How to Share Your Screen on a Zoom Call—Step by Step
By Jason Bingham · October 9, 2026
Jason has spent 16 years helping everyday people get comfortable with technology.
How to Share Your Screen on a Zoom Call: A Simple Guide
Sharing your screen on a Zoom call can feel daunting if you’re not familiar with the platform, but it’s a handy feature for showing others what’s on your computer. Whether you want to display a presentation, share photos, or walk someone through a process, screen sharing can help make your call more productive. Let’s break it down step by step so you can confidently share your screen in no time.
Preparing for Your Zoom Call
Before diving into sharing your screen, ensure you're ready for your Zoom meeting. It’s always a good idea to download and install the Zoom app if you haven’t done so yet. You can get it from the Zoom website. Once installed, you should familiarize yourself with the basic controls. When you join a meeting, you’ll find yourself on a simple interface.
Now, let’s focus on sharing your screen during the meeting.
Steps to Share Your Screen
Here’s how to share your screen during a Zoom call:
- Start or Join a Meeting: Launch the Zoom app and either start a new meeting or join an existing one, as described in our guide on joining a Zoom meeting from an email invite.
- Locate the Share Screen Button: Once in the meeting, look at the bottom of your Zoom window. You’ll see a green button that says “Share Screen.” Click on that button when you’re ready to share your screen.
- Choose What to Share: A new window will pop up displaying your open windows and applications. You can choose to share your entire desktop or just a specific window. Click on the one you want to share.
- Click Share: After selecting what you want to share, click the blue “Share” button in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window.
- Interacting While Sharing: Once your screen is shared, everyone in the meeting can see what’s on your screen. You can continue to click around, open files, or even run a presentation. If you need to stop sharing, simply go back to the Zoom window and click “Stop Share” at the top of your screen.
Tips for Smooth Screen Sharing
As you’re getting used to this feature, here are a few friendly tips to keep in mind. First, make sure notifications are turned off before you share your screen. You don’t want a message suddenly popping up while you’re presenting! It can be a bit tricky to navigate the app, so don’t hesitate to explore your screen sharing options before your call.
Also, remember that when you share your entire screen, everyone can see everything that’s on it. So be cautious about what’s visible. If you tend to have numerous tabs or apps open, consider tidying up a bit beforehand.
Addressing Common Confusions
Many people find the layout of the Zoom interface a bit overwhelming, especially when first starting out. It’s normal to feel that way. The important thing to remember is that the “Share Screen” button is always in the same spot—at the bottom of your window. It may help to practice screen sharing with a friend or family member before you need to do it in a work meeting or with a larger group.
If you find yourself wanting to experiment, Zoom also offers a personal meeting room feature where you can practice without the pressure of others watching.
What to Do if You Can’t Share Your Screen
If you struggle to share your screen despite following these steps, it could be due to permission settings. Sometimes, the host of the meeting needs to grant you permission to share your screen. If that’s the case, don’t hesitate to ask the host to allow you to do so.
Now that you know the basics of screen sharing, you’re equipped with the skills to enhance your Zoom meetings and connect better with others. If you find you enjoy Zoom, you might also want to explore how to mute and unmute yourself on a video call to manage sound during presentations.
So, go ahead and give it a try! Share your screen during your next video call and watch how much easier it makes communicating with others.
Remember, the more you practice, the easier it becomes.