Powershell Tricks to Compress Images for Sharing in Windows 11

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Turn Off Do Not Disturb Automatically in Teams While Sharing Screen

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🌟 Introduction: The Problem with Do Not Disturb and Screen Sharing in Teams

If you’re a Teams user who regularly presents, you might have noticed this scenario:

  • 🖥️ You start sharing your screen.

  • 🔕 Teams automatically enables Do Not Disturb to block pop-ups and keep your focus.

  • ✅ This is great for privacy—but what if you want to receive important notifications (like urgent chat messages or meeting updates) while sharing?

Microsoft Teams defaults to enable Do Not Disturb (DND) during presentations to avoid accidental exposure of notifications. However, for some roles—like IT admins, customer support agents, or team leads—missing important alerts during presentations can be risky.

Fortunately, there’s a way to stop Teams from automatically turning on DND while screen sharing. Let’s see how to configure it step by step!

Turn Off Do Not Disturb Automatically in Teams While Sharing Screen

1️⃣ Understand the Default Behavior

By default, Microsoft Teams activates Focus Assist (a Windows feature) in Presentation Mode when:

✅ You’re sharing your screen in a meeting
✅ Or using apps like PowerPoint Live

This triggers a priority-only mode or full Do Not Disturb state, depending on your settings.

➡️ Goal: Turn off this behavior so you still see notifications while sharing your screen.

2️⃣ Pre-check: System Build & Teams Version

Before diving in, let’s get some context:

A. Windows Build

  • Press Win + R, type winver, and hit Enter.

  • Note your Windows version (e.g., 21H2, 22H2).

  • If you’re on an older build, some Focus Assist tweaks might not be available.

B. Teams Version

  • In Teams, click your profile picture → About → Version.

  • Keep your Teams app updated to ensure new features or policies apply correctly.

3️⃣ Key Concept: Focus Assist in Windows 11/10

Teams uses Focus Assist—a built-in Windows tool controlling notifications. There are three levels:

  1. Off: All notifications show.

  2. Priority only: Only priority notifications show.

  3. Alarms only: Only alarms show.

Teams triggers Focus Assist → Alarms only during presentations, blocking everything else.

➡️ If you disable automatic Focus Assist rules, you’ll prevent Teams from forcing Do Not Disturb during screen sharing.

4️⃣ Step 1: Adjust Focus Assist Automatic Rules (Windows Settings)

Here’s the easiest fix using Windows Settings:

A. Open Focus Assist Settings

  1. Press Win + I to open Settings.

  2. Go to:

System → Focus assist

B. Review Automatic Rules

Scroll down to Automatic rules:

  • When I’m duplicating my display

  • When I’m playing a game

  • During these times

  • When I’m using an app in full screen mode

Teams sharing usually triggers the duplicating display or full screen rules.

C. Turn Off Automatic Rules

Toggle Off for:

  • When I’m duplicating my display

  • When I’m using an app in full screen mode

💡 This stops Windows from enabling Focus Assist automatically—so Teams won’t switch to Do Not Disturb while sharing.

D. Optional: Customize Priority List

If you want some notifications (like VIP chats), click Customize your priority list to add:

  • Specific apps

  • People you always want to hear from

This ensures you’re not fully distracted while sharing.

5️⃣ Step 2: Tweak Teams’ Priority Access Settings

Teams also has its own notification settings. Let’s ensure important notifications override Do Not Disturb.

A. Open Teams Notifications

  1. In Teams, click your profile picture → Settings.

  2. Choose Notifications.

B. Manage Priority Access

Look for People under Priority access. Here, you can add:

  • Managers

  • Important colleagues

  • Or any team leads whose messages must come through

This ensures they bypass Do Not Disturb even if Windows re-enables it.

C. Test Priority Alerts

To test:

  1. Have a colleague message you while you’re sharing.

  2. You should see their message pop up despite other messages being muted.

This way, only critical alerts make it through—useful for troubleshooting or emergencies.

6️⃣ Step 3: Registry Editor Tweak (Advanced)

For advanced users or IT admins managing multiple devices, tweak the registry to disable automatic Focus Assist triggers during screen sharing.

⚠️ Warning: Editing the registry can affect system stability—backup first.

A. Open Registry Editor

  1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and hit Enter.

  2. Click Yes on UAC.

B. Navigate to Focus Assist Keys

For Windows 11:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings

C. Edit Presentation Mode Value

  1. Look for:

PresentationSettings

  1. If not present, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value:

  • Name: PresentationSettings

  • Value data: 0

D. Disable Fullscreen App Trigger

Navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings

Create/modify:

  • Name: FullscreenAutoFocusAssist

  • Value data: 0

This disables Focus Assist when using fullscreen apps—like PowerPoint or Teams sharing.

E. Reboot to Apply

Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

7️⃣ Step 4: Group Policy Editor (Pro, Enterprise, Education)

For those managing corporate environments:

A. Open Group Policy Editor

  1. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and hit Enter.

B. Navigate to Notifications Settings

Go to:

User Configuration
  → Administrative Templates
    → Start Menu and Taskbar

C. Disable Focus Assist During Presentation

  1. Locate:

Turn off toast notifications on the lock screen

  • Set to Disabled so notifications still show.

  1. Alternatively, check:

Turn off quiet hours during presentations

  • Set to Enabled to prevent quiet hours (Focus Assist) during presentations.

D. Apply and Force Update

  1. In Command Prompt (admin):

gpupdate /force

This pushes the policy to take effect immediately.

8️⃣ Step 5: Test Your Setup 🚀

1️⃣ Start a Teams meeting.
2️⃣ Share your screen.
3️⃣ Send a test message to yourself from another device (or ask a friend to message you).
4️⃣ Watch for notifications—they should appear despite screen sharing.

This confirms your settings work as intended!

9️⃣ Optional: For IT Admins—Deploy via Intune or Scripts

Managing multiple devices? Use Microsoft Endpoint Manager (Intune) or scripts:

  • PowerShell:

    Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings" -Name "FullscreenAutoFocusAssist" -Value 0

  • Intune:
    Deploy a custom configuration profile to disable Focus Assist during presentations.

This ensures consistency across your environment.

🔟 Best Practices for Notification Hygiene During Screen Sharing

Even after disabling Do Not Disturb, be mindful of privacy:

✅ Close personal chats before presenting.
✅ Mute non-critical chats in Teams manually.
✅ Use Teams status messages like “I’m sharing my screen, reply after” to manage expectations.
✅ Leverage Presenter View in PowerPoint to hide notes from the audience.

💡 Troubleshooting Common Issues

A. Notifications Still Hidden?

  • Check Windows build—some older builds might not fully respect the registry keys.

  • Check third-party apps—some tools (like Slack or Discord) may override Focus Assist.

  • Check if Teams has a pending update—relaunch Teams after updates.

B. Audio/Visual Alerts Missing?

  • In Teams: Settings → Devices—ensure your audio output device is selected.

  • In Windows: Settings → System → Sound—set Output to your preferred speakers.

C. Power Saving Interruptions?

On laptops, aggressive power saving can disable notifications. Adjust:

  • Power & Sleep:

    • Sleep → Never (while plugged in).

    • Screen → Never (while plugged in).

🎉 Conclusion

Now you’re in control—no more surprises when you’re sharing your screen in Teams! 🎥🔔

By disabling automatic Do Not Disturb triggers and managing priority notifications, you can:

  • Stay informed—no missed urgent pings

  • Stay professional—avoid embarrassing “silent treatment” alerts

  • Stay focused—control what breaks through the noise

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