How to manage video layouts, pin speakers, and use Follow Me in Jitsi Meet

Scope and client verification

This guide explains how participants control their video layout, how to pin specific presenters to the screen, why layouts switch automatically during screensharing, and how moderators synchronize views across the room with Everyone follows me. It was verified against immutable Jitsi Meet 11248 client source code on 31 October 2026. [S1][S2][S3]

This is an evergreen workflow guide, not a newly introduced feature announcement. Native mobile apps, embedded IFrame deployments, and custom themes may place layout controls in different submenus. No live multi-user video meeting, physical audio stream, or production server was tested. [S1]

Understanding Jitsi Meet’s two primary layouts

Jitsi Meet provides two primary viewing layouts for desktop and mobile web conferences:

1. Tile View (Grid Mode): Displays all meeting participants in an equal-sized responsive grid. The client automatically calculates the optimal number of columns (between 1 and 7) based on your browser window dimensions and aspect ratio. Tile View is ideal for open team check-ins, workshops, and round-table discussions where everyone participates equally. [S1][S2]
2. Stage View (Speaker Focus): Displays a single large video area (the “stage”) in the center of the screen, while other participants appear in a vertical or horizontal filmstrip of smaller thumbnails. By default, Stage View automatically switches the large center video to show whoever is actively speaking, based on the server’s dominant speaker detector. [S1][S3]

Automatic layout rules

The client evaluates several built-in rules when deciding whether to display Tile View:

• 1-on-1 calls: When a meeting has fewer than 3 participants, Jitsi automatically defaults to Stage View, keeping the other participant large on your screen. [S1]
• Shared documents: Opening a collaborative document (Etherpad) automatically minimizes the video grid to preserve room for text editing. [S1]
• Shared video: Playing a shared video file or YouTube clip forces Stage View so participants see the media stream clearly. [S1]
• Participant pinning: Pinning any attendee immediately exits Tile View and brings the pinned participant to the stage. [S1]

How to switch between Tile View and Stage View

Attendees can toggle between layouts at any point during a meeting:

• Desktop toolbar button: Click the Tile View icon (represented by four small squares) on the center bottom toolbar. Clicking the button toggles between the grid and stage layouts. [S1]
• Keyboard shortcut: On desktop web browsers, press the W key. Pressing W toggles between Tile View and Stage View immediately without moving your mouse. [S1]
• Mobile web and apps: Tap the screen to reveal the in-call controls, open the three-dot overflow menu, and select Enter tile view or Exit tile view. [S1]

If pressing W does not switch layouts, ensure your keyboard focus is not inside the chat input box or a settings modal. Click anywhere on the meeting video background to return focus to the main window. See keyboard controls troubleshooting. [S1]

Pinning a speaker to the stage

In large meetings with background noise or multiple speakers, the dominant speaker detector may bounce between different participants. Pinning locks a specific person onto your main stage:

1. How to pin: Hover over the participant’s video tile or filmstrip thumbnail, click the three-dot menu icon (...), and select Pin to stage. On desktop browsers, you can also click or double-click directly on the participant’s video tile. [S1][S4]
2. Visual indicator: A pushpin icon appears on the pinned participant’s thumbnail, confirming that their video is locked to your stage. [S1]
3. Local effect only: Pinning a participant affects only your local screen. It does not pin that participant for other attendees or change what anyone else sees. Each attendee can pin whoever they prefer. [S1][S4]
4. How to unpin: Hover over the pinned participant’s thumbnail, click the three-dot menu, and choose Unpin, or click the active video thumbnail again. Once unpinned, Jitsi returns to tracking the dominant speaker automatically. [S1]

Why layouts switch automatically during screensharing

A common source of confusion is why Jitsi exits Tile View when someone shares a screen:

1. Auto-pin behavior: By default, Jitsi Meet uses the configuration interfaceConfig.AUTO_PIN_LATEST_SCREEN_SHARE = 'remote-only'. When an attendee begins sharing a screen, the client treats the presentation as the primary visual focus and automatically pins the screen share stream to the stage. [S1]
2. Preserving prior pins: While the screen share is active, Jitsi remembers your previously pinned participant in memory. When the presenter stops sharing their screen, Jitsi unpins the desktop stream and restores your previous speaker pin or switches back to Tile View. [S1]
3. Overriding auto-pin: If you prefer to view participant faces while someone is presenting, press W or click the Tile View icon. Jitsi will switch back to grid mode, displaying the screen share as one of the grid tiles alongside attendee cameras. [S1]

“Everyone follows me” (Moderator Layout Synchronization)

In webinars, structured lectures, and formal proceedings, hosts frequently need all attendees to see the same presenter or slide deck. Jitsi provides a dedicated moderator feature called “Everyone follows me” (Follow Me):

How to enable Follow Me

1. You must hold moderator privileges in the meeting. Regular attendees cannot activate this setting. See moderator password and login rules. [S2][S3]
2. Click the Settings gear icon on the meeting toolbar. [S3]
3. Select the More tab in the settings dialog. [S3]
4. Check the box labeled Everyone follows me, then click OK. [S2][S3]

What gets synchronized across the room

When Follow Me is active, your client broadcasts its user interface state to all attendees in the conference room using private XMPP/Colibri data commands:

• Layout view mode: When the moderator switches between Tile View and Stage View, all attendee screens switch layouts simultaneously. [S2]
• Pinned presenter: When the moderator pins a participant to the stage, that participant is pinned on every attendee screen. [S2]
• Filmstrip visibility: If the moderator hides or reveals the filmstrip thumbnails, attendee filmstrips adjust accordingly. [S2]
• Shared documents: Toggling the shared document editor (Etherpad) opens or closes the editor for all attendees. [S2]
• Recording sync: The moderator view state can also be synchronized directly to Jibri recording instances (followMeRecorderEnabled), ensuring that recorded archives capture exactly what the presenter intended. [S2][S3]

Permission and override rules

• Non-moderator commands are rejected: Jitsi Meet clients verify the role of whoever sends a Follow Me command. If a non-moderator client attempts to broadcast layout changes, remote clients log a warning and discard the command. [S2]
• Attendee overrides: An attendee can temporarily click a different tile or toggle their view locally. However, as soon as the moderator performs another layout action (such as pinning a different presenter or toggling view mode), the moderator’s action reasserts control on all attendee screens. [S2]
• Session scope: In client builds up to Meet 11248, “Everyone follows me” is stored in active session state. If the moderator reloads their browser tab, they will need to re-enable the option in the Settings dialog. [S2]

Common questions and troubleshooting

Administrator and developer controls

Private server operators and developers embedding Jitsi Meet can customize layout defaults and control stage behavior programmatically:

Server configuration options (config.js)

In /etc/jitsi/meet/<domain>-config.js or Docker custom-config.js:

var config = {
    // Disable tile view entirely across the deployment
    disableTileView: false,

    // Disable responsive tile resizing based on window dimensions
    disableResponsiveTiles: false,

    // Prevent participant tiles from enlarging when fewer attendees are present
    disableTileEnlargement: false,

    // Configure maximum number of columns in tile view (up to 7)
    tileView: {
        numberOfVisibleTiles: 25
    }
};

In interface_config.js:

var interfaceConfig = {
    // Maximum columns to render in tile view (1 to 7)
    TILE_VIEW_MAX_COLUMNS: 5,

    // Automatic pinning behavior for screen shares: 'remote-only', true, or false
    AUTO_PIN_LATEST_SCREEN_SHARE: 'remote-only'
};

IFrame API layout controls

Applications integrating Jitsi via the IFrame API can trigger layout changes and track view updates programmatically:

// Toggle between Tile View and Stage View
api.executeCommand('toggleTileView');

// Set Tile View explicitly (true = grid, false = stage)
api.executeCommand('setTileView', true);

// Pin a specific participant to the stage by participant ID
api.executeCommand('pinParticipant', 'participant-id-123');

// Listen for layout changes across the meeting
api.addListener('tileViewChanged', (event) => {
    console.log('Tile view active:', event.enabled);
});

See the IFrame API embedding guide for initialization options and custom container layouts. [S6]

Layout planning checklist

Before hosting an important webinar, presentation, or classroom session:

1. Verify your shortcut: Press W on desktop to confirm you can switch quickly between speaker focus and grid view.
2. Decide on host control: If attendees need to see exactly what you spotlight, sign in as moderator and enable Everyone follows me under Settings > More.
3. Practice pinning: Practice pinning and unpinning speakers from the video tile context menu before attendees join.
4. Prepare for screensharing: Remember that starting a screen share switches attendees to Stage View automatically. If you want attendees in grid view during slides, remind them to press W.
5. Check multi-monitor needs: For dedicated dual-display setups where one screen shows slides and another shows participant tiles, consult the second screen setup guide.

Primary sources

• [S1] Jitsi Meet 11248 source: video-layout functions (shouldDisplayTileView, updateAutoPinnedParticipant, getAutoPinSetting, and getCurrentLayout), actions (setTileView, toggleTileView), and web layout functions (getMaxColumnCount).
• [S2] Jitsi Meet 11248 source: follow-me middleware (_onFollowMeCommand, moderator validation, and remote state synchronization) and follow-me subscriber (_getFollowMeState and _sendFollowMeCommand).
• [S3] Jitsi Meet 11248 source: MoreTab settings component (“Everyone follows me” toggle) and moderator status selectors.
• [S4] Jitsi Meet 11248 source: base participants actions (pinParticipant) and large-video functions.
• [S5] Jitsi Meet configuration reference: config.js documentation (disableTileView, tileView).
• [S6] Jitsi Meet IFrame API documentation, reviewed 31 October 2026.