Zoom Integration Addon

The Zoom Integration Addon bridges the gap between your Modern Events Calendar (MEC) and your Zoom account. It allows you to display meeting and webinar details—such as join links, meeting IDs, and passwords—directly on your event pages. You can control exactly when this information is visible, automate email notifications with secure credentials, and synchronize events between both platforms through a professional OAuth integration

Initial Setup

To successfully connect MEC with Zoom, you must meet the following requirements and complete the application handshake.

Requirements

• MEC Pro or Lite: This addon is compatible with both the Pro and Lite versions of Modern Events Calendar. Note that certain advanced booking features may vary depending on your base MEC version.
• Zoom Account: You must have a valid Zoom account to create the necessary API credentials.
• Activation: Ensure both Modern Events Calendar and the Zoom Integration Addon are installed and activated on your WordPress site.

After installation, you can see a sub-menu in MEC’s main menu, which allows you to access the addon data and its integration with Zoom. First, you need to get down to combining. For this, you should log in to your Zoom account and follow the procedures below.

Step 1: Build a Zoom OAuth App

1. Log in to the Zoom App Marketplace and navigate to Develop > Build App.

2. Choose General App and select the User-managed option.

3. App Credentials: The system will generate a Client ID and Client Secret. Copy these and paste them into WordPress Dashboard > MEC Menu > Zoom Integration.

4 . Redirect URL: In the Zoom App Marketplace, locate the Redirect URL for OAuth field. Paste the specific link provided in your MEC Zoom Integration settings here.

Step 2: Configure Scopes and Features

1. In the Features tab of your Zoom app, select both Meetings and Webinars under the “Surface” sub-menu.

2. In the Scopes tab, click Add Scopes and grant read/write permissions for both meetings and webinars.

3. Mandatory Scopes: To ensure a seamless sync, add all scopes under the following categories:

• View all user meetings and View all user Webinars.
• View and manage all user meetings and View and manage all user Webinars.
• View and manage your meetings and View your webinars.

Connecting the Apps (The Handshake)

This step authorizes the connection between your website and Zoom. This process can be completed using one of two distinct methods: Manual or Automatic.

Method 1: Manual Authorization

This method involves manually transferring the authorization link between the Zoom Marketplace and MEC.

1. Generate URL: In the Zoom App Marketplace, go to the Authorization URL section, select Generate, and copy the resulting link.

2. Paste in MEC: Navigate to your MEC Zoom Integration settings and paste the copied URL into the designated field.

3. Allow Access: After pasting the link and click in Authenticate button, a Zoom permission window will appear. You must confirm the account permissions by clicking Allow.

4. Finalize Token: Upon returning to the Zoom Integration page in MEC, click the Generate Access Token button to obtain your specific access credentials.

Method 2: Automatic Authorization

This method uses a more streamlined flow directly from the marketplace.

1. Install App: In the Zoom App Marketplace, click the Add App Now button. This initiates the connection and automatically redirects you to your WordPress site.

2. Authenticate and Allow Access: Once redirected, click Allow when the Zoom permission window appears.

3. Finalize Token: Click Generate Access Token in MEC to finalize the handshake and receive your access credentials.

Synchronizing Events (Import & Export)

The addon supports bi-directional data management, allowing you to pull events from Zoom or push them from MEC.

Importing from Zoom to MEC

1. After generating your access token, go to the Zoom Integration page.
2. Click Get Meetings or Get Webinars to view your current Zoom schedule.
3. Select the desired items and click Import to create them as events in MEC.
4. Refinement: Imported events contain the essential meeting data. You should then go to MEC > All Events to add descriptions, speakers, and featured images.

Exporting from MEC to Zoom

1. Navigate to the Edit Event Page for the event you wish to sync.
2. Go to Event Details > Zoom Information and select whether it is a Meeting or a Webinar.
3. Go to the Zoom Menu in MEC and click Export Events to Zoom.
4. URL Handling: Events created in MEC do not automatically have a Zoom URL. Once exported, you must manually copy the generated Zoom URL and paste it into the Join URL field in MEC.

Configuration & Visibility Hub

You can customize how Zoom details appear to your users within the Zoom Information menu of each event.

Visual Branding & Badges

• Shortcode Badges: Enable the zoom event icon to appear as a badge in all MEC shortcodes for easy identification.

• Sidebar Badge: Display a dedicated zoom event badge in the sidebar of the Single Event page.

User Experience & Access

• Display booking history on the Single Event page: When enabled, this option provides a special box on the event page for logged-in users who have previously booked the virtual event. In this section, the system displays only the data related to the Join URL, Register link, Password, Meeting ID, and Embed fields; it does not display the registration data the user entered during checkout.

• Display when booking is complete (Checkbox next to fields): By selecting the checkbox located next to the Join URL, Register link, Password, Meeting ID, and Embed fields, you enable an immediate, temporary display of those details within the booking form itself right after a successful registration. This is designed for the immediate user experience and disappears once the form is closed.

Visibility Logic

• Timed Visibility: Enable View the above info at a certain interval before the event starts to hide meeting details until a specific timeframe before the event begins.
• Live Concealment: Enable Hide above information when the event is live to automatically remove details as soon as the session starts.

Notifications & FES Integration

Email Communication

The addon automatically integrates with the MEC notification system to deliver secure credentials.

• Placeholders: Use email placeholders to automatically send the Zoo URL, Zoom link, Password, Meeting ID and embed to users after registration.

• Customization: Navigate to MEC Notification Settings to find the Custom message for Zoom events. This allows you to write specific instructions for your virtual attendees without affecting your standard physical event emails.

Frontend Event Submission (FES)

If you allow users to submit events from the frontend:

1. Enable the Virtual Event option within the FES Form settings.
2. This is activated via the Virtual Event option in the FES configuration.
3. Users can then mark their own submissions as virtual and provide the necessary links and passwords during the submission process.

Use Cases (When This Addon is Useful)

• Professional Webinars: Perfect for corporate training or marketing sessions where you need to sell tickets through MEC and automatically provide secure Zoom access only to paid attendees.
• Hybrid Community Workshops: Ideal for events that take place both in-person and online, allowing you to use Zoom badges to clearly distinguish the virtual component.
• Recurring Online Coaching: Use the Export feature to quickly turn your WordPress-managed schedule into a series of Zoom meetings with synchronized passwords and IDs.

Situations This Addon May Not Be Ideal

• Multi-Account Management: The addon only supports connecting to one Zoom account at a time. To use a different account, you must disconnect the current one and enter new credentials.
• Sub-Minute Real-Time Syncing: Because Zoom access tokens expire every 60 minutes, administrative actions (like importing new meetings) require occasional manual token refreshes.
• Fully Automated URL Generation: Currently, Zoom URLs are not automatically pulled back into the MEC “Join URL” field after an export; they must be added manually.

Troubleshooting for Beginners

• Timeout Errors during Authentication: This is often caused by low PHP execution time on your server. Ensure your php.ini file is configured with a proper execution time for API handshakes.
• Redirect URL Mismatch: If the authorization fails, double-check that the URL provided in MEC Settings exactly matches the Redirect URL you pasted into the Zoom App Marketplace.
• Meetings Not Importing: Ensure you have added all the required Scopes (View and Manage) for both meetings and webinars in your Zoom app settings.
• Expired Token Issues: If you cannot export or import data, your 60-minute token has likely expired. Go to the Zoom Integration page and click Generate Access Token to restore functionality.

FAQ