Microsoft Teams public preview adds option to Spotlight up to 7 participants during meetings

Rabia Noureen

In September, Microsoft Teams released a new Spotlight feature that lets presenters pin the video feed of a specific participant in a meeting. Now, the company is planning to expand the Spotlighting experience in Teams by adding the ability to lock multiple participants at a time.

As noted by Microsoft MVP Vesa Nopanen on LinkedIn, Microsoft Teams public preview has recently received a new update that lets presenters and organizers spotlight up to 7 participants simultaneously for everyone to see during meetings. This capability is available on all major platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and on the web.

Spotlight select individuals

To spotlight a video on Teams on the desktop, presenters will need to right-click the person’s video feed and choose “Spotlight” from the context menu. In addition, they can also head to the participant roster, find the participant they want to spotlight, and then click the ‘Spotlight’ option available in the ellipsis menu (…). The same process should be repeated for all (up to 7) participants.

Presenters will be able to stop individual spotlights or stop all spotlights in bulk from the roster. This feature is also available on mobile (as shown below).

It is important to note that the new Spotlight experience is beginning to roll out to all users globally, and to try out this feature; your tenant needs to be on the public preview version of Teams. Once that’s set up, the new multiple Spotlights option will be enabled by default during meetings. The firm is also working to bring other useful features for business and education customers, including custom Together Mode scenes for meetings.