Show your screen on your video with Desk Mode and picture-in-picture

Sometimes it's quicker to show something than to describe it. promptpov can put your screen on your video in two ways:

• Desk Mode sends your desktop, or a single window, as your camera picture, in place of your face.
• Picture-in-picture keeps your face on screen and adds a window or part of your screen as a small inset in one corner.

Both change only your own video tile. Nobody has to accept a share, the meeting layout stays the same, and it works the same way in Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, Google Meet, Webex and any other app where promptpov is your camera.

Before you start

Both features need macOS's Screen Recording permission. If a window list says "Couldn't load windows", open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording and turn on promptpov.

Turn on Desk Mode

1. Click the promptpov icon in your menu bar and open Desk Mode.
2. Pick what to send:
   • Desktop: everything on your main display.
   • Window…: opens a list of your open windows. Select one and click Use Window.
3. To go back to your face, choose Camera.

Desk Mode stays on until you choose Camera, even after the meeting ends.

Add your face in a corner

In the same Desk Mode menu:

1. Choose Show My Face to add a small circle with your camera picture over your screen.
2. Use Face Position to pick Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left or Bottom Right.
3. Use Face Size to pick Small, Medium or Large.

The face circle is off unless you turn it on.

From the Control HUD during a meeting

The first round button on the Control HUD is Desk Mode:

• Click to switch between your camera and your screen.
• Right-click to choose Camera, Desktop or Window….

The button's ring tells you what everyone is seeing. Blue means your live camera. Amber means your screen is on your video.

Turn on picture-in-picture

Picture-in-picture is part of Pro. On the Free plan, the menu explains that it's a Pro feature.

1. Click the promptpov icon in your menu bar and open Picture-in-picture.
2. Pick the source:
   • Pick Window…: select a window and click Use Window.
   • Pick Region…: drag a rectangle over the part of your screen you want to show. Press Esc to cancel.
3. Choose Show Preview… to see your video the way other people see it.
4. To stop, choose Off, or press ⌃⌥⌘P.

Size and position

• Size: Small (15%), Medium (20%), Large (25%) or Extra Large (30%) of the width of your video.
• Position: one of the four corners. The inset starts in the bottom right corner.
• Edit Position… opens a window where you can drag the inset anywhere on your video. Drag near an edge to snap it to a corner.

From the Control HUD during a meeting

On Pro, the Control HUD has a picture-in-picture button next to Desk Mode. Click it to turn the inset on or off. The first time, it opens the window list. Right-click it for the full menu, with source, size and position.

Tips

• Desktop shows everything on your main display: notifications, other apps, and promptpov's own Cockpit. To show only what you mean to show, use Window… or picture-in-picture.
• If you minimize or hide the window you're showing in picture-in-picture, the inset holds its last picture until the window comes back, rather than going black.
• Picture-in-picture also works while Desk Mode is on, so you can show a window over your desktop.
• Your video widgets (name card, clock and so on) are hidden while Desk Mode is on, so they don't cover your screen. They come back when you choose Camera.
• Not sure what people can see? Picture-in-picture → Show Preview… opens your outgoing video in a window, whether picture-in-picture is on or not.

Limits and privacy

• Your screen goes out only as your camera picture, to the meeting app that's using promptpov. promptpov doesn't save it or send it anywhere else.
• Desktop and Pick Region… work on your main display only (the one with the menu bar). To show something on another display, pick its window instead.
• Other people often see your video as a small tile. Make text larger before you show it.
• ⌃⌥⌘P works while another app is in front only if promptpov has Accessibility permission: choose Run Diagnostic… and click Grant next to Global keyboard shortcuts. Off in the Picture-in-picture menu always works.