Showing Microsoft 365 on your screen

You get Microsoft 365 onto a screen by adding one of the seven Microsoft apps under Files > New > New app. The apps are PowerPoint Online, Excel Online, Word Online, OneDrive, Outlook Calendar, SharePoint, and Power BI. Every app pulls its content live, so a change you make in Microsoft 365 shows up on the screen by itself.

Connecting your Microsoft account

  1. Go to Settings and open the Connections tab.
  2. Click Connect next to Microsoft and sign in with your Microsoft account.

Once that is done, pick your connected account under Source in each Microsoft app and then pick the file or calendar. There are four ways to find a file:

  • Browse your own OneDrive.
  • Search by name in the "Search files by name" field. The search covers everything your account can reach, so it also finds files colleagues have shared with you and files on SharePoint. A file that is new, or that was only just shared with you, turns up in the search results after a few minutes.
  • Browse SharePoint sites and the document libraries of a site.
  • Paste a sharing link. Below the file list you find the "or paste a link" option: in OneDrive or SharePoint, copy the link to the file (Share > Copy link), paste it there and click Use link. That works for a colleague's file too, as long as your connected account is allowed to open it.

Search and SharePoint sites are only there for work or school accounts, not for a personal Microsoft account.

Without a connection, choose a public link under Source and paste it into URL. Note: an ordinary sharing link does not work here, not even when it is set to Anyone with the link, because Microsoft does not allow such a page to be embedded on a screen. Use the file's embed link instead (File > Share > Embed), or connect your account and paste the sharing link there. Screenbird accepts addresses on sharepoint.com, office.com, office365.com, live.com, 1drv.ms, powerbi.com, and microsoft.com.

Adding a Microsoft app

  1. Go to Files in the sidebar.
  2. Click New and choose New app.
  3. Choose the app you want to use.
  4. Fill in the settings and click Save.
  5. Put the app on a screen with Send to screen, or put it in a playlist or schedule.

PowerPoint Online

Settings:

  • Source: connected account or public link
  • Item or URL: the presentation
  • Auto-advance (sec): how long a slide stays up, 5 seconds by default, 1 to 60
  • Transition: None, Fade, Slide right, Slide left, Rotate in, Flip, Gallery, or Zoom in
  • Transition speed (ms): Fast, Normal, or Slow
  • Refresh (min): 5 minutes by default, 1 to 60
  • Background color: the color around a slide that doesn't fill the screen completely, with a connected account only

The transition and the transition speed only work with a connected account. With a public link, those settings are limited.

Excel Online

Settings:

  • Source: connected account or public link
  • Item or URL: the worksheet
  • Background color: with a connected account only
  • Refresh (min): 5 minutes by default, 1 to 60

Excel Online has no field for a tab, a cell range, or scrolling. To show a specific cell range, use the Google Sheets app, which does support it. See Connecting Google Workspace.

Word Online

Settings: source, the document, Auto-advance (sec) (10 seconds by default, 1 to 120), Zoom (%), Transition, Transition speed (ms), and Refresh (min).

OneDrive

Shows a file from OneDrive. Settings: source, the file, how the image is scaled, Zoom (%), and Refresh (min).

Outlook Calendar

Settings:

  • Source: connected account or public link
  • Calendar: which calendar gets shown
  • Theme: dark or light
  • Zoom (%): 100 percent by default, 50 to 200
  • Refresh (min): 5 minutes by default, 1 to 60

Outlook Calendar has no setting for how many days ahead to show. That field exists only in Google Calendar.

SharePoint

Settings: Source, Site or URL, Zoom (%), and Refresh (min).

Power BI

Power BI has its own settings for the workspace, the report, page switching, and refreshing data. See Connecting Power BI to Screenbird.

The app shows nothing

  • If you use a public link, check that it is an embed link and that the address sits on one of the allowed Microsoft domains. An ordinary sharing link stays blank on the screen. The easier route: connect your account and paste the sharing link in the app.
  • The file does not show up when you search: a file that is new, or that was only just shared, appears after a few minutes. Try again later, or paste the sharing link.
  • You get an error about access after pasting a sharing link: your connected account is not allowed to open the file. Ask the owner to share it with that account.
  • If the connection has expired, connect your Microsoft account again under Settings > Connections.
  • New data only appears at the next refresh. Lower Refresh (min) if you want updates sooner.

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