Hosting a Zoom meeting without screen sharing can leave others frustrated, confused, or just plain bored. Sharing a specific file that everyone needs to learn or playing some background music while you give an introduction can make a huge difference in how efficient your meetings are.
Learn all the different ways you can share your screen in your Zoom meeting on desktop or mobile and how they can get people’s attention in a changing world.
Different Ways to Share Your Screen on Zoom
When you attempt to share your screen on a desktop, you’ll be presented with options for basic, advanced, or files, and each will have its own sub-options.
Basic Screen Share on Zoom
The most common option for screen sharing on Zoom is Screen which allows you to share your entire computer screen no matter what software or platform you are using.
The Zoom meeting can share your internet browser, and all of your tabs would show along with the main tab. You could also switch to other software on the computers, such as Adobe Photoshop, and the Zoom meeting will be able to see the change.
Another option for sharing is Whiteboard which is a great tool for visually drawing out ideas and concepts you are trying to explain in the meeting. You can use it like you would Microsoft paint, where you’re able to draw, add text, stamp shapes, and more.
When selecting the iPhone/iPad option, you’ll get a prompt to download an integration that will allow you to screencast your device to zoom. This function will share your other devices to your desktop for everyone to see.
The other options will depend on how many apps you have open on your desktop. These options will have the platform’s icon next to the sharing option, and when chosen, will only share that platform.
This can be useful if you are with a group of friends and looking to play online games using Zoom and don’t want anything else except for the game to show.
If you were to have a game open and switch to another platform like your internet browser, Zoom would only show the game to attendees in the meeting.
This is great for adding more privacy when you are screen sharing if you don’t want to show everyone every software you open.
Advanced Screen Share on Zoom
Clicking on the Advanced tab will open up more options for you to share that do not involve your screen.
Zoom has added the ability to share PowerPoint as a background to your Zoom meeting so you can have a picture-in-picture effect. This works well for business presentations when you need to share slides to emphasize specific points.
You can also select a portion of your screen to share if you don’t wish to include other parts of your screen to keep it private. This function brings up a green square which you can drag and drop to different places on your screen, and you can change the size proportions as well.
It is also possible to share music or sound with your attendees using this feature, and whatever you play will be heard by your attendees. Your camera will still be displayed on the main screen when selecting this option.
Selecting the Video option pulls up your computer files and will allow you to share a specific video file. It will also include all sound, and Zoom will automatically optimize your video to display in the best format.
You can also share your video from a second camera if you have one connected. This is great for displaying how a physical object works or if you need someone to see something specific without moving your entire computer around.
Files Sharing on Zoom
Under the files tab, you have a number of different options for ways to access files that you may have on your computer or in the cloud.
You can find files on Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, and Microsoft SharePoint.
Clicking any of these options opens up the platform and allows you to select the specific file you want to share with your participants.
How to Share Your Screen on Zoom Desktop
Sharing your screen on Zoom will help participants in the meeting to see more clearly the concepts and ideas you are trying to share and help give a visual aspect.
- Click on the green Share button.
- Select the option you want to share.
- Click the blue Share button.
- You will see a green notification that you are sharing. Click the red Stop Share button to unshare your screen.
You can also use hotkeys for sharing on the desktop, depending on the device you are using. Press Alt + S for Windows or Command + Shift + S on Mac to toggle screen share off and on.
How to Screen Share on Zoom Mobile
Mobile will work very similarly to desktop, except that you won’t have as many options as desktop.
- Tap your screen to pull up the options.
- Tap the Share Content button.
- Select the option you want to share.Image Gallery (3 Images)
window[‘gallery_0’] = new Swiper(‘#swipper-0’, {
direction: ‘horizontal’,
spaceBetween: 20,
slidesPerView: 1,
centeredSlides: true,
preventClicks: false,
observer: true,
observeParents: true,
loop: false,
keyboard: {
enabled: true
},
// If we need pagination
pagination: {
el: ‘.swiper-pagination’,
},
navigation: {
nextEl: ‘.swiper-button-next’,
prevEl: ‘.swiper-button-prev’,
},
});var images = document.getElementsByClassName(“gallery-0-images”);
for (var i = 0; i
- Click Start Broadcast.
- Navigate to the app you’d like to share.
- Click on the Zoom app.
- Click Stop Share.Image Gallery (2 Images)
window[‘gallery_0’] = new Swiper(‘#swipper-0’, {
direction: ‘horizontal’,
spaceBetween: 20,
slidesPerView: 1,
centeredSlides: true,
preventClicks: false,
observer: true,
observeParents: true,
loop: false,
keyboard: {
enabled: true
},
// If we need pagination
pagination: {
el: ‘.swiper-pagination’,
},
navigation: {
nextEl: ‘.swiper-button-next’,
prevEl: ‘.swiper-button-prev’,
},
});var images = document.getElementsByClassName(“gallery-0-images”);
for (var i = 0; i
Options For Allowing Participants to Share Screens
In a Zoom meeting with colleagues or people you trust, you can choose which participants will be able to share the screen at a time, or all participants can share at once. However, be careful with this feature with people you don’t know because you want to avoid Zoom-Bombing issues.
This means all participants can share their screens instead of showing their main camera. Or one participant can share their screen while others use their camera.
Just click on the arrow next to Share, and you’ll notice the two options for allowing participants to share their screens.
The Advanced Settings screen is more detailed with parameters like only allowing the host to share or allowing all participants to share and whether only the host can start sharing when another participant begins sharing.
Sharing Screens on Zoom
The different options on Zoom screen sharing allow hosts to conduct their presentations or meetings in a number of different ways that can help elevate the theme or topic.
By sharing files, sounds, videos, or whiteboards, you have full access to all the tools you need to conduct thorough meetings with your colleagues.