How to use Hangouts Meet to share your screen in video meetings

People who use Hangouts Meet, the G Suite video meeting app, may present the contents of their screen in a meeting. The app is a great way for organizations that use G Suite to discuss documents, spreadsheets, slides, apps, or websites during a meeting. As of March 2020, screen sharing to Hangouts Meet not only works from dedicated meeting room hardware, but also from the Chrome browser on laptops and desktops, as well as from the Hangouts Meet Android and iOS apps. Shared screens display to all meeting participants, including on the web, Android, and iOS apps.

When you share your screen from Chrome on the web, Hangouts Meet shows both your video camera and shared screen, so people can see your expressions and your content. On an iPhone or iPad, when you broadcast your screen to the Hangouts Meet iOS app, the app displays the contents of your screen with your audio. In every case, you can continue your video meeting after you stop presenting your screen.

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The meeting organizer will need access to Hangouts Meet; if you use G Suite and can’t access Meet on the web or sign in to the app, contact your G Suite administrator, who may enable Hangouts Meet.

Otherwise, here’s what you need to know to share your screen to Hangouts Meet with an iOS device or with the Chrome browser.

How to present to Hangouts Meet on iOS

You’ll need the Hangouts Meet iOS app installed on your iPhone or iPad.

Before you can share your screen from an iOS device, you’ll need to enable Screen Recording From Control Center. This is something you’ll need to do just once on each iOS device from which you want to present.

1. Open the Settings app (Figure A).

Figure A

2. Tap Control Center (Figure B).

Figure B

3. Tap Customize Controls (Figure C).

Figure C

4. If you see Screen Recording listed in the More Controls section, tap it. This will move Screen Recording to the Include section, which allows you to access and enable screen sharing during a Hangouts Meet session (Figure D).

Figure D

Then, take the following steps each time you want to screen share to Hangouts Meet on iOS.

1. While in a meeting, access Control Center. On most iOS devices, you’ll do this by swiping down from the upper right corner area.
2. Touch and hold on the Screen Recording icon in Control Center to access Screen Recording options (Figure E).

Figure E

3. Tap Meet, and then tap Start Broadcast to share your screen to the Hangouts Meet app (Figure F).

Figure F

Note: Only use Start Broadcast after you’ve started or joined a Hangouts Meet session. If you select Start Broadcast to share your screen before you have joined a meeting, the broadcast will stop and display a message: “Live Broadcast to Meet has stopped due to: You haven’t joined a meeting.”

4. When done, switch back to the Hangouts Meet app, and tap Stop Presenting (Figure G). The system will display a message that screen recording has stopped.

Figure G

5. Switch to the Hangouts Meet app. If you wish, tap the video camera to share your video with the meeting.

How to present to Hangouts Meet in Android

To present from an Android device, you’ll need to be in an active Hangouts Meet session within the Hangouts Meet Android app. 

1. Tap in the top portion of the screen, where the video appears. The system should display a three-horizontal dot menu, along with other control options.
2. Tap the three-horizontal dot menu (Figure H). 

Figure H

3. Tap Present Screen (Figure I). 

Figure I

4. A “People will see everything on your screen, including notifications” notice should display. Tap Start Presenting to share your screen (Figure J).

Figure J

5. An additional warning will display regarding “Exposing sensitive info during casting/recording.” Read the notice, and if you understand the concerns, tap Start Now to share your screen (Figure K).

Figure K

6. When complete, return to Hangouts Meet, then tap Stop Presenting to end screen sharing (Figure L).

Figure L

How to present to Hangouts Meet in Chrome

To present content from a desktop or laptop computer, you’ll need to be in an active Hangouts Meet session (e.g., https://meet.google.com) in the Chrome browser.

1. In the lower right corner of your screen, select Present Now (Figure M).

Figure M

2. After you select the Present Now button, you may see the choice to present either Your Entire Screen or A Window. Select an option (Figure N).

Figure N

3. Once you select the option, another window will display (Figure O).

Figure O

If you selected Your Entire screen, select Share and then a message indicating that you’re sharing your screen will display. If you select A Window, available windows to share will display: Select the window you want to share to the meeting, then choose Share (Figure P).

Figure P

4. When you present, Hangouts Meet can show both your shared screen and your web camera (Figure Q).

Figure Q

5. To stop screen sharing, return to the Hangouts Meet tab, then choose Stop Presenting (Figure R).

Figure R

Your experience?

If you use Hangouts Meet, do you use the screen sharing features often? Do you find the ability to display both your web camera and screen contents simultaneously helpful? How has screen sharing from an Android or iOS device worked for you? Let me know what your experience has been, either in the comments below or on Twitter (@awolber).

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on June 14, 2019 and was updated on April 2, 2020 with How to present to Hangouts Meet in Android section. 

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