To see participants while sharing on Zoom, turn on Use dual monitors in Zoom's General settings and share your other screen, or on one monitor click Show meeting in the floating toolbar and share a single window so the meeting window stays private. For speaker notes, share only the PowerPoint slideshow, not the presenter view.
Why can't you see participants when you share your screen on Zoom?
By default, starting a share moves Zoom's meeting controls into a floating toolbar and the video into a small floating panel, so your shared content gets the space. The Zoom window itself is also kept out of your share unless you've turned on Show Zoom windows (Zoom's screen sharing help article covers both). That second fact matters: you can bring the meeting window back on your own screen without your audience seeing it, as long as you're careful about what you share.
How do you see participants while sharing with two monitors?
This is the cleanest setup and the one we'd recommend to anyone who presents weekly.
- Press Win + P and choose Extend.
- In Zoom, click your profile picture > Settings > General and tick Use dual monitors.
- Put the meeting window on your laptop screen and switch it to gallery view.
- Click Share and pick the other monitor (or a window on it).
Now the audience sees your content, and you see every face, the chat and the participants list on the laptop screen. Zoom's own article puts it as seeing "the screen sharing on one monitor and participants on the second."
How do you see participants while sharing on one monitor?
You have three options, from quickest to most useful.
1. Enlarge the floating video panel
The floating panel shows the active speaker by default. Use its view options to switch to a gallery strip and drag its edge to make it bigger. It covers part of your screen, but Zoom doesn't include its own windows in your share by default, so viewers won't see it.
2. Click Show meeting and share a window
In the floating toolbar, Show / Hide meeting brings the meeting window back into your view. Share a single window (say, your browser or your slideshow) rather than the whole screen, then arrange the meeting window beside it. With Win + Left and Win + Right you can snap the shared app to one half and Zoom to the other.
3. Share a portion of the screen
On the Advanced tab, Portion of screen shares only what's inside a green frame. Size the frame over the left two-thirds of the display and park the meeting window, chat or notes in the remaining third. Anything you drag into the frame becomes visible, so keep the edge clear.
Opening Participants or Chat from the floating toolbar also pops them out as small windows you can place wherever you like.
How do you share your screen on Zoom and still see presenter notes?
The goal is to share the slideshow and keep PowerPoint's presenter view to yourself. Zoom's help article Screen sharing a PowerPoint presentation covers the details; the short version:
- Two monitors: start the slideshow so presenter view opens on your laptop and the slides on the second monitor. In Zoom, share the monitor showing the slides. Your notes, timer and next slide stay private.
- One monitor: in PowerPoint go to Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show and choose Browsed by an individual (window). Start the slideshow (it now runs in a normal window), share that window in Zoom, and keep the editing view with its notes pane open beside it.
The mistake to avoid is sharing the monitor that shows presenter view. Everyone sees your notes. It's an easy slip, because PowerPoint opens presenter view automatically when it detects a second display.
If the people watching say your slides are tiny next to the video, that's their layout, not yours. Viewers can switch to Side-by-side mode in their View menu to choose how much space the shared screen gets.
Which method should you use?
| Method | See faces? | See notes? | Risk of showing private stuff | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dual monitors, share monitor 2 | Yes, full gallery | Yes, on monitor 1 | Low | Second display |
| Floating video panel | Small strip | No | Low | Nothing |
| Show meeting + share a window | Yes | Yes, in another window | Low, unless you share the screen by mistake | Nothing |
| Portion of screen | Yes, beside the frame | Yes, beside the frame | Medium: anything dragged into the frame shows | A wide display helps |
| Slideshow in a window | With Show meeting | Yes, editing view | Low | PowerPoint |
How do you keep notes on top of your shared screen without sharing them?
Every method above keeps notes beside the shared content. Sometimes you want them on top, for example near your webcam so you keep eye contact, while sharing the whole screen for a demo. That needs a window Windows excludes from capture. Since Windows 10 version 2004, an app can set WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE on its own window and Zoom's capture skips it. Our guide to hiding a window from screen share explains it, and hiding notifications while screen sharing covers the toasts that otherwise land on top of your demo.
AuraCloak floats your notes and an AI chat over Zoom where only you can see them, even during a full-screen share.
Get AuraCloakAuraCloak is an invisible AI overlay for Windows that works this way. You can paste talking points into it, ask an AI model a question mid-call, or lower its opacity so it sits lightly over the slide. Toggle it with Ctrl + Alt + Space. The general Zoom steps are in how to share your screen on Zoom.
FAQ
How do I share my screen on Zoom and still see everyone?
With two monitors, turn on Use dual monitors in Zoom's General settings and share the second monitor, keeping gallery view on the first. With one monitor, click Show meeting in the floating toolbar and share a single window so the meeting window isn't included.
Can participants see my Zoom window when I share my screen?
Not by default. Zoom keeps its own windows out of your share unless you turn on the setting to show Zoom windows during screen share.
How do I see my speaker notes while sharing PowerPoint on Zoom?
With two monitors, run presenter view on one and share the monitor showing the slides. With one monitor, set the slideshow to Browsed by an individual (window), share that window, and keep the notes in PowerPoint's editing view beside it.
Why does my Zoom screen share hide the participants?
Zoom moves the meeting into a floating toolbar and a small video panel when you share, to give the shared content room. Enlarge the panel, use Show meeting, or move the meeting to a second monitor.