zoom powerpoint presentation mode

Screen sharing a PowerPoint presentation

There are three methods you can use to screen share a PowerPoint presentation in a Zoom meeting. If you have dual monitors, you can share a slide show while viewing the presenter's notes on another monitor. If you have a single monitor, you can also start the slide show in a window so you have access to other meeting features while sharing your presentation. 

If you have other participants presenting portions of the PowerPoint, you can give them slide control in Zoom, so that they can control the slideshow on their end, without needing to ask you to move the slides forward. Additionally, PowerPoint slides can be shared as a Virtual Background for a more immersive sharing experience. 

This article covers:

Dual monitors with slide show and presenter's views

Single-monitor setup with slide show view in a window, single-monitor setup with slide show in full screen.

Follow these steps if you are using multiple monitors and want to present your PowerPoint in one monitor, while viewing the presenter's notes in another monitor.

• Open the PowerPoint file you want to present.
• Start or join a Zoom meeting.

• Select your primary monitor then click Share . If you are not sure which monitor is your primary, select the one that PowerPoint opens in.

• Switch back to Powerpoint and click the Slide Show tab. 

Follow these steps if you have a single monitor and want to share your PowerPoint presentation in slide show view, but have it contained in a window rather than in full screen. This is useful if you need to access meeting features, such as in-meeting chat or managing participants, while sharing your PowerPoint presentation.

• Click the Slide Show tab and then select Set Up Slide Show .
• Under Show type , select Browsed by an individual (window) and then click OK .

• In Zoom, start or join a meeting .
• Select the PowerPoint window and then click Share .

Note : Be sure you select the PowerPoint window, not the entire screen. Sharing the PowerPoint window only will allow you to use other features without interrupting the view of the presentation. 

• Select your monitor then click Share . 

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Using Powerpoint Presentation Mode with Zoom

If you are in the habit of accessing your notes from the   Powerpoint   presenter view, you may find it hard to do while Zooming   because you end up displaying your notes along with the slideshow. Here’s how to do that in Zoom.   Note that these instructions are for folks wih just one screen.

Zooming in Presenter View

To view in Presenter View while presenting in Zoom, you will need to:  

• Click on Presenter View in the menu ribbon at the top of the screen.  

The presentation will look like this:  

  The notes appear in a pane on the right. The text wraps automatically, and a vertical scroll bar appears if necessary. You can change the size of the text in the Notes pane by using the two buttons at the lower left corner of the Notes pane:  

You can adjust the size of the current slide, and notes and next slide panels, by using your mouse to grab and drag the vertical line that separates the two panels.  

Then, when you share screen in Zoom, go to the Advanced tab:  

Here you can choose to share a Portion of Screen. When you choose this option, you can draw a rectangle around the part of the screen you want to share. Switch back to PowerPoint. Position the rectangle over the presentation and drag the corners to resize to fit completely. It will look like this:  

The green box is what's being shared. You can see your notes, the next slide, and what you look like on Zoom if your webcam is on.  

How-To Geek

How to screen share a powerpoint presentation in zoom.

Giving a presentation over Zoom? No biggie. You can easily present your slideshow by using the screen share feature. Here's how.

Quick Links

Grant access to share screens in zoom, screen share a powerpoint presentation in zoom.

No matter where you work, meetings all have one thing in common: PowerPoint presentations. If you use Zoom, you can easily present your slideshow to the participants by sharing your screen . Here's how it's done.

If you're the host of the Zoom meeting , you'll be able to share your screen without issue. However, if you're joining a meeting that you aren't the host of, you may need to request permission from the host to be able to share your screen.

As a general rule, we recommend that hosts disable the screen-share feature for participants by default for security reasons . If you aren't the host of the meeting, be sure to reach out to the host in advance to request permission to share your screen during the Zoom call. Hosts can always enable the feature during the call, but it's always good to be a step ahead.

If you're the host of the meeting and someone is requesting permission to share their screen during the meeting, click the up arrow next to "Share Screen" at the bottom of the window.

In the menu that appears, click "Advanced Sharing Options."

The "Advanced Sharing Options" window will appear. In the "Who Can Share" section, click the bubble next to "All Participants."

All participants in the meeting can now share their screen.

To screen share your PowerPoint presentation, go ahead and open the PowerPoint presentation that you would like to present. However, before you put the presentation in Slide Show view, you'll want to share your screen. At the bottom of the Zoom meeting window, click "Share Screen."

If you're using a single monitor, you will immediately start sharing your screen. If you're using dual monitors , you'll need to click the screen that your presentation will be shared on. In our case, that will be "Screen 2."

To begin sharing that screen, click "Share" at the bottom-right corner of the screen select window.

You're now sharing your screen. Now, in Microsoft PowerPoint, select the "Slide Show View" icon in the bottom-right corner of the application.

From here, deliver your presentation as though you were standing in front of a live audience.

If you are giving a big presentation through Zoom, you're not going to just jump straight into it. You may need to speak to the audience a bit before sharing your screen. If so, here are a few tips on how to look better on your Zoom call .

How to Present PowerPoint Slides in Zoom

Got a presentation coming up? Here's how to share your PowerPoint slides in Zoom and engage your audience.

Preparing to present PowerPoint slides in Zoom for the first time can feel overwhelming. It's a different experience than face-to-face presentations, and naturally, you want to get it right. But don't worry, we've all been there, and we're here to help.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the process step-by-step, so you can deliver your presentation with confidence and avoid awkward pitfalls. Let’s dive in.

Present PowerPoint Slides in Zoom by Sharing Your Entire Screen

One of the easiest ways to share your PowerPoint slide deck is by sharing your entire screen. Here’s how to go about it.

• Open your PowerPoint presentation.
• Start or Join a Zoom meeting . Knowing how to use Zoom like an expert makes this step easy.

When you hide the toolbar, it may appear as a minimized window in your taskbar. Click the window icon to reveal it when you’re ready to stop sharing.

• Press the Esc key on your keyboard to exit the slideshow after your presentation.
• Click Stop sharing .

Sharing your entire screen lets you seamlessly switch between your PowerPoint window and other windows while bringing your audience along. However, it has a downside—your audience will see sensitive details or notifications if they pop up.

Present PowerPoint Slides in Zoom by Sharing a Window

With this method, you share only your PowerPoint window, so your audience won't see other areas of your desktop, including popup notifications. Here’s how to get it done.

• Join the Zoom meeting.

Ensure your PowerPoint window is maximized and running in the background, or it won't appear under the Window tab.

• Click Stop sharing or Stop share when you’re done presenting.

This method is perfect for multi-tasking—that is, sharing your PowerPoint window while viewing your notes (in a separate document) or seeing what’s happening in Zoom.

Rock Your PowerPoint Presentation in Zoom Like a Pro

And that's a wrap! You now know all the key steps to present PowerPoint slides effectively in Zoom. Remember, you have two main options: share your entire screen when you need to switch between different windows during the presentation or share a specific PowerPoint window if you're multitasking and want to keep the rest of your desktop private.

Practice using these features before your next presentation, so you're comfortable and ready. Alongside this, using a whiteboard in Zoom can make your presentations more interesting.

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Zoom: Share PowerPoint Presentation Slides While Using Presenter View on the Presenter Device

Sharing your presentation, alternate method (windows or mac).

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for how to wirelessly share PowerPoint presentation slides within a Zoom meeting while using presenter view on your laptop to access presenter notes.

This guide assumes that you already are hosting an active Zoom meeting on your laptop, have a PowerPoint presentation open, and you have no external displays connected.

• Zoom Support: Screen sharing a PowerPoint presentation

Related Resources

Zoom: Signing In to Your UNC Zoom Account in the Zoom App on Your Device

Technical Help EdIT

• Proceed based on your computer operating system:
• Go to Slide Show tab and click From Beginning or From Current Slide . The presentation slide will display full screen.
• Right-click on anywhere on the presentation slide and choose Show Presenter View . The presenter view for the presentation will display on your laptop screen and the full slide view will persist in the Zoom meeting room.

NOTE: This feature works inconsistently on the Mac. If you are unable to achieve the desired results following these steps, use the alternate method outlined below.

Think Outside The Slide

Using PowerPoint Presenter View with 1 screen in Zoom on Windows

(This is the article for Windows. The Mac article is here .)

Did you find this article using a Google search? Get more answers to your virtual presentation questions here and get updates of new articles and videos here .

Option A: Share the hidden Slide Show window

When you display your slides full screen in Slide Show mode you can actually switch to Presenter View and share the hidden Slide Show window in the Zoom meeting. This way your attendees see high-res slides while you see your notes and have all the expert features of Presenter View. You can watch how to do this in the video below.

Option B: Share the current slide portion of Presenter View Preview

Another option for using Presenter View in PowerPoint to present in Zoom with one screen uses a feature that was introduced in PowerPoint a few years ago called Presenter View preview and may only be available in modern versions of PowerPoint. This allows you to see what Presenter View looks like even though you only have one screen. This method also uses a feature of Zoom that shares a portion of your screen instead of the full screen. It will likely result in lower resolution slides being shown to the attendees which is why the above method is preferred. Here’s how you do this in a Zoom meeting.

Set up your presentation for Presenter View

Make sure that the presentation is set to display in the default of full screen Slide Show. On the Slide Show ribbon, click on the Set Up Slide Show button. In the dialog box, make sure the Show type is set to “Presented by a speaker (full screen)”.

Start Presenter View Preview

In PowerPoint, press Alt+F5 to start Presenter View preview at the beginning of your presentation. You will see Presenter View on your screen with the slide, your notes, and what the next slide/build will be.

Presenter View takes up the whole screen, so you will not see the controls for your Zoom meeting. Presenter View Preview always starts at the first slide. If you want to jump to a specific slide in the file, press Ctrl+- (hold the Ctrl key and press the minus key) to see thumbnails of all of the slides. Click on the one you want to display.

If you want your notes to be in a larger font, use the font controls at the bottom of the Notes section to make the text bigger.

Share a portion of the screen in Zoom

To return to the Zoom meeting control window, press Alt+Tab to move through the open windows until you select the Zoom meeting controls window.

In the Zoom sharing dialog, go to the Advanced tab and select the Portion of a screen option.

You will see a green rectangle on your screen. Use the vertical and horizontal dividing lines in Presenter View to make the size of the current slide larger. Use the sizing handles on the green Zoom sharing rectangle so that it only shows the current slide. Do this before others arrive in the Zoom meeting room so they don’t see you adjusting the display.

Present your slides

Make sure the focus is on the Presenter View screen by clicking on the arrow button in Presenter View to check that the slides advance. Then you can use the arrow keys to advance the slides during your presentation. You have access to all of the other regular Presenter View features such as laser pointer, drawing on the slide, or zooming in on a slide.

When you are done the presentation, stop sharing the portion of your screen in Zoom.

If you have a lower resolution screen, like 1366 x 768

If you have a lower resolution screen, like the common 1366 x 768 resolution, this method may make your slides look fuzzy because there are not enough pixels in the portion of the screen to make it clear for the attendees. This article explains how you can use a narrow format for your Notes pages which allows the Reading View window to be larger on the screen .

This video demonstrates this method.

Dave Paradi has over twenty-two years of experience delivering customized training workshops to help business professionals improve their presentations. He has written ten books and over 600 articles on the topic of effective presentations and his ideas have appeared in publications around the world . His focus is on helping corporate professionals visually communicate the messages in their data so they don’t overwhelm and confuse executives. Dave is one of fewer than ten people in North America recognized by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional Award for his contributions to the Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams communities. His articles and videos on virtual presenting have been viewed over 4.8 million times and liked over 17,000 times on YouTube.

By Dave Paradi

Dave Paradi has over twenty-two years of experience delivering customized training workshops to help business professionals improve their presentations. He has written ten books and over 600 articles on the topic of effective presentations and his ideas have appeared in publications around the world . His focus is on helping corporate professionals visually communicate the messages in their data so they don't overwhelm and confuse executives. Dave is one of fewer than ten people in North America recognized by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional Award for his contributions to the Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams communities. His articles and videos on virtual presenting have been viewed over 4.8 million times and liked over 17,000 times on YouTube.