How to allow the demonstration of the screen in Zoom to participants – detailed instructions

Before answering the question of how to allow participants to display the screen in Zoom, let’s explain why this may be useful. In short, for the emotional revival of lectures, meetings or conferences held in the virtual space. Flipping through slides in the background, downloading and displaying data from the iPhone increases the interest of listeners in what is happening, makes the meeting more active and constructive.

How to enable screen demonstration in Zoom on PC

To start, find the Share screen button on the control panel and click on it. Without additional settings, the function will start working in basic full-screen mode. To transfer programs open on a PC, select one of the bars placed on the screen and click «Share». During the conversation, you can switch from one application to another.

Basic features

1. Broadcast of one program. It is needed for sharing presentations, correspondence in «Telegram» or just a document in Word format.
2. Video streaming. To do this, check the boxes next to the «Audio sharing» and «Optimize for video clip» options.
3. Brainstorming. When conducting it, each opinion expressed by the participant must be recorded on the board in order to then choose the optimal solution. You can record notes on a virtual whiteboard, which opens by clicking on the «Message Board» bar.
4. Audio transmission from a PC. To start the function, enable the «Audio sharing» option or the item of the same name on the «Advanced» page after the start of the broadcast.
5. Switching to the «iPhone/iPad» bar will make it possible to demonstrate the screens of mobile devices – tablets and smartphones. But you will need to install the plugin first:

• click Install and upload the plugin to Zoom;
• connect your smartphone (tablet) to the WiFi that your computer is connected to;
• find the «AirPlay» option by swiping the screen down or up, depending on the model of the gadget;
• find a list of devices starting with the word Zoom and select the one you want.

Broadcast management

Before making the screen publicly available, you need to make management settings. To do this, click on the arrow next to the «Screen Demo» icon. In the basic settings, you can allow or prohibit participants from turning on the broadcast at the same time. Advanced settings allow you to select:

• who can turn on the broadcast: all or only the organizer;
• who else can turn on the broadcast, if someone has already turned it on – only the organizer or all the participants;
• the number of participants who can share.

If you drag the cursor to the upper border of the KP screen during the session, a panel with familiar options will pop up. The buttons manage the capabilities for the shared screen:

• «A new demonstration»;
• «Pause»;
• «Comments».

By clicking on the «Comment» icon in the form of a pencil, the user gets the opportunity to make notes directly on the screen, while not on a blank white field, as in the «Message Board» mode, but directly on the broadcast object.

You can use the «pause» if it took a couple of seconds to find the file you need. When you click «Pause», the icon will change to a triangle with the caption «Continue», which will help you return to the session.

The «New demo» button is used when it is necessary to open another program without completing the current display.

To exit the broadcast and return to the video conference, click «Stop sharing».

Advanced features

By clicking on the «Advanced» tab, users can:

1. Limitations of the screen area. This function may be required if you need to hide some information that is not intended for public viewing. Click on the «Part of the screen» tile, this will highlight the area intended for public viewing in green. The rest of the screen will be hidden.
2. Place the screen behind the speaker and give it different color shades. To do this, activate the PowerPoint tile, click «Share», select the .ppt file on the KP and display the screen in Zoom.
3. Activation of the «Computer Sound» bar allows you to select and turn on audio files without displaying an image on the screen. Participants’ microphones must be turned off.
4. Showing images from the second camera. This can be, for example, a built-in laptop camera.

Showing files from the «clouds»

The Zoom application installed on a Windows PC works with:

• a collection of Microsoft SharePoint software products;
• a Microsoft cloud service connected to a PC, Microsoft OneDrive;
• Dropbox cloud storage;
• Google Drive:
• Box is a cloud–based tool that provides file sharing.

The demo launch of any application is performed according to the same scheme. Let’s take a step-by-step look at how to start demonstrating cloud files using the example of Microsoft OneDrive:

1. Find OneDrive on the Files tab and click Share.
2. Log in to the «Zoom».
3. Log in to your Microsoft account to access OneDrive.
4. Give permission for the Zoom account to access the cloud storage: click «Accept», then Confirm.
5. Select the file you want to display, mark «Anyone with the link» and click «Share screen».

Using collaboration applications

Allows all participants of the meeting to use the application necessary for collaboration. For example, in order to use time efficiently and start a conference at the same time, it is useful for all participants to use the common Timer application installed on the PC of the session organizer. To make it available for public use, you need to:

1. Run the demo.
2. Open the Applications tab.
3. Click on «Add an application».
4. Close the window.
5. Click on «My Apps».
6. In the application catalog that opens, select the one you need and run it. In our case, this is a timer application marked with an Alarm Clock icon.
7. After activating the application, set the desired time.
8. In the lower right corner, set the slider to the rightmost position (this will open access for everyone) and click on Start.

How to make a screen demonstration from your phone in Zoom

You can also make the smartphone screen publicly available using the «Share» button. It is located at the bottom of the control panel. 

To start broadcasting from a smartphone, select the «Screen» item and tickle «Start». However, remember that during the Zoom session, the application will be able to access all the information stored on the phone, including those that are not displayed on the screen: accounts, passwords, confidential correspondence, photos, audio and video.

The horizontal control menu is hidden under the arrow located at the bottom left. When you click on it, a panel with familiar icons will appear:

• with a pencil for comments;
• the radio waves of turning on and off the sound;
• a square that allows you to pause the session.

To make a photo available, click on the link of the same name and open the application access to multimedia files.

To share a site, enter its URL in the line and click on «Share».

The Zoom on the mobile device is combined with cloud services. You can start working with them by going to Google Drive and logging in. Now you can select a document and share them with the «Share screen» button. 
Hopefully, our article has clarified the question of how to allow the demonstration of the screen in Zoom to participants from a computer or mobile device.