Visual Space manual, Meetings, Stage And Layouts

The meeting stage gives cameras, shared screens, audio participants, and shared work one flexible place to appear. It sits over the Visual Space workspace you were already using, so changing the meeting view does not discard the activity, conversation, or work underneath it. The important idea is that **the stage arranges feeds, not merely people**. Choose the feed that matters now, then move between an all-room view and a more concentrated view without changing the meeting itself.

The important idea is that the stage arranges feeds, not merely people. Choose the feed that matters now, then move between an all-room view and a more concentrated view without changing the meeting itself.

One Person Can Have Several Feeds

A feed is one source that the stage can arrange. A participant is still one person in the meeting, but that person can contribute more than one source at the same time. This is why the same name may appear on separate tiles.

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Camera feed - Shows the participant's video when their camera is on.

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Audio-only feed - Keeps a participant represented when there is no active camera image.

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Screen-share feed - Shows a shared screen or window separately from the participant's camera.

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Live-app feed - Places shared Articles, Polls, Retrospectives, Whiteboards, Canvas, or Frames on the stage in an activity meeting.

Because each source is independent, selecting a screen share does not remove its presenter's camera from the room. It only changes which feed receives the most space. A live app follows the same layout rules as media, even though it remains an interactive Visual Space workspace rather than a video tile.

Choose The View For The Moment

The three layouts answer different meeting needs. Changing layout affects only your view; it does not rearrange the stage for everyone else or interrupt any feed.

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Grid - Gives all available feeds space together. Use it to scan the room, compare several shares, or see what is currently active.

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Stage - Makes one selected feed large and keeps the other feeds in a carousel. Use it when one speaker, share, or live app leads the conversation but you still want the rest of the room nearby.

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Focus - Gives the selected feed the most room and hides the carousel. Use it for detailed shared work, close reading, or a presentation that needs fewer visual distractions.

Grid keeps every available feed visible at once for an all-room view.

Stage enlarges one feed while keeping the remaining feeds nearby in the carousel.

Focus removes the carousel so the selected feed receives the most room.

Selecting a tile from Grid moves that feed onto the main Stage. Selecting another item in the carousel replaces the main feed while keeping the same layout. You can then hide the carousel for Focus or return to Grid whenever the room becomes more important than the current selection.

Returning to Grid is an explicit return to the all-feeds view. The previously selected feed no longer controls what is featured on the current stage. When you later reopen a meeting, Visual Space can restore its remembered selected feed and layout, helping you continue from the view you were using rather than making the choice again.

Follow Parallel Screen Shares

Several participants can share screens in the same meeting. Each share appears as its own selectable feed, including your own share, so one presenter does not have to stop before another person can show related material.

Grid is useful when you need to notice every active share. Stage is better when one share should stay large while the others remain available in the carousel. Focus gives the selected share maximum room, while moving back to Stage reveals the carousel again. The share continues independently of these view changes.

For the complete sharing flow, including choosing and changing a source, see Share your screen and choose a view.

Close The Stage Or Leave The Call

Closing the full stage and hanging up are intentionally different actions. This distinction lets you return to your work without treating the meeting as a separate place you must remain inside.

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Close the stage - Returns to the Visual Space context underneath the meeting while you stay connected. An activity meeting returns to its surrounding space context, while a direct-message call returns to Messages. Your active microphone, camera, and screen share remain meeting controls rather than being ended by the view change.

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Hang up - Disconnects you from the meeting, closes its full-stage or picture-in-picture view, and may be followed by a meeting feedback prompt.

After you have opened the stage once, closing it while still connected can keep the selected feed in picture-in-picture. The preview can be moved, collapsed toward an edge, used for essential media controls, or opened back into the full stage. This compact view is a bridge between the meeting and your workspace; it is not a separate layout choice. See Keep working during a meeting for the detailed picture-in-picture workflow.

Picture-in-picture keeps the selected feed nearby after the full stage closes.

Desktop Space And Chrome

On desktop, Enter full screen gives the meeting more window space. This is different from Focus: fullscreen changes how much of the display the meeting occupies, while Focus changes which feeds the stage shows.

Meeting chrome can fade after pointer inactivity so rails, top bars, and layout controls do not permanently cover the stage. Move the pointer over the stage or its meeting controls to reveal them again. You can also open the activities panel without leaving the stage when you need context from the surrounding space.

Empty And Solo Stages

If no active participant feed is available, the stage explains that the meeting currently has no active participants instead of showing an unexplained blank surface.

When you are the only participant, your feed remains visible and the stage offers a useful next move. Invite People is available for bringing eligible participants into the room. In an activity meeting that supports live apps, Start Live App can begin shared work while you wait. Direct-message calls do not offer meeting live apps.

Common Questions

Why can the same participant appear more than once?

Their camera or audio presence and their screen share are separate feeds. Keeping them separate lets you feature the shared content without losing the participant's other presence in Grid or the carousel.

Which layout should I choose for a presentation?

Use Stage when you want the presentation large but still need a view of other feeds. Use Focus when the selected share or live app needs maximum room. Return to Grid when comparing sources or checking the whole room matters more.

Does closing the stage mute me or stop my screen share?

No. Closing the stage returns you to the underlying workspace while the meeting remains connected. Use the media controls to change your microphone, camera, or share, and use hang-up when you intend to leave the call.

Can I switch between several screen shares?

Yes. Simultaneous shares appear as independently selectable feeds. You can view them together in Grid or keep one large in Stage or Focus.

Do live apps use the same layouts as cameras and shares?

Yes, in activity meetings. A supported live app becomes a selectable feed for Grid, Stage, and Focus. Live apps are not available in direct-message calls.