Meet Grid View

Google Hangouts Meet is a great video conference tool for connecting people... but what about when there are a lot of people in the meeting?

Normally when you are in a Google Meet video conference, you can only show at most 4 people at a time. You do this by clicking the three dots button in the bottom right corner and choosing "Change Layout", and then selecting the "Tiled" view. But what if you want to see everyone in the Meet?

Thankfully there is a free Chrome extension called "Google Meet Grid View" that allows you to see everyone in the meeting, no matter how many people there are. See below for details on how to install and use this helpful extension, including a short 6-minute video with step-by-step directions.

A Few Quick Notes...

First because this is a Chrome extension, you would need to be using the Google Chrome web browser, and you need to be using a PC, Mac, or Chromebook. Extensions do not work on mobile devices, so this Grid View tool would not work on an iPad or iPhone or Android tablet or phone (although see a trick further down).
Also, if you are using a school account, it is possible that your tech folks may have automatically pushed this extension out to you, so that it is already installed for you.
However, if you are using a school account, it is also possible that your school may have blocked the extension or may not allow you to install extensions. As always please contact your school tech team for questions specific to your school account.

Installation

To install the "Google Meet Grid View" extension do the following:

Go to the extension's page in the Chrome Web Store - "Google Meet Grid View"
Click the "Add to Chrome" button to install the extension.
Give it permission to install.
And then that is it! The extension will now show up in the top right corner of your web browser.

Using Grid View

Now that the Grid View extension is installed, anytime you are in a Google Meet you will now see a new button in the top right corner of the Meet window (next to the "People" and "Chat" button).

Simply click on this button to turn Grid View on or off. Once you turn it on you will now see all of the participants in the meeting.

There are a few options you can adjust in the drop-down menu below the button.

"Only show participants with video" - If you check this box then Grid View will not show anyone who has turned off their webcam or who doesn't have a camera to begin with.
"Highlight speakers" - If you check this box then anytime someone is speaking, a yellow box will appear around their them in the grid. This can help make it easier to see who is talking.
"Include yourself in the grid" - You can check or uncheck this if you want to see yourself as well or not.

Note: Keep in mind, this extension is only changing the view for you, and not for the other people in the meeting. Each person controls their own view. For other people in the meeting to see the grid, they also need to install the extension one time, and then they can turn the Grid View on or off for themselves.

Grid View for Mobile Devices

As mentioned earlier, Chrome extensions do not run on mobile devices, so you can't install Grid View on a phone or tablet. Having said that, there is one trick you could do as the presenter to let other people see the grid, even if they are on a phone or tablet. What you could do is turn on grid view for yourself, then share your screen with the other participants.

To do this...

Click the "Present Now" button in the bottom right corner.
Choose "Window"from the pop-up menu.
Select the window that has your Google Meet screen.
Finally click the "Share" button.

Now the other participants will see your shared screen, which has the gridview turned on, so they will be seeing the grid! This would work no matter what device they are using including phones and tablets.

Don't forget to stop sharing your screen when done by clicking the presentation button again and choosing "Stop presenting".

Google Meet Grid View is a great extension to help everyone in a meeting or classroom feel like they are more connected with the group.

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