Google Meet automatically switches the layout in a video meeting to display the most active content and participants. If you join a meeting on a computer, you can switch to a different layout if you want. These layouts include:
- Auto—Allows Meet to choose the layout for you.
-
Tiled—Shows up to 16 people when there is no presentation.
- Move your mouse to see participant names.
- If a new person joins after the meeting starts, they are added to the bottom of the screen.
- Presentations are shown in a large tile, with the most active participants to the side.
- Spotlight—The presentation, active speaker, or pinned feed fills the window.
- Sidebar—You see the active speaker or presentation with additional participants on the side.
To change the layout:
- Join a video meeting on a computer. Links to an external site..
- In the lower-right corner of the Meet screen, click More
Change layout.
- In the Change layout box, select the layout that you want to use on your computer.
Tip: Click a participant's image to pin them to the screen.
Send chat messages to video meeting participants
You can send messages during a meeting to the other video call guests from a computer or mobile device.
- Messages are visible to everyone in the call.
- You can only see the chat messages exchanged when you are in the meeting. Messages sent before you joined are not displayed, and all messages disappear when you leave the meeting.
The chat feature is great for:
- Sharing links to discussion items, such agendas and other online resources.
- Sharing links to Google Docs meeting notes or Google Slides presentations so people can follow along or add feedback.
- Submitting questions during a presentation without interrupting the speaker.
To send a chat message during a video meeting:
- Click Chat
(upper right corner).
- Enter a text message and click the Send
icon.
Present during a video meeting
You can present your entire screen or a specific window in a meeting to share documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and more.
- In the bottom-right corner, select Present now.
- Allow notifications when prompted. The notifications tell you when your screen is visible.
- Select Your entire screen, A window, or A Chrome tab.
- Presenting a Chrome tab shares that tab's audio by default.
- If presenting a tab, select Change source at the bottom of your screen to present a different tab.
- Select the content you'd like to share.
- Select Share.
- If someone is presenting, confirm that you want to present instead.
- If your camera is turned on, participants continue to see your video while you're presenting.
- To stop presenting, in the Meet window, click Stop Presenting.
- In the bottom-right corner, you can also click You are presenting
Stop presenting.