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Skype for Business, Share your desktop or a program

You can show your entire desktop or just a program to everyone in a Skype for Business Meeting, call, or instant messaging (IM) conversation.

Keep in mind that you need to be a presenter in a Skype for Business Meeting to share your screen. If the option is grayed out, ask one of the presenters to give you presenter access.

• Share your Desktop when you need to switch between multiple programs, or work on files from different programs.

• Share a Window when you need to present specific programs or files and don’t want people to see anything else on your computer.

Share your desktop or a program

1. At the bottom of the conversation window, point to the presentation (monitor) icon.

2. On the Share Content tab, do one of the following:

   To share the content on your desktop, click Share your Desktop.

   Important    When sharing your desktop, everyone in the meeting can see your programs, files, and notifications. If you have confidential information or files that you don’t want people to see, close them or use Share a Window instead.

   To share one or more programs or files, click Share a Window, and then select the specific program(s) or file(s).
   For Powerpoint files specifically you can select the Share Powerpoint files.

3. On the sharing toolbar, on top of the screen, use any of these options:

   Click Stop Sharing when you are done sharing your screen.

   Click Give Control to share control of your desktop or program with the participants

   Click the pin to hide the toolbar and have more space. To un-hide the toolbar, move your mouse to the top of the screen. When the sharing toolbar appears, use any of the controls you need or click the pin again to keep the toolbar visible.

Note    While you are presenting, your Skype for Business status changes to Busy, and you won’t receive instant messages or calls.

If you want a meeting attendee to share their screen, give them presenter access, so they can use the controls. If they don’t use Skype for Business, they can still use Skype for Business Web App to present.

To make an attendee a presenter, open the participants list in the Skype meeting window, then right click on the person and choose Make a Presenter, If they were a Guest you will first have to make them an Attendee, then it will give you the option to make them a Presenter. 

Share primary, secondary or all monitors

If you have more than one monitor, they all display on the Present tab, and you can choose which one to share. When you share All Monitors, the sharing toolbar opens on your primary monitor.

Presenting a PowerPoint slide show--in a multiple monitors scenario

You can present a PowerPoint slide show like a pro when you take advantage of multiple monitors.

If you are in a conference room, and you want to display the slide show using a projector or large screen device, then present to the secondary monitor. Your PowerPoint slide show will appear on the big screen for the people in the room and on the presentation stage for the people on Skype for Business. And on your laptop, you'll see the presenter view that shows the current slide, your presenter notes, and a preview of the next slide--visible to only you.

If you are presenting a PowerPoint slide show using Skype for Business from your office, and you have multiple monitors, you can present to your secondary monitor and still see your presenter notes view on your primary monitor.

Either way, the instructions are the same:

1. Open your PowerPoint deck on your primary monitor (or laptop if you are in a conference room).

2. From Skype for Business, click the Share your Desktop icon.

3. Choose Secondary monitor.

Give and take control of a sharing session

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

1. On the sharing toolbar, click Give Control.

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

   Skype for Business sends a notification to that person to let them know you’re sharing control.

3. To take control back, click Give Control again, and then click Take Back Control.

   Tip    You can allow people to automatically take control of your sharing session at any time, by clicking Give Control Automatically on the sharing toolbar. We recommend you choose this option only in small and casual meetings. To take back automatic permission, click Give Control, and clear the Give Control Automatically check box.