> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ahaslides.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sharing Your Presentation for Participants to Join

> Share your presentation code with participants via a unique URL or QR code so they can join and start responding to your questions.

To get your participants to start submitting responses to your slides, you need to share the presentation with them. There are two ways to do that:

1. A unique **URL** (AKA 'access link' or 'access code') that participants type into their phones.
2. A unique **QR code** that participants can scan with their phone cameras.

Below is an interactive demo, which will help you experience this function:

<Frame>
  <iframe src="https://ahaslides.navattic.com/l6r011n" title="Interactive demo: sharing your presentation for participants to join" className="w-full aspect-video rounded-xl" allowFullScreen />
</Frame>

## Do participants need an AhaSlides account to join?

No. Participants **do not need an AhaSlides account and don't have to sign up or log in** to join your presentation. They simply open the join URL or scan the QR code on their phone, enter their name if you ask for it, and they're in.

The only exception is if you've deliberately turned on audience verification for your presentation — for example, to restrict access to specific people. In that case, participants are asked to verify before joining. See [Participant verification](/features-and-functions/participant-verification) and [Using audience authentication](/presenting/using-audience-authentication) for how that works.

## Sharing the URL/join link or access code

This URL and access code can be found on the joining instruction bar at the top of every slide in your presentation. You can view it on the slide canvas in the presentation editor, and it will also be visible during your presentation.

The access code is the string after ahaslides.com/ in the URL.

### Auto-hide controls on the presenter's screen

You can have the joining instruction bar and the presenter controls hide themselves automatically when your mouse is idle. Enable this by checking **"Auto-hide controls on the presenter's screen"** in **Settings > Other settings**.

Once enabled, the join link/instruction bar at the top and the control bar at the bottom will fade out when your mouse is inactive. Move your mouse to bring them back.

Your participants can also type the join URL into their phone's browser. Once the page has loaded on their phone, they will have joined your presentation.

If the participants have the access code, they can go here to enter the code and join your presentation: [audience.ahaslides.com](https://audience.ahaslides.com/)

<Note>
  When presenting, you can **click the URL access link to copy it** to your clipboard. Then, you can paste it somewhere for your participants.
</Note>

You can also find your URL access code by clicking on **Share** in the top-right of the editor. In the **Invite Audience** tab, you will find a link under **Audience can join at**. You can click the **Copy** button here to copy the code to your clipboard.

### Changing your URL access code

<Note>
  This feature is available to **Pro plan** users.
</Note>

You can also **customise your URL code**. Simply click the code within the box to change it.

A customised access code must:

* Be unique (it must not be the same as any other AhaSlides presentation's code)
* Be under 10 characters
* Contain only letters and numbers

Once you've updated your code and it's been accepted, click the **'Save'** button.

### Your permanent access code

In the Share tab of the presentation editor, you can also **copy your permanent access code**. This long URL code will also provide your participants access to your presentation, but this link cannot be changed. No matter how many times you change your short access code, your long URL code will remain the same.

To get the link, click the **three-dot** icon next to the **Copy** button, which will reveal the **Copy permanent link**.

## Sharing the QR code

<Note>
  Each presentation will have **only one unique QR code**. This QR code **does not change**, even if you change the URL access code.
</Note>

There are two ways to share the unique QR code of your presentation with your participants.

### Presentation side column

When presenting, click anywhere in the top bar (or press **'Q'** on your keyboard) to reveal a separate column on the left containing your QR code. This column will stay here while you present your slides (until you manually close it), allowing participants to scan the code with their phone cameras at any time during your session.

### QR code slide

You can create a slide in your presentation that reveals the QR code to your audience when you arrive at that slide.

Click the add-slide icon, then select **'QR Code'**. You can drag this slide to the start or near the start of your presentation so that your participants can join it immediately.

<Note>
  In the **'Invite Audience'** section of the **'Share'** menu, you can see the option to **download** the QR code. Clicking this will download a PNG image file of your QR code, so that you can share it another way, such as printing it out or emailing it.
</Note>


## Related topics

- [Sharing a Copy of your Presentation with Other AhaSlides Users](/after-the-presentation/sharing-a-copy-of-your-presentation-with-other-ahaslides-users.md)
- [Screen Sharing AhaSlides with Zoom](/presenting/screen-sharing-ahaslides-with-zoom.md)
- [How to Create and Run Surveys on AhaSlides](/using-slide-types/using-the-surveys-tool.md)
- [AhaSlides for Microsoft Teams](/integrations/kb-teams-add-in.md)
- [Using the AhaSlides App on Zoom](/integrations/using-the-ahaslides-app-on-zoom.md)