NOTE: These instructions are for Isadora 3.

You can easily share Isadora's Stage using Zoom's "Share Screen" feature but, because of the heavy compression imposed on the captured video by Zoom, the results for the other viewers in the Zoom meeting may be disappointing. We ran tests not only with Isadora but also with movie playback applications like QuickTime Player and found that the frame rate on the remote computer was approximately 3 fps regardless of the source.

IMPORTANT: Mission Control & Multiple Desktops/Spaces on macOS

If you are using Mission Control on macOS to allow multiple desktops (also known as "spaces"), make sure that Isadora and Zoom share the same desktop/space. Otherwise, Isadora's output may appear to be frozen. This is not a limitation of Isadora, but of the multiple desktops/spaces feature of macOS.

Sharing Isadora’s Stage When in Full-Screen Mode

This set of instructions assumes you have a second display or projector connected to your computer.

To share Isadora's full-screen Stage in Zoom, please do the following:

  1. Open an Isadora patch that has the Stage Setup configured to show the Stage a second display. (That's the default for new patches)
  2. Choose "Show Stages" from the Output menu. The second display now shows Isadora's output.
  3. Create or join a Zoom meeting
  4. Choose the "Share Screen" option in Zoom, and select Isadora's full-screen Stage in Zoom's dialog box. You could also select the entire display (called a "Desktop" in Zoom) where Isadora is rendering its video.
  5. The other computers on Zoom will now see your Stage, even if Isadora is not the frontmost application.

Sharing Isadora’s Stage When in Preview

Isadora's Stage Preview windows are normally hidden when you put the application in the background; this is the standard behavior for "tool windows" on both macOS and Windows. But you can change this behavior using the Isadora Preferences. 

To share Isadora's Stage Preview in Zoom, please do the following:

  1. Choose "Preferences..." from the Isadora menu, click the Stage tab, and then uncheck the box labeled "Floating Stage Windows."
  2. Open your Isadora patch
  3. Choose "Force Stage Preview" from the "Output" menu. The preview window will appear. (To change the size of the window, follow the instructions below.)
  4. Create or join a Zoom meeting
  5. Choose the "Share Screen" option in Zoom, and select Isadora's preview Stage in Zoom's dialog box, or select the entire display where Isadora is rendering its video.
  6. The other computers on Zoom will now see your Stage, even if Isadora is not the frontmost application.

NOTE: The title bar of the Stage Preview will be included in what users in the Zoom meeting will see. If you wish to avoid the title bar, you'll have to use a full-screen window on a separate display.

Changing the Size of the Preview

  1. Isadora's Stage Preview shows at 25% resolution by default. But you can easily change this in Isadora's Stage Setup window.
  2. Follow the instructions above to share Isadora's Stage as a preview.
  3. In Isadora, choose "Stage Setup" from the Output menu. The Stage Setup window will appear.
  4. At the top of the Stage Setup window, where it says "Default Preview Size" change the percentage from the default (25%) to whatever percentage you like.
  5. Ensure the entire Stage Preview is shown; if part of it is offscreen, that part will not be sent over Zoom.
  6. The Stage Preview window will change size to the specified percentage of the full size.

To learn more about configuring Stages in Isadora, please visit our knowledge base article on Isadora's Stage Setup window.