Office Compatibility Issues

How to Fix PowerPoint Slides Not Advancing on Zoom

Algirdas Jasaitis Oct 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

Zoom participants cannot see PowerPoint slides advancing during a screen-sharing session, despite the presenter seeing the slides transition normally.

How to Fix PowerPoint Slides Not Advancing for Zoom Participants

Product: Microsoft PowerPoint, Zoom
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Sharing a PowerPoint presentation during a live Zoom meeting.
Observed behavior: The presenter's screen displays the slide changes properly, but the participants' screens freeze or remain stuck on a previous slide.

Before you start

Before adjusting application settings, verify that you are running the latest versions of both Zoom and Microsoft PowerPoint, as outdated software can often cause screen-sharing bugs.

Solution 1Recommended

Change Slide Show Settings to Individual Window

Adjusting the PowerPoint presentation setup to display in a window rather than full screen resolves the majority of Zoom screen capture conflicts.

This freezing issue typically occurs because of how Zoom's screen capture engine interacts with PowerPoint's hardware acceleration in standard full-screen mode. Forcing the presentation into a windowed mode bypasses this conflict.

Open Slide Show Settings

Open your presentation in PowerPoint, navigate to the 'Slide Show' tab on the top ribbon, and click 'Set Up Slide Show'.

Change Show Type

Under the 'Show type' section, select the 'Browsed by an individual (window)' radio button and click 'OK'.

Share the Application Window

Start your Slide Show. In your Zoom meeting, click the 'Share Screen' button and select the specific PowerPoint Slide Show window instead of sharing your entire desktop.

Change Slide Show Settings to Individual Window

Display Limitations: While this mode effectively solves the freezing issue, the PowerPoint window title bar and filename will be visible at the top of the screen to your participants.

Solution 2

Share a Portion of Your Screen in Zoom

If you want to hide the presentation filename while in windowed mode, you can use Zoom's advanced screen-sharing feature to crop out the interface.

Present Smoothly with WPS Presentation

Use WPS Presentation for Seamless Zoom Screen Sharing

Avoid screen freezing and sharing conflicts by using WPS Presentation. It offers seamless integration with video conferencing tools and allows you to share your slides flawlessly with full formatting support.

1. Open File in WPS Presentation: Launch WPS Office and open your .pptx presentation file.
2. Access Slide Show Setup: Navigate to the 'Slide Show' tab on the top ribbon and click on 'Set Up Show'.
3. Set to Windowed Mode: Choose the 'Browsed by an individual (window)' option to guarantee maximum compatibility with Zoom's screen sharing engine.
4. Share via Zoom: Start the presentation and specifically select the WPS Presentation window in the Zoom 'Share Screen' dialog box.

Free and lightweight presentation softwareFully compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) formatsStable windowed and full-screen broadcasting modesFamiliar user interface with zero learning curve

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my PowerPoint slides freeze when I share my screen on Zoom?

This commonly happens because Zoom's screen capture mechanism sometimes conflicts with PowerPoint's hardware graphics acceleration during full-screen Slide Show mode. The presenter's local display updates, but the video feed sent to Zoom gets stuck.

Can I hide the PowerPoint filename when using windowed mode on Zoom?

In 'Browsed by an individual (window)' mode, the title bar is visible by default. To hide it, you can use Zoom's 'Advanced' sharing options to share only a 'Portion of Screen' and manually crop out the title bar.

Does sharing the entire desktop fix the slide advancing issue?

Sometimes sharing your entire desktop instead of a specific application window resolves the freezing. However, this method comes with privacy risks, as participants will be able to see everything on your screen, including private notifications and background applications.

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