Screen sharing in Zoom
How to start sharing, how to let participants share, and what to do when it fails.
The short answer
During a meeting, click the green Share Screen button on the bottom bar, choose what to show — the whole screen or a single window — and click Share. To finish, click the red Stop Share button at the top.
If the button is not there, the host has blocked sharing for participants. How to lift that is covered below in the section "How to let participants share the screen". Screen sharing is available on the free plan too — the limits there are different.
How to enable screen sharing on a computer
Join the meeting.
On the bottom bar, click the green Share Screen butto
On the bottom bar, click the green Share Screen button. If the bar is hidden, move the cursor to the bottom edge of the window.
A selection window opens. It has three groups:
Screen
participants will see everything that happens on the monitor, including switching between windows and notifications
a single application window
only that window is visible, everything else stays hidden
whiteboard, iPhone/iPad, individual browser tabs
on the "Advanced" tab.
Select what you need and click Share.
To finish, use the red Stop Share button at the top of the screen.
A tip that saves nerves: if you are not going to switch between programs, share a single window rather than the whole screen. Then a stray notification from a messenger will not be seen by the whole meeting.
How to share the screen from a phone or tablet
In the meeting, tap Share on the bottom bar.
Select Screen.
Confirm the system request for screen recording — on iPhone
Confirm the system request for screen recording — on iPhone this is "Start Broadcast", on Android "Start".
Minimise Zoom and open what you want to show.
To finish, return to Zoom and tap Stop Share.
From a phone you can share not only the whole screen but also a single document, a photo or a file from the cloud — those items are in the same menu.
How to let participants share the screen
By default, in many meetings only the host can share the screen. That is exactly why a participant's button either does not work or is not there at all.
The host needs to:
- Click the arrow next to the Share Screen button.
- Select Advanced Sharing Options.
- Under "Who can share" select All Participants.
The same place controls whether a participant can start sharing while someone else is sharing, and whether one person or several can share at once. Neighbouring permission settings are covered in the notes on managing participants and the waiting room.
If you need to allow sharing once and for all in every meeting of yours, this is enabled not in the meeting itself but in the account settings on the Zoom web portal, under "Meeting" → "In Meeting (Basic)".
How to show a video with sound
Ordinary sharing transmits the picture but not the sound from the computer, and it transmits it on the assumption of a static slide rather than movement.
Before clicking "Share", tick two items at the bottom of the selection window:
- "Share sound" — otherwise participants will see the video without audio;
- "Optimize for video clip" — otherwise the movement will be jerky.
Important: after showing the video, be sure to untick the optimisation. If you leave it, the next presentation will be shown blurred — the optimisation mode sacrifices text sharpness for smooth movement.
Why screen sharing does not work
The host has restricted sharing. See the section above.
The system requires a separate permission. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording and enable Zoom in the list. Zoom then has to be restarted.
This is usually graphics card hardware acceleration. In the Zoom settings, open "Share Screen" → "Advanced" and turn off hardware acceleration for sharing.
"Share sound" and "Optimize for video clip" are not ticked. See the section above.
You selected a specific application but opened another one. Stop sharing and start again, selecting "Screen" or the window you need.
The quality of sharing depends on your internet, on the graphics card and processor, and also on the server the connection goes through. Image settings are covered separately, and sound is dealt with in five tips. For a stable picture with a large number of participants the platform is deployed on local servers, and mass broadcasts are distributed inside the network through Zoom Mesh — that is a separate rollout task, and we handle it.
Small things that make sharing tidy
Start sharing before the meeting begins and show the company logo or a title slide. Participants who join early will look at something meaningful.
A row of thirty tabs is read by participants in only one way.
macOS and Windows both have a "Do Not Disturb" mode — turn it on before sharing the whole screen.
During sharing, drawing tools are available: arrow, pencil, highlighter. The "Annotate" button is on the top bar. The host can turn off annotations for participants in the same place, in the advanced options. If you need to draw seriously and for a long time, there is the whiteboard for that.
The person sharing can hand control of their screen to another participant — the "Give Remote Control" button on the top bar. On remote access we have a separate note.
During sharing it is convenient to run a poll — participants answer without interrupting.
Sharing can be recorded locally or to the cloud, and in webinars it can be transcribed into text.
If questions like these come up often
Screen sharing is one feature out of hundreds. If staff regularly search the internet for how to do an obvious thing in Zoom, the problem is neither with them nor with the platform. The problem is that there was no rollout: the licences were bought, but nobody was taught to use them.
This has a very specific price. Learning the platform on your own takes, in our experience, 30–50 hours per person. A licence used at a quarter of its capacity costs the same as a licence used in full. The only difference is what you get for it.
That is why we sell not licences but a working platform: configuration for your infrastructure, training for administrators and staff, support in Russian. A licence is only the beginning, and why an in-house rollout stalls is a separate conversation. What the platform can do beyond meetings is on the Zoom Workplace page; what it costs is in the breakdown of plans; how to buy it from Russia is here. And if the platform has not been chosen yet — the selection checklist.
Frequently asked questions
How do I enable screen sharing in Zoom?
The green "Share Screen" button on the bottom bar during a meeting, then the choice of window and "Share".
Why can I not share my screen?
The host has restricted sharing by participants. They lift the restriction through the arrow next to the "Share Screen" button → "Advanced Options".
Can I share the screen from a phone?
Yes, on iPhone, iPad and Android — the "Share" button in the meeting, then confirmation of the system screen recording request.
Do participants hear the sound from my computer?
Only if "Share sound" is ticked before sharing starts.
Do participants see my notifications?
If you are sharing the whole screen, yes. If a single application window, no.
Can I share the screen on free Zoom?
Yes, screen sharing is available on the free plan too. The limit of the free plan is a different one — a meeting lasts 40 minutes. In detail: free Zoom limitations, and what the paid plan costs is on the pricing page.
How do I share the screen with several groups at once?
For parallel work there are breakout rooms: participants split into rooms, and each room has its own sharing.
How does sharing in a webinar differ from a meeting?
In a webinar only the panellist can share, and the host assigns the rights. How a webinar differs from a meeting in general — a breakdown.
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