Guide

How to share your iPad on Zoom, Google Meet and Teams

If you want to draw or write live on a call, you want your iPad shown as a full-size window, not a small webcam tile. Here's the manual way, and the one-step way.

Why a window, not a virtual camera

Most "iPad as a camera" tricks pipe the iPad in as a virtual webcam, which shows up as a small tile in the call. That's fine for your face, but wrong for a whiteboard: a diagram or a page of working needs to be shared as content, at full size. The reliable way to do that is to put the iPad's screen in a window on your Mac and share that window the same way you'd share any app.

The manual way (QuickTime)

macOS can already show a wired iPad as a camera source. You don't need anything extra to try it once:

Connect the iPad to your Mac with a USB cable and tap Trust This Computer on the iPad.
Open QuickTime Player, choose File › New Movie Recording.
Pick the iPad as the camera source from the little arrow next to the record button.
Share the QuickTime window in your call's Share window list.

It works, but you repeat the whole ritual every call, the window isn't sized to the iPad, and it's easy to share the wrong thing. That repetition is exactly what SharePad removes.

The one-step way (SharePad)

SharePad is a small macOS menu-bar app. It watches for a connected iPad and opens a clean, aspect-locked window the moment you plug in, so the window is already waiting in the Share window list before the call even starts.

Plug in the iPad over USB. There's nothing to install on the iPad. Tap Trust if it asks.
The window appears automatically, matched to your iPad's shape so nothing looks squished.
Choose "Share window" in Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams and pick SharePad from the list.
Open your app and draw. Procreate, Freeform, GoodNotes, Apple Notes, whatever you like. Your Apple Pencil strokes appear live at full size.

There's nothing to set up mid-call and nothing leaves your Mac, no account, no sign-in, no analytics. It works the same in Zoom's desktop app and in browser-based Google Meet and Teams.

Try it on your next call

Plug in, pick the window, and draw. Free for 7 days, then a one-time £6.99 licence.

Download SharePad for macOS

macOS 14+ · no subscription · updates for life

Fixing a black shared window

If the people on the call see a black window, it's almost always one of these:

The iPad is locked. A locked iPad shows black. Unlock it and it returns.
You haven't tapped Trust yet. The first time you connect, the iPad asks you to trust the Mac, tap it.
The window is hidden behind others. Browser-based Google Meet and Teams only transmit a window that's actually visible. Turn on Keep window on top in the SharePad popover so it stays in front.

Common questions

Do I need to install anything on the iPad?

No. There's nothing to install and no app to open on the iPad, just connect it over USB. Everything runs on the Mac side.

Does it work wirelessly?

You connect with a USB cable. SharePad uses the same wired connection macOS already exposes for a plugged-in iPad, the one QuickTime uses, so there's no wireless pairing or network involved.

Which drawing or notes apps does it work with?

Any of them. SharePad shows your iPad's whole screen, so you can use Procreate, GoodNotes, Freeform, Notability or Apple Notes, whatever you already draw or write in. There's nothing to integrate.

Does it share the iPad's sound?

No. SharePad is video only by design. It shows the iPad's screen, not its audio, so your call's own microphone handles the talking.

More on the SharePad home page, including the full FAQ and a short demo.