How to Give and Take Control During Screen Sharing in Microsoft Teams

Collaborating effectively during virtual meetings often requires more than passive screen sharing. Whether assisting a teammate with software troubleshooting, co-authoring a complex spreadsheet, or guiding a client through an enterprise workflow, having the ability to interact directly with the presenter’s desktop accelerates resolution times. Microsoft Teams includes built-in Give Control and Take Control features that allow meeting attendees to share mouse and keyboard input securely without installing remote desktop software.

Requirements and Security Prerequisites

Before using control sharing in Microsoft Teams, verify the following prerequisites:

• Full Desktop Sharing Required: Control sharing is supported when you share an entire Screen/Desktop. If you share an isolated application window, the Give Control toolbar option is restricted by design to prevent unauthorized window switching.
• Desktop Client Support: Full mouse and keyboard interaction is supported on the Microsoft Teams desktop app for Windows and macOS. Web browser participants can request control on select Chromium browsers, but hosting control sessions works best on the native desktop application.
• macOS Accessibility Permissions: On Mac, the user granting control must enable Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions under System Settings > Privacy & Security.

Giving Control to Another Participant as the Presenter

If you are actively presenting your desktop and wish to grant another meeting attendee control of your mouse and keyboard:

1. Start sharing by clicking the Share button (the upward arrow icon) in the Teams meeting controls and choose Screen (Desktop).
2. Move your mouse pointer to the top edge of your monitor to reveal the sharing toolbar.
3. Click the Give control dropdown button on the toolbar.
4. Select the name of the attendee you want to grant control to.
5. Teams notifies the selected attendee that control has been granted. A second cursor containing their profile initials will appear on your desktop. Both participants can move their respective cursors and type inputs simultaneously.

Revoking Control as the Presenter

As the screen owner, you maintain total authority over your session at all times. To take back full control:

• Move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen to summon the sharing toolbar and click Take back control.
• Alternatively, simply moving your physical mouse or typing on your keyboard temporarily overrides external inputs immediately.

Requesting Control as a Meeting Participant

If you are watching another colleague present and wish to step in and demonstrate a task or fix an error:

1. Look at the upper meeting control bar at the top of the Teams meeting window while the presenter is sharing their screen.
2. Click the Request control button.
3. The presenter receives a prompt asking whether to approve or deny your request.
4. Once approved, you can click, drag, scroll, and type directly within the presenter’s shared screen area as if sitting at their computer.
5. When finished, click Release control on the top toolbar to hand input authority back to the presenter.

Troubleshooting Common Control Sharing Issues

If the Give Control button is greyed out or missing during meetings, check these common fixes:

• Switch from Window to Screen: Stop sharing and restart the share session, ensuring you pick Screen 1 or Screen 2 rather than an isolated Word or Excel window.
• Admin Tenant Policies: In enterprise environments, IT administrators can disable screen control sharing via the Teams Admin Center meeting policy setting (Allow an external participant to give or request control).
• Hardware Graphics Acceleration: On Windows PCs with legacy graphics drivers, toggling hardware acceleration under Teams settings can resolve input freezing.

Mastering control sharing in Microsoft Teams turns passive presentations into productive, hands-on collaboration sessions across distributed hybrid teams.