One of the most popular user questions is how to enable screen sharing in Skype. This feature of the program is admirable. It is always much easier to show something clearly than to explain and tell a hundred times. Back in 2005, I had to explain the instructions using long chains of text and voice communication, since there was no possibility of making video calls and showing the screen. Finally, such features appeared. Now, in response to the interlocutor, the user can even show his screen to show what he is doing wrong. And then it becomes clear what actions should be performed next.
Preparing for image transfer
First, open the program by clicking on the icon (shortcut) of the application on the desktop. You can use the second method and click on the "start" button. Then open the "application" and "Skype" directory in sequence. Next, log in to your account. To do this, enter the username and password in the program window. Then you need to click on the "enter" button. For users who do not remember passwords, there is a link below the field for filling data. With it, you can restore the ciphers. After entering your account in the left pane of the program window you can see a list of previously added contacts. You need to select one of them by clicking on the name. Next, click on the “call” button. A conversation window will appear in the right area of the program interface. Curious users will quickly figure out how to enable a screen sharing in Skype. A kind of hint are the round white icons that appear in the conversation window.
Screen sharing via Skype
The user can show the other person the image on the monitor only during a conversation. In order to check whether the function is enabled, select the items in the top menu “calls”, “screen sharing” sequentially. If the option is displayed in gray, it is inactive. How to enable screen sharing in Skype in earlier versions? In previous builds of the program, a similar function was named differently. Even then, it was called "show the screen" and was organized not very convenient for the user. Therefore, to activate the function, you should update the application as soon as a message about a different version arrives. Otherwise, you can skip something really worthwhile.
How to enable screen sharing in Skype?
There are several ways to enable this option. The user opens successively the items on the top menu “calls”, “screen demonstration”. Only this time the function will be indicated in black, which indicates its activity. In the second case, in the conversation window, click on the lower area of the black field. Next, hover over the white cross in the middle of the screen. It will immediately turn blue. A popup window with a menu will appear. After that, you can see the familiar “screen sharing” option in Skype.
Additional functions
There are two icons next to this option. Thanks to the first, you can open the list of contacts. If during the conversation someone else sends a message, the user can see this at the yellow dot above the contacts icon. In order to read the received text and send a response, you do not need to interrupt the conversation with the interlocutor. Thanks to the second icon, you can open instant messages, forward the necessary link and instructions that cannot be shown on the screen. Like the cross, the icon turns blue when activated. These useful virtual buttons make it easier to use Skype in Windows 8. The screen demonstration in combination with similar features becomes a convenient tool for a visual explanation of the material.
The process of displaying the necessary objects
In order to show the image on the monitor to the interlocutor, you should select the item "screen demonstration". A small black screen will appear , symbolizing the start of the process. Next, click on the "start" button. The interlocutor will have a spinning wheel in the program window, after which he will see everything that is happening on the user's screen. Even cursor movements are displayed. Therefore, you should be careful when entering bank data and payment details. You can stop the process in a small black window with the user's photo, which appeared after the option was enabled. There are times when it is required that the interlocutor who is not able to use the function share the image of his monitor. Then you should show the sequence of actions to enable the option on the screen of the user.
Issues with enabling the option
Some users are faced with the fact that when they use Skype, the screen demonstration does not work. When you try to enable the option, a message constantly pops up asking you to purchase or launch a trial Premium version, which is valid for 7 days. Fearing that the screen sharing option will be blocked, if you do not subsequently buy it, users will not activate the premium function. In fact, the trial Premium version was created so that people can share the image of monitors in conferences that include at least two people. After 7 days, the option remains active. However, it can only be used in a conversation with one person; for a conference, the function will become unavailable.
Useful Tips
The “screen sharing” option in Skype is available only if you have high-speed Internet. Otherwise, the user will not even be able to make video calls. In addition, if you select a specific area of the screen demonstration, the interlocutor will only observe the actions in the place specified by the user and indicated by a frame.
On a note
After enabling the option, the interlocutor will be able to see only the user's screen, but not himself. At a low speed Internet connection, the transmitted image often freezes. Do not forget that you can choose a place to show, hiding areas that should not be anyone see.