Share content in a Teams meeting

Using Microsoft Teams, you can show your desktop, a specific app, presentation, or any file while in a meeting!

In this article: 

• Sharing your screen 
• Sharing power point slides 
• Give and take control of shared content
• Zoom in to shared content 
• Include system audio

Sharing your screen

To share your screen in a meeting, select Share  in your meeting controls. Then, choose to present your entire desktop, a window or a PowerPoint file. 

Note: If you're using Teams on the web, you'll only be able to share your screen if you're using Google Chrome or the latest version of Microsoft Edge.

Share your...	If you want to...	Great when...
Desktop	Show your entire screen, including notifications and other desktop activity	You need to seamlessly share multiple windows
Window	Show just one window, and no notifications or other desktop activity	You only need to show one thing and want to keep the rest of your screen to yourself
PowerPoint	Present a PowerPoint file others can interact with	You need to share a presentation and want others to be able to move through it at their own pace

When you're done sharing, go to your meeting controls and select Stop sharing .  

Note: If you're using a Mac, you'll be prompted to change your privacy settings before you're able to share your screen (System Preferences>Security & Privacy>Privacy>Accessibility). Also, window sharing isn't available for Linux users.

Share PowerPoint slides in a meeting

If you choose to share a PowerPoint file in a meeting, participants will get some special capabilities:

• They'll be able to move around to different slides without interrupting the main presentation.

• They can sync their view back to the presenter's view with one click.

Note: If you don't want people to be able to independently navigate through a PowerPoint file you're sharing, select    (it's next to Stop presenting) to prevent it.

1. Select Share  in your meeting controls.

2. In the PowerPoint section, select the file you want. Select Browse to find a different file.

   Notes: 

   • The PowerPoint section lists the most recent files you've opened or edited in your team SharePoint site or your OneDrive. If you select one of these files to present, all meeting participants will be able to view the slides during the meeting. Their access permissions to the file outside of the meeting won't change.

   • If you select Browse and choose to present a PowerPoint file that hasn't been uploaded to Teams before, it will get uploaded as part of the meeting. If you're presenting in a channel meeting, the file is uploaded to the Files tab in the channel, where all team members will have access to it. If you're presenting in a private meeting, the file is uploaded to your OneDrive, where only the meeting participants will be able to access it.

Give and take control of shared content

Give control

If you want another meeting participant to change a file, help you present, or demonstrate something, you can give control to that person. You will both be in control of the sharing, and you can take back control anytime.

Note: When you’re sharing an app, only give control to people you trust. People you give control to may send commands that could affect your system or other apps. We've taken steps to prevent this but haven't tested every possible system customization.

1. On the sharing toolbar, select Give control. 

2. Select the name of the person you want to give control to.

   Teams sends a notification to that person to let them know you’re sharing control. While you’re sharing control, they can make selections, edits, and other modifications to the shared screen.

3. To take control back, select Take back control.

Take control

To take control while another person is sharing, select Request control. Then, the person sharing will approve or deny your request.

While you have control, you can make selections, edits, and other modifications to the shared screen.

When you’re done, select Release control to stop sharing control.

Zoom in to shared content

Want to get a better look at shared content?

Click and drag to see different areas.

And to zoom in or out, try the following:

• Pinch in or out on your track pad

• Use the keyboard shortcuts Control + Plus sign and Control + Minus sign

• Hold the Control key and scroll with your mouse

Note: Mac track pads don't support zoom in meetings. If you're on a Mac, use one of the other options. If you're using Linux, giving and taking control of shared content isn't available at this time.

Include system audio

Sharing your system audio lets you stream your computer audio to meeting participants through Teams. You can use it to play a video or audio clip as part of a presentation.

To share your system audio, select Share    in your meeting controls and then Include system audio. When you share, all your system audio, including notifications, will be included in the meeting. For more on sharing system audio, check out Share system audio in a Teams meeting.

Note: For now, we only support sharing system audio on Windows devices.