During a class or meeting, you may wish so show or share content on your screen with students or the meeting participants. The type of content you wish to share will influence the sharing option you choose.


Only the people in the meeting who have the “Presenter” role will be able to share content. You can limit who is a Presenter (vs an Attendee) by adjusting the meeting options for your meeting.


Use the Teams Meeting Toolbar to Share Content


Click the Share Content icon on your Meeting Toolbar. It looks like a rectangle with an up-pointing arrow (immediately to the left of the button leave the meeting).




Permit Screen Sharing on Macs

Your computer may need you to provide permission for screen sharing the first time you attempt to share content. Follow these instructions to share your screen through Teams on a computer using Mac OS (v. 10.15+).

Choose What to Share from the Tray


Once you click the Share Content item, Microsoft Teams will display a “tray” with a variety of options for what to share.


There are 4 options for sharing:


  1. Desktop:
    If you share the Desktop, your meeting participants will see everything you see. If you switch between programs or windows, they’ll see those actions. For example, if you wish to show a website and then show a spreadsheet, your meeting participants will watch you navigate between these two windows.

    If you choose to share your Desktop, it is recommended that you close any programs that will display pop-up notifications (e.g., email, messages) or use the Do Not Disturb option on your computer to mute notifications, especially if a pop-up notification might contain confidential information.When you share your desktop, a red box will appear around your entire screen, indicating that any window will be visible to your meeting participants.




  2. Window:

    If you share a single window, that is the only program your users will see, even if, privately, you view another window. Your meeting participants will continue to that window, even if you minimize it on your screen. For example, if you are sharing your web browser, and then minimize your web browser to privately view a document, your meeting participants will continue to see your web browser.


    NOTE: The downside of this is if you, for example, want to show how to do something in a browser window that includes interaction, such as Blackboard. Viewers will only see your original window, but no pop-up windows that may be spawned as part of your demonstration.


    When you share a single window, a red box will appear around the window that is visible to your meeting participants.


    If you are interested in using your private notes in Powerpoint (Presenter View) there is a hack you may want to try. Check out this video for details (starts at 4 min, 39 sec).



  3. Powerpoint:

    While you could open a Powerpoint on your computer and share its Window (see option 2 above), Microsoft also allows you to upload a Powerpoint directly to your meeting, allowing you to display your slides while still having access to the participant list, the meeting chat, and the other participants’ videos.


    On the tray, you may see thumbnails of previously opened Powerpoint files. You may also evaluate that this list is incomplete. That is because this list only shows recently opened Powerpoint files from OneDrive.If the Powerpoint slides you wish to share are not visible as a thumbnail, choose the “Browse” link to upload from your computer or OneDrive. If you are on low bandwidth internet, it may be very slow to upload a Powerpoint to your meeting from your computer.

    Once you have shared a Powerpoint, new options appear on your Meeting Toolbar. You can move the slides forward and backward for your participants using the < and > buttons. If you toggle the eyeball icon, you can permit or prohibit your meeting participants from navigating through your slides individually (independent of your navigation); the default is set to “permit.” And, you can stop presenting your slides.



  4. Whiteboard:

    The final sharing option is the Microsoft Whiteboard. This allows you and your meeting participants to doodle, sketch, and post notes on a shared board. Anyone can write, edit, or delete content from the Whiteboard.

    Note: The Whiteboard is Not Recorded

    When the Whiteboard is shared from the tray, it is not recorded when you record a meeting in Teams.

To Share Audio


Sometimes, you may wish to share audio (such as playing a song or playing a video) to your audience.


If you are on a Windows computer, in addition to sharing the appropriate visual option from the tray, also check the box to “include system audio” at the top of the tray. When you play the song or video, make sure the volume on your computer is sufficient to hear the sound.



If you are on a Mac computer, there is no option, currently, to play your system audio directly. Instead, you will need to play it through your speakers so that the mic can pick it up. To do this, ensure that your headphones are unplugged and your computer’s speakers have the volume turned all the way up. When you play a song or video, your computer’s microphone will convey the sound to your audience along with your chosen visual content from the tray.


Important – Interference by other sounds reduces the sound quality (often causing it to fade out for a moment). You can preserve the quality in these two ways:


  1. The Teams environment – The first step is to mute all participants. You can do that by clicking the participants icon in your Teams Toolbar, and click Mute All (making sure that you have not muted yourself!)

  2. The environment around your computer – Be sure not to make noise that can be picked up by your computer mic, including typing, clicking on things, moving around with your computer, placing objects near your computer, or looking at papers, etc.

To Stop Sharing


  1. If you’ve shared your Desktop or a Window, return to the meeting and click the Stop Sharing icon on the Meeting Toolbar. It looks like a rectangle with an x (immediately to the left of the button leave the meeting).

  2. A Powerpoint is stopped from the Meeting toolbar by clicking on “Stop Presenting” to the right of the Participant list icon.



  3. A Whiteboard is stopped from the Meeting Toolbar by clicking on “Stop Presenting” to the right of the Participant list icon.






Permit a Meeting Attendee to Share Content


Only the people in the meeting who have the “Presenter” role will be able to share content. You may have limited who is a Presenter (vs an Attendee) by adjusting the meeting options for your meeting.


During a meeting, if you would like an Attendee (a guest lecturer, a meeting guest, a student, etc.) to be able to share content from their computer, you will need to change their meeting role to Presenter.


Click the Participant List icon from your Meeting Toolbar. Locate the person (from the Attendee list) whose role you’d like to change. Click the 3 dots to the right of their name. And choose “Make a presenter.” That person will now be able to share content.



You may want to re-set someone’s role back to Attendee after they are finished presenting. To do so, choose the Participant List icon from your Meeting Toolbar. Locate the person (from the Presenter list) whose role you’d like to change. Click the 3 dots to the right of their name. And choose “Make an attendee.” That person will no longer be able to share content.