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Screen Sharing in Copera Meeting Channels

Screen sharing in Copera lets you show your entire screen, a single application window, or a single browser tab to everyone in a meeting channel. Up to two participants can share simultaneously, you can pick a quality preset before sharing starts, and on the Copera Desktop app you can draw on top of your screen with Highlight while you share. Whether you are walking through a presentation, demonstrating a workflow, reviewing a design, or debugging code together, screen sharing makes it easy to keep everyone on the same page.

Starting a screen share​

To start sharing your screen during a meeting:

  1. Click the screen share icon in the meeting control bar at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Your browser's native sharing picker appears, letting you choose what to share.
  3. Select the content you want to share and confirm.

Before sharing begins, a quality selection popover lets you choose a preset that balances resolution and performance. Higher quality settings produce a sharper image but require more bandwidth.

Choosing what to share​

The browser's sharing picker offers three types of content to share:

Entire screen​

Shares everything visible on your monitor. If you have multiple monitors, you can select which one to share. This is the best option when you need to switch between applications during your presentation, since participants see everything as you navigate.

Application window​

Shares a single application window. Only the contents of that window are visible to participants, regardless of what else is on your screen. This is ideal when you want to focus on one application -- such as a code editor, design tool, or spreadsheet -- without exposing other windows or notifications.

Browser tab​

Shares a single browser tab. This is the most focused option, showing only the content of one tab. It is especially useful for demonstrating web applications, reviewing documents in the browser, or presenting slides hosted online. Audio from the tab can optionally be shared as well (depending on browser support).

Quality presets​

When you start a screen share, a quality popover lets you choose from several presets. Each preset adjusts the resolution and frame rate to suit different scenarios:

  • Optimized for text -- lower frame rate, higher resolution. Best for code reviews, documents, and spreadsheets where clarity of text matters more than smooth motion.
  • Balanced -- moderate resolution and frame rate. Good for general-purpose sharing.
  • Optimized for video -- higher frame rate, moderate resolution. Best for demos with animations, video playback, or anything with a lot of motion on screen.

You can also start a screen share without selecting a preset by clicking the main screen share button, which uses the default balanced setting.

Viewer experience​

When someone shares their screen, the shared content automatically appears as a prominent tile in the meeting view. In focus view, the shared screen takes up most of the display, while participant video tiles are shown as smaller thumbnails. In grid view, the screen share tile is displayed alongside other participants.

Viewers can click on the shared screen tile to expand it to full screen for a closer look. They can exit full screen at any time by pressing Esc or clicking the exit button.

Stopping a screen share​

To stop sharing, use any of these methods:

  • Click the screen share icon in the control bar again. The icon turns green while sharing is active, making it easy to identify.
  • Use the browser's built-in "Stop sharing" button that typically appears at the bottom of your screen or in the browser toolbar.
  • Close the window or tab that you are sharing (the share stops automatically).

A sound plays when screen sharing starts and stops, giving both the presenter and participants an audible confirmation.

Can multiple people share simultaneously?​

Up to 2 participants can share their screen simultaneously. This is useful for side-by-side comparisons, such as reviewing two versions of a design or comparing code changes. If a third participant tries to start sharing, they are notified that the maximum number of simultaneous shares has been reached. One of the active sharers must stop before a new share can begin.

Drawing on your screen while sharing (Highlight)​

If you are using the Copera Desktop app on Windows, macOS, or Linux, you can draw directly on top of your screen while sharing — and on top of any other app — with the Highlight feature. Press Ctrl + Shift + M (Windows / Linux) or Cmd + Shift + M (macOS) to turn the entire screen into a transparent drawing canvas, then circle, underline, or annotate exactly what you are talking about. Press Esc when you are done.

Highlight works best when you share your entire screen rather than a single application window — the share picker reminds you of this when you pick a window. Highlight is a desktop-only screen annotation tool and is not available in the browser version of Copera. Read the full guide: Highlight: Draw on Screen During Screen Sharing.

Tips for effective screen sharing​

tip
  • Close notifications before sharing your entire screen to avoid exposing private messages or alerts.
  • Use application or tab sharing when you only need to show one thing -- it keeps the presentation focused and avoids accidental reveals.
  • Choose the right quality preset for your content. Text-heavy content benefits from the "Optimized for text" preset, while demos with motion should use "Optimized for video."
  • Check your bandwidth if participants report a blurry or laggy screen share. Switching to a lower quality preset can help on slower connections.
  • Share your entire screen if you plan to use Highlight -- single-window shares do not capture the Highlight overlay.