Scheduling a Zoom meeting in advance gives you time to share the link with participants, set up the right settings, and make sure everything is ready before the call starts. Here is how to do it from the desktop app, the web portal, and how to send invites that actually get people into the call.
Schedule a Meeting from the Desktop App
- Open Zoom and click the Schedule button (the calendar icon)
- Enter a meeting title in the Topic field
- Set the date, time, and duration
- Choose your time zone
- Set a Passcode if you want one (recommended for external or public meetings)
- Enable Waiting Room if you want to control when participants join
- Under Calendar, choose to add it to Outlook, Google Calendar, or copy the invite manually
- Click Save
Schedule from the Zoom Web Portal
- Go to zoom.us and sign in
- Click Schedule a Meeting
- Fill in the meeting details — title, date, time, duration, and settings
- Click Save
- Zoom shows you the meeting details page with the join link, meeting ID, and passcode
- Click Copy the Invitation to get the full meeting invite text to paste into an email
How to Share the Meeting Link
Once the meeting is scheduled, participants need the meeting link, meeting ID, and passcode. The easiest way to share:
- Copy the invitation: In the desktop app, go to Meetings, find your scheduled meeting, and click Copy Invitation. Paste this into an email.
- Add to calendar: When scheduling, choose Outlook or Google Calendar — Zoom will create a calendar event with all the details pre-filled
- Share the link directly: A Zoom meeting link looks like zoom.us/j/[number]. You can share this in a message and participants can join without needing the ID and passcode separately
Setting Up a Recurring Meeting
For weekly team meetings or regular stand-ups, set the meeting to repeat so you do not have to schedule it every time:
- When scheduling, tick Recurring meeting
- Choose the recurrence pattern — daily, weekly, monthly, or no fixed time
- Set the end date or number of occurrences
Recurring meetings use the same meeting ID and link every time, making it easy for regular participants to bookmark and join.
Waiting Room vs. Open Meeting
- Waiting Room enabled: Participants are held in a virtual waiting room when they arrive. The host must admit each person individually. Useful for client calls or external meetings.
- Waiting Room disabled: Participants join immediately when they click the link. More convenient for internal team meetings.
Zoom Meeting ID and Passcode Explained
Every scheduled meeting has a unique Meeting ID (a 9–11 digit number) and optionally a passcode. The link combines both — when participants click the link, they are automatically authenticated and do not need to enter them manually. If someone tries to join via the app manually (without the link), they will need both the ID and passcode.
Outlook Calendar Integration
If you use Outlook, the Zoom Outlook Plugin or Zoom add-in for Outlook lets you schedule Zoom meetings directly from your calendar without opening the Zoom app. Once installed, a Add a Zoom Meeting button appears when composing calendar invites.
