How to Share Your Screen on Mac

If you’re collaborating on a project, sharing a presentation, or you just want to help a friend with a Mac troubleshooting guide, know that you can share your screen on Mac. You only need to know what to do or which button to press. Glad that you’re here.

This post will help you learn or understand how to share your screen on Mac.

How to Share Your Screen on Mac: Your Options

Mac offers you three options to share your screen, view another person’s screen, or control another Mac screen remotely:

  • Built-in macOS screen sharing
  • iMessage
  • Third-party screen sharing apps

You can use your Mac’s built-in screen-sharing tool to share your screen with another Mac over your local network through the integrated VNC server. This tool can also allow you to take control of another Mac, even though you wouldn’t do so over the Internet.

You can also share your Mac screen with another person on another Mac over the internet using iMessage. iMessage will simultaneously initiate a FaceTime call and enable you to talk to the person as well. iMessage allows you to share your screen, give the other person control of your screen, or invite another person to control your Mac.

If you want to share your screen on Mac with another party on a different platform, such as Windows, you can use third-party apps, such as:

  • TeamViewer
  • Zoom
  • Skype

Third-party apps also allow you to share your screen from Mac to Mac with an array of additional features such as co-authoring and messaging.

Note:

If the Macs are using the same iCloud account, sharing your screen becomes easy. You just need to activate Screen Sharing, and the interface will be easy to navigate.

How to Share Your Screen on Mac: on the Local Network with Another Mac

Here is how to screen share on a Mac through your local network:

1. Configure your Mac to allow remote access (sharing)

  1. Click the Apple symbol on your Mac’s upper left corner.
  2. Select “System Preferences” > then click “Sharing” often in the middle row.
  3. A list will pop up on the left. Locate “Screen Sharing” in the box and check the box next to it. Depending on why you’re sharing your screen, you can check other relevant items on the list.
  4. Take note of your Mac’s name, its hostname (such as Cloe’s MacBook Pro.local), and the VNC address (vnc://11.0.0.5).
  5. Your Mac Screen Sharing is ready, and your Mac will now be identifiable by other users on your local network if they go to their Launch Finder.

Important Note!

You can also configure your Mac Screen Sharing by clicking “Computer Settings” to enable both settings and set a secure connection password.

You’ll need to remember that if you enable Mac’s Remote Management, you won’t be able to enable Screen Sharing. You can leave the Remote Management enabled (configured the same as above) because the instructions for remotely accessing your Mac are similar.

Under the “Computer Settings,” you’ll enable these two options:

  • Anyone may request permission to control the screen: When you enable this option, the person connecting won’t need your Mac password and username to access its control. They can just request control, which you’ll manually grant.
  • VNC viewers may control the screen with the password: When you enable this option, anyone connecting to your Mac will be using a standard VNC viewer, such as TigerVNC. You’ll have to share with them your VNC address (such as vnc://11.0.0.5) to enable them to connect. Their Mac will prompt them to turn on their Screen Sharing.

Your configured screen is now ready to allow screen sharing or allow the other person to access your shared screen. If the process fails to go through to this level, be sure to check out the online guide to Mac issues for a solution.

2. Choose who can share your screen.

Beneath your Mac’s Screen Sharing light, there’s an option to:

  • Allow access to all users
  • Allow only these users

Use these options to choose who can access your Mac. Usually, these need to be user accounts on your network or your Mac.

Selecting all users allows any user account holder on your network or on your Mac to enter their password and name and access your Mac except guest accounts.

On the other hand, selecting the “only these users” option gives you the option to choose the specific users or who can access your Mac. You can use the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons to add or remove users from your network or Mac.

3. Grant access to your shared screen

You can grant access to your shared Mac screen using two options from the local network. in both ways you’ll use the Finder:

Connect through local network:

  1. Launch Finder.
  2. Scroll down the sidebar to locate “Locations” (you can click “Show” if needed).
  3. Locate the Mac you want to access (if you don’t see it, click ‘Network’).
  4. When you find the computer, double-click it.
    Click “Share Screen.”
  5. Wait for it to connect and share the screen.

Connect via VNC:

  1. Launch Finder.
  2. Click Go.
  3. In the menu bar, click Connect to Server.
  4. Type the hostname or VNC address you earlier noted.
  5. Click Connect.

Note:

If both Macs are using the same Apple ID, screens should share automatically without a prompt. Otherwise, this is when the Mac asks you to enter the username and password. You have to use a valid username and password.

How to Share Your Screen on Mac: on the Internet Using iMessage

You can share your screen on Mac through the internet using iMessage, combined with Apple’s Messages app. This way, you can share your screen with another person who has a Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Here’s how:

  1. First, chat with the individual with whom you want to share your Mac screen.
  2. On the top-right corner of your gadgets chat window, click “Details.”
  3. An overlay will appear. Click the Screen Sharing button ( two overlapping rectangles.)
  4. To share your screen, select “Invite to Share My Screen.”
  5. To see the other party’s screen click “Ask to Share Screen.”
  6. Wait for the individual to accept your request, then a FaceTime audio call will start.

If you want to allow the other person to control your Mac, just click the Screen Sharing button displayed on the menu bar. And then, click “Allow [network/contact] to Control My Screen.” If you want to revoke control, click the Screen Sharing button, then click the disable option. If it cannot disable, check out Mac error codes to see if you are experiencing any of them.

Note:

You shouldn’t allow anyone to control your Mac unless it’s necessary or you absolutely trust the person.

How to Share Your Screen on Mac: with Other Devices

Mac supports third-party screen apps. This is useful, especially if you want to share your screen with a person who uses a different platform.

There are many different third-party apps today that you can use to share your screen on Mac, such as:

  • TeamViewer
  • Zoom
  • Slack
  • GoogleMeets
  • Ms Teams
  • Skype
  • ScreenLeap

You’ll need to download and install the screen-sharing app on your Mac, then follow the developer’s guidelines to share your screen. Some Macs have web versions that would not require you to download the app.

Final Thoughts

Screen sharing on Mac has been made easy. You only need to choose the best option for you. With screen sharing, you can collaborate easily at work or help someone with troubleshooting their Mac remotely. Even if you are sharing your screen on Mac with a person on a different platform, you can use the available third-party apps.

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