Zoom Recording for Presentations & Saving as a Local Recording

Modified on Wed, 17 Jan 2024 at 10:55 AM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Important First Steps

  1. Please make sure you have a Penn Zoom Account and that you have the Zoom application on your computer (Download the Zoom app if you do not have it). Using your Penn Zoom account means you will have access to the full range of options and features in Zoom.
  2. Please also make sure you have your email listed in the Penn Directory. Students without an email listed in the Penn Directory have had trouble with uploading a video in the past.

Slide-Deck Creation & Recording of Presentation in Zoom

  • First, create your presentation in the slide-deck program of your choice (e.g., PowerPoint).
  • Then, log into your Penn Zoom account via your web browser: https://upenn.zoom.us/
  • Go to Settings > Recording. Toggle on "Local Recording" (if it is off) to ensure that you can record and save to your computer
  • Open Zoom on your desktop through the application. To do this from the Zoom website, place your cursor in the upper-right corner of the Zoom website. Then, click Host > With Video On.Penn Zoom website that shows where to find the With Video On button by clicking Host and then With Video On in the upper-right corner of the Penn Zoom website.
  • Choose the prompt to launch the meeting in the Zoom app.
  • Open your slide deck.
  • Go to Share Screen options in Zoom and select your slide deck. Instructions for how to use Zoom and PowerPoint together based on how many monitors you have if you are using PowerPoint.
  • Record your presentation in Zoom. Select Record to this Computer. Please see additional Instructions for how to Record in Zoom if you are using PowerPoint.  Please keep in mind that you can do this as many times as you'd like until you're comfortable with your final product.
  • Once you end the Zoom meeting the recording will process and then open the folder where it was saved. We recommend taking the mp4 file that was created and placing it on your desktop so you have easy access to the recording. You can also rename the file at this point to include your name or any other parameters the instructor requested.
    • Mac users- Please make sure to save your file as something other than a .mov file. PC users cannot open .mov files.

Sharing the Zoom Recording

1. By default, local recordings will be placed in the following directory on your computer:

  • Windows: C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Zoom
  • Mac: /Users/[Username]/Documents/Zoom
  • Linux: home/[Username]/Documents/Zoom

2.  Locate your recording either in the above directory or if you followed the above advice you may have moved it to your desktop for easy access.

3. Once located, navigate to the Canvas discussion or assignment with your browser and upload your mp4 presentation.


Please note: Sometimes it can take a while for the recording to upload. If you have trouble uploading, please see the links below.


For additional help in locating your Zoom recording, please review Zoom's documentation on Finding and viewing Local recordings.


For additional help in uploading your presentation - please see the article Creating a Presentation and Uploading to Canvas.


Saving to the Cloud Instead

If you would like to record a presentation and have the presentation saved directly to the cloud, please follow our Zoom Recording and Saving to the Cloud Knowledgebase article.


Please note: Any recordings in Zoom's cloud will be deleted once it is older than 120 days. If you wish to keep this recording long-term, please be sure to download a copy to your computer. 

For help with downloading a Zoom recording, please see ISC's PennZoom Cloud Recording download instructions.


Please reach out to online-learning-help@sas.upenn.edu if you have any issues with the process above.


Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select atleast one of the reasons
CAPTCHA verification is required.

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article