In an increasingly virtual world, viewing content on certain topics and projects allows colleagues and clients to see what we’re working on without hindering the pace of your work. So, today we ask ourselves the following question: Can we share screen in background on Mac? In this post we are going to see it.
Screen Share on Mac?
The short answer is that yes, in macOS we can share the screen natively, however the longer answer is that we cannot share the screen in the background, as there is no specific application that allows this directly. However, you can set yours to be full screen and focused on the app you want to display. This feature is called “Screen Sharing” and is part of the Messages app.
Messages on mac
From the macOS Messages app, tap the contact or group you want to share your screen with. If the contact doesn’t appear in the list, you can fix it by using their Apple ID or associated email address. After that, you need to perform the following steps:
- Once you’ve selected a contact, click the “Details” icon in the upper-right corner of the message window.
- In the “Description” dropdown menu, you will see two “Screen Sharing” icons. The former will allow you to invite the other person to view their screen with you, while the latter will allow you to view your screen with the selected contact. Click on this last icon to start watching your screen.
- The contact will receive a notification requesting your permission to access your screen. Once the other person accepts, they will see your full screen.
- Now, focus on the app you want to show in the background. This way, the other person will be able to see the content of only part of the application, not the entire screen.
To end screen sharing, click the “Screen Sharing” icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen and select “Turn off screen sharing” from the dropdown menu.
Third Party Alternatives
Next, we are going to look at some applications that allow you to view the screen in the background in a more efficient and correct way. In particular, we highlight applications such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, among others.
Background screen sharing from the Microsoft Teams app makes viewing apps in the Mac background more efficient than messages. The steps are as follows:
- Download and install Microsoft Teams from the official website: https://www.microsoft.com/es-es/microsoft-teams/download-app
- Open Teams and join a meeting or create a new one.
- Click the “Share Content” icon on the toolbar.
- Select the “Window” option and select the app you want to display content in the background.
- Click “Share” and the selected app will be shown to the other meeting participants.
- To stop sharing, click “Stop” at the top of the screen.
With Teams, we highlight the Meet option, which allows you to share apps on the Mac in the background, and with truly incredible results. Here are the steps to run the Google app:
- Access Google Meet from your browser
- Join an existing meeting or create a new meeting.
- Click on the “Submit Now” button at the bottom of the window.
- Select “One Window” and choose the app you want to view in the background.
- Click “Share” and the application will be shown to other participants.
- To stop sharing, click “Stop Sharing” at the bottom of the screen.
