We've been using Zoom for a few months now, and there are still some features and settings that many users are unaware of. We've all had the experience of being in a noisy Zoom meeting with a dog barking, a car alarm blaring, or children chattering. Or worse, forgetting to mute it before someone goes to the bathroom. Awkward!

Now, with one handy setting, everyone can auto-mute on Zoom when joining a meeting.

In recent months, everyone has been using Zoom from home to attend work meetings, take online classes, and keep in touch with friends and family. But even professional users of Zoom may not know that they can automatically mute their Zoom every time they join a meeting.

This is a great feature. If everyone would change this setting, Zoom meetings would begin in a controlled and quiet manner. The host or meeting leader could more easily direct the flow of the conversation. And individual participants can selectively unmute when they have something to say. This eliminates the possibility of accidentally overhearing the sound of flushing toilets!

Here's what you need to know about how to auto-mute in Zoom:

On the Audio tab, you can also check the "Press and hold the SPACE key to temporarily unmute" setting. In other words, whenever you want to speak in a meeting, press the SPACE bar while you are speaking. When you release the SPACE key, it will go back to mute. No need to worry about forgetting to unmute.