Name who said what in a Zoom meeting
Notetaker names the other side's lines from who Zoom shows as talking in calls of three or more. Mark yourself, then fix the lines Zoom missed.
In a Zoom call of three or more people, Notetaker names the other side's lines with the Zoom display name of whoever Zoom showed as talking. The names appear in the transcript as it builds, and afterwards in the Markdown file, the exports and Copy transcript. Where Zoom showed nobody, the line stays Them, and you fix it in the Speakers window.
What Zoom has to be doing
Names come from the Zoom desktop app on your Mac, with its meeting window open while Epilude records. Zoom only shows who is talking once three or more people are in the call, and Epilude reads that marker from Zoom's English interface. A two-person call, Zoom in a browser, and every other meeting app keep the other side as Them.
How the names are decided
Zoom highlights the person talking on their video tile. Epilude reads that highlight while it records and attaches the name to the line being spoken. The names are labels taken from Zoom, not voices Epilude recognised, and reading the highlight needs the same Accessibility permission Epilude uses to notice a meeting starting.
- A line gets a name only when Zoom showed one person talking for most of it. When two people talk over each other, the line reads Multiple speakers.
- Zoom's highlight trails speech by about a second, so now and then a line carries the name of the person who spoke right before it.
- Your own side is Me. Epilude works out which Zoom name is yours from when your microphone is live and marks that person as you, so your name does not land on the other side's lines.
Open the Speakers window
Open the meeting, click ⋯ on the note and choose Edit speakers… (available once the recording has stopped). The people are listed on the left; the transcript runs as a conversation on the right, your lines on one side and everyone else's on the other.
Mark yourself
If no one is marked as you, a notice at the top of the people list says so. Click ⋯ on your own Zoom name and turn on This is me. The suggestions then know which side is yours.
If several people shared your Mac's microphone, a room on one laptop for example, turn on Several people shared my mic under the list, and your side's lines stop being assumed to be you.
Fix the lines Zoom missed
Click Fix speakers at the top. The count beside it is how many stretches still need a name. A stretch is a run of the other side's lines where Zoom pointed the same way, with no pause longer than 20 seconds and at most 10 lines, so one choice covers a whole turn in the conversation.
Read the hint
Each stretch says what Zoom showed: the name Zoom had on for most of it, or the people it could have been when Zoom showed nobody.
Name the stretch
Click a name to give it to every line in the stretch. Show the conversation reveals the lines around it when the words alone are not enough.
Go line by line when a stretch mixes people
Open the stretch and answer Who said it? for each line: press the number next to a name, → to skip and ← to go back.
When only one person was left on the call, a banner at the top of the people list offers to name those lines in one click.
Correct a single line
Switch back to Transcript. Every line carries its name as a clickable label; click it and pick someone else. Hold ⌘ and click several lines to move them together, and ⌘F finds a word in the transcript. Double-click a line, or choose Correct the words… from its label, to fix the transcription itself. Undo (⌘Z) steps back through your changes.
Rename, merge and add people
In the people list, click a name to rename it; the Zoom name stays underneath so the next recording with that person still matches. The ⋯ menu on a person offers Same person as another entry, which merges the two when someone rejoined under a different name, and Remove. Add a person at the bottom covers someone Zoom never listed, such as a colleague on speakerphone in the room.
Troubleshooting
- Every line still says Them? Check the call had three or more people, the Zoom desktop app was used rather than Zoom in a browser, its language is English, and Epilude has the Accessibility permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
- A line carries the wrong name? Zoom's highlight trails speech, so a line said right after a speaker change can carry the earlier name. Click the name on the line and pick the right person.
- Your own name appears on the other side? Turn on This is me for yourself, then name those lines in Fix speakers.