Sharing Screen loses the video of participants

Question

In the original version of Teams, I used to be able to share my screen & the videos of the participants would stay on the screen to the left or above the content. Now it doesn't do that. it goes into a tiny screen that I can barely see the participants & only shows 1 at the top etc. This is ridiculous. what plug in or app do I need so that I can go back to how it was?
I am talking from the sharer perspective, not the participant side.

Zoom has all the participants on the screen, why can't Teams? it used to be so good, now its painful... any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

Dear @Jamie,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

To better assistance, could you please confirm following information:

• Are you using Teams Desktop or Teams on web version or mobile/tablet?
• Which Teams version are you using? (Please check from Settings > About Teams)
• Does this happen in a Teams meeting (scheduled / channel meeting) or a call (group call)?
• When presenting, are you sharing Screen, Window, or PowerPoint Live
• If PowerPoint: are you using PowerPoint Live (sharing from Teams) or sharing your PowerPoint window/screen?

About how many participants are in the meeting, and roughly how many have cameras turned on?

• When the tiny window shows only one person, is that the active speaker?
• In the meeting, when you click View, which options do you see (e.g., Gallery / Speaker / Together mode / Focus on content / Large gallery)?
• Is “Focus on content” turned on (checked)? That view intentionally prioritizes shared content and can reduce visible participant tiles.
• While content is being shared, do you see View > More options > Show gallery at top?

Do you see Swap content with gallery behavior (clicking the participant gallery swaps people/content)?

In the meantime, I recommend steps below:

1/ Check your “View” menu (like in the screenshot I attached).

In the meeting window, select View and confirm:

Gallery is selected (instead of “Speaker”), and

Focus on content is not enabled (if it’s checked, click it once to turn it off).

2/ While content is being shared, dock participant videos to the top.

Go to View > More options > Show gallery at top to keep participant videos visible at the top while shared content stays centered.

3/ Show more participant videos (when available).

If many attendees have cameras on, you can use Large gallery (available when enough video feeds are on).

You can also adjust how many people you see by choosing Gallery and then Select max gallery size (where available).

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

I truly appreciate your patience and understanding. If you have any further questions or need further clarification, please feel free to reach out. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. 

Thank you for your cooperation.

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