How to sync everyone's Zoom video gallery view in one click

Have you ever run a Zoom workshop or team icebreaker, asked someone to "pass the mic to the person to your right," and ended up in a spiral of confusion? Or maybe you try "popcorn" style introductions and someone is left out. 

Because Zoom automatically arranges gallery tiles differently for every single person in a meeting, icebreakers and round-robin check-ins can easily get derailed.  

Fortunately, Zoom has a simple fix that gives you total control over the room's gallery layout: Follow host's video order.

How to sync your Zoom grid

1. Switch to Gallery View in your Zoom meeting window
2. Click and drag participant video tiles into your preferred sequence (such as the order you want people to speak). 
3. Click the View icon in the top-right corner of your screen.
4. Select Follow host's video order

As soon as you enable this, all attendees will see their gallery view update to match your custom arrangement. Participants can still manually adjust their own view afterward if they choose, but you can re-apply the host order at any point during the session. 

Pro Tip: Save time with auto-sort

If you don't have time, or have a large group and don't want to drag tiles manually, use Zoom's built-in Sort gallery by tools. Under the View menu, click Sort gallery by and select your preferred sort order. 

Give this a try in your next Zoom meeting to eliminate screen confusion and keep your agenda moving smoothly!

Article by Karen Matthes, Extension Learning Technologies, klm@umn.edu