom.
Body
Questions
- How do I turn on live captions in Zoom?
- How do I enable auto-transcription in a Zoom meeting?
- How do I view subtitles in Zoom?
- Can I see a full transcript during a Zoom meeting?
- How do I save a Zoom meeting transcript?
- How do I change the subtitle text size in Zoom?
- How do I hide subtitles from my own screen while keeping them visible for participants?
Environment
This article applies to all Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students using Zoom. Live captions (also called live transcription) are available on the Zoom desktop app and the iPad/iOS app. Captions are machine-generated and may not be perfectly accurate, but they help participants in noisy environments, those without headphones or speakers, English language learners, and anyone who benefits from reading and hearing content at the same time.
Resolution
For hosts: enable auto-transcription
As a host, you must enable live transcription at the start of each meeting — it does not turn on automatically.
- During your meeting, click Live Transcript in the meeting toolbar.
- Click Enable Auto-Transcription. Participants will see a notification that live transcription has started.
Once transcription is running, the Live Transcript menu offers more options:
- Hide Subtitle — hides the caption overlay on your own screen while keeping it visible for participants.
- Disable Auto-Transcription — stops live transcription for all participants.
Disable transcript saving: Hosts can prevent participants from saving a copy of the transcript. Go to bowdoin.zoom.us, open Settings > Meeting, and toggle off Save Captions.
For participants: view subtitles and transcripts
Once the host has enabled live transcription, participants can choose how to view it.
- Click the Live Transcript button in the meeting toolbar.
- Choose a view option:
- Show Subtitles — displays a running caption bar at the bottom of the meeting window.
- View Full Transcript — opens a side panel showing captions in real time with speaker names and timestamps. The transcript is searchable.
Save a transcript: Click View Full Transcript, then click Save Transcript. The transcript downloads to your computer.
Save before the meeting ends: The transcript is only available to save during the meeting.
Adjust caption text size
To make captions easier to read, open the Live Transcript menu and choose Subtitle Settings, then adjust the font size.
Tips for better caption accuracy
- Use an external microphone or headset — better audio input directly improves transcription accuracy.
- Speak at a measured pace — this gives Zoom more time to convert speech to text accurately.
- Pause briefly before speaking — a short pause helps Zoom register a speaker change correctly.
- Monitor the Participants panel — participants can use non-verbal feedback to signal that a speaker should slow down.
Need edited, accurate captions for a recording? Faculty can request professional caption editing — see Request Caption Editing for Course Videos in the Related Articles section.
Additional Help
If you need further assistance, you have several options:
- Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
- Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
- In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
- Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.