Screen sharing during telehealth sessions allows you to review documents, walk clients through resources, and collaborate on materials in real-time. Whether you're sharing meal plans, educational handouts, or assessment forms, Practice Better's screen-sharing feature helps you deliver more engaging and effective virtual sessions.
In this article:
- Before You Begin
- How Screen Sharing Works in Practice Better
- Screen Sharing Options Explained
- What Happens to Your Video When Screen Sharing
- Browser-Specific Instructions
- Sharing Different Types of Content
- macOS Screen Sharing Setup
- Still Having Trouble?
Before You Begin
Screen sharing works best in Google Chrome, which provides the most flexibility for toggling between tabs and applications during your video session. While Firefox also supports screen sharing, Chrome offers more granular control over what you share.
macOS Users: You may need to enable screen recording permissions in your system settings before screen sharing will work. See [Screen Sharing on macOS] for detailed setup instructions.
How Screen Sharing Works in Practice Better
To start sharing your screen, click the Share screen button at the top right-hand side of your video session.
Depending on your browser, you'll likely be prompted to select which content you'd like to share:
- Your Entire Screen – Shares everything visible on your monitor
- Application Window – Shares a specific program (like Adobe Acrobat or PowerPoint)
- Chrome Tab – Shares only a specific browser tab (Chrome only)
Select your preferred option and click Share. When you're ready to stop sharing, click Stop screen sharing.
📍 Important: Only practitioners can share screens during Practice Better Telehealth sessions. Clients can view your shared content, but can't share their own screens.
Screen Sharing Options Explained
Sharing Your Entire Screen
This option shares everything visible on your monitor, including your desktop, taskbar, and all open windows. You can use this when you need to switch between multiple applications during your session.
⚠️ Privacy reminder: When sharing your entire screen, close any applications or windows containing private information, notifications, or content you don't want your client to see.
Sharing a Specific Application Window
This option shares only a specific program window, such as Adobe Acrobat for PDF handouts or a presentation application. This keeps other windows and your desktop private.
Troubleshooting: If you don't see your application available in the Application Window tab, it may be minimized. Please make sure the application is maximized or visible in the background to make it available for screen sharing.
Sharing a Browser Tab (Chrome and Edge Only)
This option shares only a specific browser tab, giving you the most control and privacy. This is our recommended approach when sharing web-based handouts or resources.
Recommended Workflow for Browser Tab Sharing:
If your handout or resource can be opened within a browser, we recommend this streamlined approach:
- Open your resource in a new browser tab [Tab 1].
- Open Practice Better in another tab [Tab 2] and launch the video chat session (this will open a new popup window if your settings are applicable).
- From the popup window, start the session, then click the Share Screen button.
- Select Browser Tab, then select the tab with the handout [Tab 1].
- Return to your original Practice Better screen where you launched the video chat [Tab 2]. You can navigate to a new or existing session note.
This workflow allows you to keep working on your notes privately in one tab while sharing your handout simultaneously in another. This method keeps your Practice Better workspace private while giving you full control over exactly what your client sees. You can periodically switch to the handout tab [Tab 1] if you need to scroll through the content or highlight information as you discuss it with your client.
💡 Pro Tip: Focus more on your session and less on note-taking when you have Practice Better’s AI Charting Assistant enabled, making your Notes easy to create after the session with the AI Summary and Transcript!
What Happens to Your Video When Screen Sharing
When you share your screen, your camera view is automatically hidden from the client to maximize the shared content display. However, clients can still see you if they switch to Side bar view in their video settings.
The Side bar layout is designed specifically for screen sharing sessions – it displays both participants' videos in a sidebar alongside the shared content, so your client can see both you and the materials you're presenting.
📍 Note: You'll still see yourself in your own view when screen sharing, but your client won't see your video unless they enable Side bar layout.
Browser-Specific Instructions
Screen Sharing in Google Chrome
When you click Share screen in Chrome, you'll see three tabs at the top of the sharing dialog:
- Your Entire Screen – Shows thumbnails of all connected monitors
- Application Window – Shows all open application windows
- Chrome Tab – Shows all open Chrome tabs
Select your preferred option, choose the specific content, and click Share.
Screen Sharing in Firefox
After clicking the Share screen button in Firefox, you'll be prompted to select a screen to share in the top-left corner of your browser window.
Select your screen from the dropdown menu, then click Allow to begin your screen share.
📍 Note: Firefox provides less granular control than Chrome – you can share your entire screen or specific windows, but not individual browser tabs.
Screen Sharing in Safari
Safari requests screen sharing permission through macOS system dialogs. When you click Share screen, Safari will prompt you to allow screen sharing access.
Select Allow to Share Screen to share your entire screen, or Allow to Share Window to share a specific application window, then proceed with your screen share.
📍 Note: Safari users on macOS need to ensure screen recording permissions are enabled in System Preferences. See Screen Sharing on macOS for setup instructions.
Screen Sharing in Microsoft Edge
When you click Share screen in Edge, you'll see tabs at the top of the sharing dialog similar to Chrome:
- Microsoft Edge tab – Shows all open Edge tabs
- Window – Shows all open application windows
- Entire Screen – Shows all connected monitors
Select your preferred option, choose the specific content, and click Share.
Sharing Different Types of Content
Sharing PDF Handouts
If you need to share PDF handouts with clients, you have two options:
Option 1 (Recommended): Open the PDF in a Chrome browser tab, then share that specific tab. This keeps your other work private.
Option 2: Open the PDF in your local PDF reader (like Adobe Acrobat), then share the Application Window.
Sharing Educational Resources
For web-based resources, educational materials, or online tools, open them in a browser tab and share that specific tab. This gives you flexibility to switch between the shared tab and your Practice Better workspace without the client seeing your transitions.
Sharing Forms or Assessments
You can share forms or assessments by opening them in a browser tab and sharing that tab. However, keep in mind that clients will see everything you do on the shared screen, including any scrolling or navigation.
💡 Privacy Tip: If you're reviewing sensitive information or need to reference your private notes, avoid sharing your entire screen. Instead, share only the specific content you want your client to see.
macOS Screen Sharing Setup
Mac users need to enable screen recording permissions at the system level before screen sharing will work in browsers. This is a one-time setup that grants your browser permission to capture and share your screen content.
Quick Setup:
- Open the System Preferences app.
- Go to Privacy & Security.
- Click Screen & System Audio Recording.
- Enable access for your browser (Chrome or Firefox).
- Restart your browser for changes to take effect.
For detailed step-by-step instructions with screenshots, see [Screen Sharing on macOS].
⚠️ After macOS Updates: Sometimes macOS updates reset these permissions. If screen sharing suddenly stops working after an update, you may need to remove and re-add your browser in the Screen Recording settings. See Screen Sharing on macOS for instructions.
Still Having Trouble?
If you've enabled permissions but screen sharing still isn't working:
- Verify your browser is up to date. Visit What Is My Browser to check your version.
- Restart your browser completely. Close all browser windows and reopen.
- Check system-level permissions. Make sure your operating system hasn't blocked screen recording (especially on macOS and Windows).
- Try incognito or private browsing. This type of browser window typically has no cached data and usually disables browser extensions to eliminate interference.
- Try a different browser. Test screen sharing in Google Chrome if you're experiencing issues with another browser.
- Restart your computer. A full restart can resolve permission conflicts.
For comprehensive troubleshooting help, see Troubleshooting Telehealth Session Issues in Practice Better.
Practice Better's screen-sharing feature helps you create interactive, collaborative telehealth sessions where you can guide clients through resources and materials just as you would in person. With permissions properly configured, you'll be ready to share content seamlessly during your virtual appointments.
Related Articles:
- Using Telehealth Video Chat on Practice Better – Complete guide to all telehealth features
- Screen Sharing on macOS – Mac-specific setup instructions
- Taking Notes During a Video Chat Session – How to document while screen sharing
- Enabling Camera and Microphone Permissions – Setting up your devices