How to share screen

Sharing your screen is one of the most valuable features of Zoom. It allows you to easily present, use the whiteboard, or share videos with your group. This guide will show you how to share your screen and use the whiteboard tool.

Starting a screen share

1. Click the Share Screen button located in your task bar.

share screen in navigation bar zoom meeting

2. Select the screen you want to share. You can also choose an individual application that is already open on your computer, the desktop, a whiteboard, or an iPhone/iPad.

screen options choose screen 1

Note: If you are sharing a video clips, check these boxes for optimal sharing.

Video Clip Features:

Share Computer Sound: if you check this option, any sound played by your computer will be shared in the meeting.

Optimize for full screen video clip: Check this if you will be sharing a video clip in full screen mode. Do not check this otherwise, as it may cause the shared screen to be blurry.

3. Click Share.

Share screen menu

When you start sharing your screen, the meeting controls will move into a menu that you can drag around your screen.

  • Mute/Unmute: Mute or unmute your microphone.
  • Start/Stop Video: Start or stop your in-meeting video.
  • Participants/Manage Participants: View or manage the participants (if the host).
  • New Share: Start a new screen share. You will be prompted to select which screen you want to share again.
  • Pause Share: Pause your current shared screen.
  • Annotate / Whiteboard: Display annotation tools for drawing, adding text, etc.

Using the Whiteboard

1. Click the Share Screen button located in your task bar.

share screen in navigation bar zoom meeting

2. Select Whiteboard.

select whiteboard tool in screen share

This will open the white board. You can see your video[1], and select from the menu[2] to customize your board.

The Whiteboard Menu:

  • Mouse: Deactivate annotation tools and switch to your mouse pointer. This button is blue if annotation tools are deactivated.
  • Select (only available if you started the shared screen or whiteboard): Select, move, or resize your annotations. To select several annotations at once, click and drag your mouse to display a selection area.
  • Text: Insert text.
  • Draw: Insert lines, arrows, and shapes.
  • Note: To highlight an area of the shared screen or whiteboard, select following square or circle icon to insert a semi-transparent square or circle.
  • Stamp: Insert predefined icons like a check mark or star.
  • Spotlight / Arrow: Turn your cursor into a spotlight or arrow.
  • Spotlight (only available if you started the shared screen or whiteboard): Displays your mouse pointer to all participants when your mouse is within the area being shared. Use this to point out parts of the screen to other participants.
  • Arrow: Displays a small arrow instead of your mouse pointer. Click to insert an arrow that displays your name. Each subsequent click will remove the previous arrow placed. You can use this feature to point out your annotations to other participants.
  • Eraser: Click and drag to erase parts of your annotation.
  • Format: Change the formatting options of annotations tools like color, line width, and font.

Questions? Learn more about Zoom annotation tools.

Additional Resources

Want to take advantage of other Zoom features? Visit our guides to learn how to update other Zoom options.

Need help with something else? Contact Zoom support or your local or district IT help desk.

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