I just got rid of my last Windows computer and switched to Linux full time. I’m forced to use Zoom to attend online lectures at my university and WOW is the Linux client for Zoom terrible compared to Windows. For one, it doesn’t have an option to have the gallery view above the screen share view, only beside it, which wastes screen space. It also forces itself into full screen mode whenever someone starts sharing their screen, AND when I switch it back to windowed mode, it’s not maximized even when it was before. It also launches a blank “join a meeting” window alongside the active meeting every time I click on a meeting from Canvas (my University’s course management system) or switch into a breakout group. Finally, for some reason it forcibly disables KDE’s power management modes whenever it’s active.
Screw you Zoom. Fix your shitty software on Linux!
You can disable the auto fullscreen in settings. And while we’re on it, settings are only available during a meeting, it’s so stupid.
Someone mentioned web client, but it tries so hard to not be used. First it’s so hidden, second it’s missing many features my school requires me to use…
Anyway, fuck zoom, probably the most popular UI gore I’ve seen.
Settings are available outside meetings – if you create and account and log in. One of those “makes sense but why can’t you save the settings locally?”.
I use tiling extensions for my desktop (either PaperWM or Material Shell, for GNOME) so thankfully the “window not maximized” is not an issue, but thanks, I did not realize Screen Sharing auto-fullscreen can be disabled!