Sharing slides as a Virtual Background

While you can share PowerPoint presentations or share Keynote presentations in meetings, you can also share your presentation as a Virtual Background for an immersive sharing experience. Sharing your slides as a Virtual Background allows your participants to view your video imposed directly on the screen share.

If the presenter records the meeting locally, the recording will also have the video embedded on top of the slides. If the host or another participant uses cloud recording, the recording will record the slides and video as a normal screen share recording.

Requirements for using virtual background to share a presentation

Presenter requirements

Zoom desktop app for Windows or macOS: Global minimum version or higher
System meets the requirements for Virtual Background
PowerPoint or Keynote (macOS only) installed locally

Viewer requirements

Zoom desktop app for Windows, macOS, or Linux: Global minimum version or higher
Zoom mobile app for Android or iOS: Global minimum version or higher

Note: If a participant is joining from the Web client, a Zoom Room, or 3rd party endpoint, they will view the slides as a normal screen share, and the presenter's video will not be imposed over the slides.

How to share a presentation as your background
How to manage slides and video

How to share a presentation as your background

In the meeting controls toolbar, click Share.
Click Screens.
Under Application windows, click Microsoft Powerpoint.
(Optional) Select from the different layouts available from the right-side panel under Layouts.
- None (standard layout): Just displays the selected desktop or program window with no additional overlay.
- In front: Displays the presenter over the shared content. The presenter can click and drag where they are displayed in the preview window above, as well as resizing how large or small they are displayed.
- Over the shoulder: The presenter and shared content occupy their own spaces, with the shared content set in the top-right corner by default and a wallpaper background to fill unused space. The presenter can click and drag where they and the shared content are displayed in the preview window above, as well as resizing how large or small each are displayed. The presenter can also choose a wallpaper to be used behind both the presenter and shared content, and if no wallpaper is chosen, a black background is used instead.
- Side by side: The presenter and shared content occupy their own spaces, with the presenter and the shared content set side-by-side by default and a wallpaper background to fill unused space. The presenter can click and drag where they and the shared content are displayed in the preview window above, as well as resizing how large or small each are displayed. The presenter can also choose a wallpaper to be used behind both the presenter and shared content, and if no wallpaper is chosen, a black background is used instead.
(Optional) Select additional options, such as Share sound or Optimize for video clip, as needed.
Click Share to begin sharing with the selected and configured presenter layout.

To change the layout, stop the current share and start a new share, selecting a different layout or configuration.

Learn more about how to use Screen Sharing Presenter layouts.

How to manage slides and video

Change slides

Once the share has started, you can use the cursor or arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate through your slides.

Change video size and position

To reposition or change the size of your video:

In the right-side panel, under Layouts, hover over your video or content to change the size and position of your video.

Reposition or change the size of your video:

In the right-side panel, under Layouts, select the In front layout option.
Hover over your video or content to change the position or the size of your video.
Click Share to begin sharing with the selected and configured presenter layout.