A video demo is obviously much better if compared to a step-by-step instructions in text with screenshots. However, the video demo has to be recorded in a comfortable level of clarity so that the viewer is able to easily see what is on the video. Other than that, creating a video demo is also more time consuming because you need to edit the video by fast forwarding or cutting off useless frames, adding overlays to censor some parts that you don’t want to show and uploading it to a video hosting site such as YouTube. A much convenient method is to just share your screen in real time to the other party probably to show the error that you’re experiencing or a demo on how to configure some settings on a third party software.
There are many software that we can use to allow other people to view our computer screen and one of my favorite is TeamViewer. However TeamViewer requires to download a software to run it on a computer where some users may not be comfortable in doing that. Probably one of the easiest method to share your screen is by using Screenleap. Screenleap is an online service where both the viewer and sharer don’t need to install any software to view and share the computer screen.
Screenleap is a free service that makes sharing your computer screen simple. The only requirement is the host computer that shares the screen will require Java to be installed while the viewer can be viewed from any web browser including tablets (iPad, Android), phones (iPhone, Windows Phone, Android) and desktop.
To share your screen, all you need to do is visit screenleap.com from your web browser and click the huge “Share your screen now!” button. Then click the Run button if you see the security information window. You will then get a Screenleap link containing a unique 9 digit code at the end of the URL that will allow the viewer to instantly view you screen upon opening the link from the web browser. You can click the More sharing options link to email or text (US only) the link. The host can either share the entire screen or a inside a rectangle box that can be resized. The Pause sharing button allows the host to temporarily stop sharing what’s on the screen to the viewer.
The best part is the viewer can request to share his/her screen to the host by clicking the Share my screen button on the top right. The host will need to allow the viewer to be the new presenter by clicking the “Yes, view screen” button to change presenter. After changing presenter, the previous host will become the viewer while the viewer becomes the host.
If you frequently use Screenleap, consider signing up a free account where you can get your own handle such as www.screenleap.com/raymond.cc instead of the 9 randomly generated numbers by getting 5 friends to join Screenleap. If you can’t convince 5 of your friends to join Screenleap, maybe you can create 5 fake accounts 😛
Here is a video demonstration of how easy and quickly you can share your computer screen using Screenleap.
Although Screenleap is dead easy to use, but I find it a bit slow as the viewer’s refresh rate is not being updated fast enough which could cause the viewer to miss some details during screen sharing. Screenleap’s servers seems to be located in the US, hosted by Amazon which will definitely be fast for all users in the US but probably slower for users from other countries. If you’re looking for a free, simple and fast method to share your screen, Screenleap is definitely a winner.