Attention all Google Meet users! Say goodbye to boring presentations with these 2 game-changing hacks for Grid View!
With the ongoing pandemic, virtual meetings have become a norm in our daily lives. Among the popular virtual meeting platforms is Google Meet, which offers Grid View - a convenient and efficient way to view all participants in a meeting, including the presenter.
While Grid View serves its purpose, presentations can sometimes become dull and unengaging as speakers struggle to maintain the attendees’ attention. To spice things up, we’ve compiled two game-changing hacks for Grid View that will transform your presentations and make them more enjoyable for everyone.
Hack #1 - Virtual Backgrounds
Virtual backgrounds have become increasingly popular in recent times, and for a good reason. They’re an excellent way to personalize your virtual space and make it more fun and lively. To use virtual backgrounds in your presentations, click on the three-dot menu during the meeting and select “Change Background.” From there, choose a pre-set background, or upload your own custom image.
Virtual backgrounds are a game-changer in presentations as they provide a visual representation of the speaker’s personality or brand. Whether it’s a serene beach setting or a vibrant cityscape, virtual backgrounds add an element of excitement and creativity to presentations, saving them from being dull and monotonous.
Hack #2 - Polls and Quizzes
Incorporating interactive elements such as polls and quizzes into your presentations can spark the interest of the attendees, making them attentive and engaged. Grid View makes it easier to add polls and quizzes, thanks to its simple and intuitive interface.
To add a poll or quiz, use the “Present” screen, and click on “Polls.” From there, choose the template that suits your presentation, and customize it to your liking. You can include multiple choices, open-ended questions, and even add images to enhance the experience further.
Polls and quizzes are a game-changer in presentations as they create a collaborative and interactive environment, encouraging participants to participate and express their thoughts. They also provide valuable feedback, enabling the presenter to gauge audience sentiment and adapt the presentation accordingly.
In conclusion, Grid View may have been a convenient and efficient tool for virtual meetings; however, it can become dull and unengaging for presentations. With the two game-changing hacks - virtual backgrounds and polls/quizzes, you can spice up your presentations and make them more engaging and enjoyable. So, try them out the next time you’re presenting and see the difference it makes!
1. Enable Grid View Manually
Google Meet displays the option to enable grid view only if the number of participants crosses a threadhold. Otherwise, you will have to enable grid view manually.
- Click on the kebab menu (three-dot icon) at the bottom of the screen while in a meeting on Google Meet.
- Select Change layout option from the menu.
- Finally, click on Tiled. We have compiled an interesting set of places where you can download fun Google Meet backgrounds.
2. Install Google Meet Tweak Extension
Yes, there is an extension to fix the Google Meet grid view error too aptly called Google Meet Tweak that allows you to make subtle changes to improve how you use Meet. Some examples include a one-click recording feature, emojis, and advanced video controls. Let’s see how it works and what to expect in the future from Google.
- Open the Chrome browser and install Google Meet Tweak extension. This should also work for Chromium browsers like Microsoft Edge and Brave among others. Install the extension like you would normally do. Worried about privacy? The source code of the extension is available on GitHub.
- You will now see a grid icon next to the address bar in the browser. Click on it once to open a hidden menu.
- Now check Enable Grid View option and click anywhere to close the menu. Grid view in Google Meet should be fixed now. Note that the grid view will project every participant’s view on the screen. Each participant will get an equal-sized box for view. You can’t resize or change this. Are you the host of the meeting? If so, you have the option to show or hide your own video feed in the grid view. Others can choose to do the same. Participants who have chosen to hide their feed or disable the camera will be shown as an empty black box. You can choose to hide such participants who have no video feed. Two other notable options are Highlight speakers and Screen capture. The former will show a microphone icon in the box of the person who is currently speaking. That can be more than one person. The latter will allow you and other participants to capture screenshots of the screen for later perusal. Then there are the Advanced settings. These will open in the Google Meet window as a pop-up. There are some useful options and then there are some interesting ones. For example, you can flip the grid view to see participants and video in the same order to match what others are seeing. Not useful but certainly interesting. You can change how names are displayed and in what order like first or last name first (sort). The useful feature is video quality which you can change based on your broadband speed.
Is Google Meet Grid View Still Not Working
Are you still facing issues while using the grid view on your Chrome browser in Google Meet? Here are a few solutions that may help resolve the issue. Try disabling and re-enabling the extension to check if that works. You can do it from the Manage extensions page. I am using Edge in this example. This is the URL – edge://extensions. Replace Edge with Chrome to make it work for you. Uninstall the extension, close the browser, and try installing and setting up again. This will also take care of any updates that the developer may have released recently. The last and final solution is creating a new user profile for your browser. Click on the profile pic that is visible in Chrome and select Add another account. Follow the on-screen instructions after that. The reasoning behind this step is that sometimes, browser profiles get corrupted. Also Read: 7 Best Chrome Extensions for Google Meet
- How many tiles can small screen devices fit in Google Meet? Google notes that smartphones can fit up to 8 tiles while some iPad models can fit up to 48 tiles during a Google Meet meeting. If you want more, we suggest you switch to a laptop or desktop.
Google Meet Grid View Fix
It is amazing how quickly Google Meet has gained popularity among users, so much so that devs are developing custom solutions to fix common problems. The grid view is a strange issue and one that Google should have fixed sooner seeing how many users are facing it. Thankfully, the uber video conferencing app enjoys a talented user base. More than the fix, I liked the additional features that the extension offers. I hope more will be added in the future.
