How you share your Makeshapes session depends on its format. This article covers the best approach for each setup.
Choose your setup
Online sessions
All learners join a video call, and you share your screen so everyone sees the Makeshapes shared screen. You'll need to change your sharing settings for video, because every platform's default settings are for slides and documents, not video. The sections for each platform in this article cover exactly what to change.
Hybrid sessions (some in-room, some remote)
Treat this like an online session. Join the video call from your laptop and share your screen so both the room display and remote learners see the same Makeshapes screen. The same settings for each platform apply.
In-person sessions
Connect your laptop directly to the room's TV, projector, or display. This is the best possible experience — no compression, no latency, no settings to configure.
HDMI or USB-C cable to the display
Wireless display (AirPlay, Miracast, or the room's built-in wireless share)
If a direct connection isn't available and the room generates a Teams (or other video call) meeting automatically when booked, you'll need to join that call and share your screen. Follow the section for your platform.
Why change the settings? Video call platforms are designed for content that doesn't move, such as slides and spreadsheets. Without the right settings, they'll cap your frame rate at 2–3 FPS — making Makeshapes video look like a choppy slideshow. The following steps tell each platform you're sharing video, so it plays smoothly.
Microsoft Teams
Teams is the most common platform our hosts use — and the one with the most differences between Windows and Mac.
Windows hosts
Use the Teams desktop app, not Teams in a browser.
Join or start your Teams meeting.
Click Share in the meeting toolbar.
Before you select what to share, turn on Include computer sound.
Select the screen or window running Makeshapes and begin sharing.
On the presenter toolbar that appears, click Optimize for video.
That last step is the most important. Without it, Teams defaults to 2–3 frames per second. With it, you get up to 30 FPS.
Additional tips:
If you're on a 4K monitor, lower your display resolution to 1920×1080 before sharing. Teams caps output at 1080p regardless, so the extra resolution just adds encoding overhead.
Turn off your webcam while Makeshapes video is playing to free up bandwidth for the screen share.
If video still appears choppy for learners, check whether your laptop has a dedicated GPU. Go to Settings → System → Display → Graphics, find ms-teams.exe, and set it to High Performance.
Fix audio ducking (Windows lowering other app volumes): Sound Control Panel → Communications tab → "Do nothing".
Mac hosts
Use Chrome or Edge to join the Teams meeting, not the desktop app.
Open the Teams meeting link in Chrome or Edge.
Click Share and select A browser tab.
Choose the tab running Makeshapes.
In the sharing dialog, turn on Also share tab audio.
Why not the native app on Mac? The Teams desktop app on macOS (particularly on Apple Silicon with macOS Sequoia) has documented issues with screen capture permissions, audio driver conflicts, and hardware encoding fallback. Browser tab sharing bypasses all of these and provides more reliable video and audio quality.
If you must use the native Teams app on Mac:
Before your session, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording and confirm Teams is listed. If you've recently updated Teams or macOS, remove the entry and re-add it.
If audio sounds distorted or robotic, stop sharing and restart your Mac's audio system. If you're comfortable using Terminal, run sudo killall coreaudiod. Otherwise, ask your IT administrator to restart the audio service for you.
Troubleshooting Teams
Video looks like a slideshow: Enable "Optimize for video" on the presenter toolbar (Windows) or switch to browser tab sharing (Mac).
Learners can't hear audio: Toggle "Include computer sound" (Windows) or "Also share tab audio" (Mac). Check that Teams and your system use the same audio output device.
Audio sounds distorted or robotic: Mac: stop sharing, restart coreaudiod. Windows: check audio ducking setting.
Black screen for learners: Mac: reset Teams entry in Screen & System Audio Recording permissions.
Choppy video, host PC seems fine: Assign Teams to discrete GPU (Windows). Lower display resolution to 1080p.
Room display shows no content: Toggle "Optimize for video" off and on to force a new keyframe handshake. If that fails, the room device should leave and rejoin the meeting.
Google Meet
Google Meet works best when you share a browser tab rather than your entire screen.
All platforms (Windows and Mac)
In your Google Meet call, click Present now at the bottom of the screen.
Select A tab (not "A window" or "Your entire screen").
Choose the browser tab running Makeshapes.
Check Also share tab audio in the bottom-left corner of the sharing dialog.
Click Share.
When you share a tab, Google Meet automatically optimizes for high-quality video and audio playback. This is the recommended approach for Makeshapes sessions.
Sharing system audio (new in early 2026)
Google Meet now supports sharing your device's audio when presenting a window or your entire screen (not just a tab). When you click "Present now" and select a window or entire screen, turn on Also share system audio to include audio from any application.
Requirements: macOS 14.2+ or Windows 11+, Chrome 142+. On Mac, you'll be prompted to grant a one-time system audio permission the first time.
We still recommend tab sharing for Makeshapes sessions. Tab sharing captures the video stream directly from the browser's rendering pipeline, which produces smoother playback than screen or window sharing.
Tips
If you switch tabs during your presentation, Meet will ask whether you want to present the new tab or keep the current one.
Close unnecessary tabs and applications to reduce CPU load.
Google Meet adjusts video quality based on your connection. If learners report poor quality, try turning off your webcam during video playback.
Zoom
Zoom has dedicated controls for video sharing that work consistently across Windows and Mac.
All platforms
In your Zoom meeting, click Share Screen in the toolbar.
Before selecting what to share, check both boxes at the bottom of the sharing window:
Share sound — allows learners to hear audio from your computer.
Optimize for video clip — increases frame rate for smooth video playback. Checking this box will automatically enable "Share sound" as well.
Select the screen or window running Makeshapes.
Click Share.
If you forget to enable these before sharing, you can still turn them on during an active share: click the More (⋯) menu in the sharing toolbar and select Share computer sound, Optimize for video clip, or both.
Audio options
Zoom supports both mono and stereo audio sharing. Click the small arrow next to "Share sound" to switch between them. Mono is the default and is fine for most Makeshapes sessions.
Tips
Disable browser hardware acceleration if sharing video from Chrome. Go to Chrome Settings → System → "Use hardware acceleration when available" and turn it off. This prevents a known issue where learners see a black or flickering video. Re-enable it after your session.
Keep your device volume at a reasonable level — Zoom captures audio at whatever volume your system is playing it.
Turn off your webcam during video playback to reduce CPU and bandwidth usage.
The "Optimize for video clip" checkbox increases frame rate but slightly reduces resolution. This is the right tradeoff for Makeshapes video content.
Troubleshooting Zoom
No audio for learners: Check "Share sound" in the sharing window, or enable via More (⋯) menu during active share.
Video is choppy or blurry: Enable "Optimize for video clip". Close unnecessary applications.
Learners see a black video window: Disable hardware acceleration in Chrome (if sharing from browser).
Audio only works without headphones: Known issue on some systems — try switching to built-in speakers, or disconnect and reconnect headphones.
Cisco Webex
Webex works like Zoom, with a setting that optimizes sharing for video.
All platforms
In your Webex meeting, click the Share button in the meeting toolbar.
In the share content panel, change the optimization setting from Automatically optimize (or "Optimize for text and images") to Optimize for motion and video.
Check Share your computer audio. This option only becomes available after selecting "Optimize for motion and video".
Select the screen, window, or application running Makeshapes.
Click Share.
You can change the optimization setting while you're already sharing, without stopping the share.
Mac-specific note
The first time you share computer audio on a Mac, Webex will prompt you to install audio drivers. Click Install and follow the on-screen instructions. This is a one-time setup.
Tips
Webex shares computer audio as mono (stereo is downmixed).
The web app's optimization settings work only in Google Chrome. If you're using the Webex web app in another browser, you might not see the motion and video optimization option.
Close unnecessary applications to free up system resources during video playback.
Troubleshooting Webex
No audio for learners: Change the optimization setting to "Optimize for motion and video" first — "Share your computer audio" only appears after this is selected.
Video is choppy: Switch from "Automatically optimize" to "Optimize for motion and video".
Audio driver prompt on Mac: Click Install when prompted. This is a one-time setup for computer audio sharing.
"Share your computer audio" option is missing: Check with your IT administrator — this feature may need to be enabled at the organization level in Webex site settings.
General tips for all platforms
Before your session:
Test your audio and screen sharing setup before learners arrive. A 2-minute dry run with a colleague saves 10 minutes of troubleshooting in front of a group.
Close unnecessary applications and browser tabs.
If you're on Wi-Fi, sit as close to the access point as possible. Wired ethernet is always better for video sharing.
Plug in your laptop charger — screen sharing with video playback drains batteries fast.
During your session:
Turn off your webcam while Makeshapes video is playing. This frees up CPU and bandwidth for the screen share.
Keep your display at 1920×1080 if possible. Higher resolutions add encoding overhead without improving what learners see.
If video quality drops mid-session, pause the video, stop the screen share, restart it with the video settings for your platform in this article, and then resume.
If all else fails:
A direct HDMI or USB-C connection to a room display will always outperform screen sharing through a video call. If the room has a display you can connect to, use it.
Contact us at help@makeshapes.com — we can help troubleshoot your specific setup.