Chapter 5 Moderator Presenter Guest

Customizing the View

Every participant can individually customize their own view in the BigBlueButton conference room – without affecting what other participants see. You can adjust panels, webcam positions, and the presentation size to create a workspace that suits your needs.

Full-Screen Mode

Full-screen mode allows you to maximize the presentation area so it fills your entire screen. This is particularly useful when viewing detailed slides or shared content.

  1. Locate the full-screen button in the top-right corner of the presentation area.
  2. Click the button to enter full-screen mode. The presentation will fill your entire screen.
  3. To exit full-screen mode, click the button again or press Esc on your keyboard.

Showing and Hiding Panels

The left communication sidebar can be fully hidden to give more space to the presentation area. Individual panels within the sidebar can also be toggled separately.

  1. To hide the entire left sidebar, click the toggle button at the top left of the presentation area.
  2. To toggle individual panels (Chat, Shared Notes, Participant List), click on the respective panel icon in the sidebar.
  3. Click the same button or icon again to restore the hidden panel.

Hiding the sidebar gives you more room for the presentation. This is especially helpful on smaller screens or when you want to focus on the content being presented.

Minimizing and Maximizing the Presentation

Sometimes you may want to focus on the webcam feeds instead of the presentation slides. BigBlueButton allows you to minimize the presentation area entirely.

  1. Click the minus icon in the top-right corner of the presentation to minimize it.
  2. The presentation area will collapse, giving the webcam feeds more screen space.
  3. To bring the presentation back, click the board icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

This feature is useful for discussion rounds or breakout sessions where the focus should be on the webcam participants rather than a slide deck.

Adjusting the Presentation and Webcam Ratio

You can change the size ratio between the presentation area and the webcam area by dragging the divider between them.

  1. Move your mouse to the border between the presentation and the webcam area. A double-headed arrow cursor will appear.
  2. Hold the left mouse button and drag up or down to adjust the size ratio to your preference.
  3. Release the mouse button when you are satisfied with the layout.

Webcam Position

Webcam feeds can be positioned relative to the presentation area. You can choose to display them above, below, or to the side of the presentation.

The webcam position setting is individual – it only affects your own view and does not change what other participants see.

Moderator Moderators can distribute a specific layout to all participants using the layout configuration feature. For details, see the Layout Configuration chapter.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. All view customizations – panel visibility, webcam position, presentation size – are purely local. Other participants will not see your changes.

Yes. You can restore the default layout by refreshing your browser page. Your view will be reset to the server default configuration.

You have two options: drag the divider between the presentation and webcam area to resize them, or minimize the presentation entirely using the minus icon in the top-right corner of the presentation area.

Yes. Moderators can push a layout to all participants using the layout configuration feature. When a moderator applies a layout, it will override individual view settings for all participants.