# Google Hangout Cam Switcher

**URL:** <https://forums.bitovi.com/t/google-hangout-cam-switcher/335>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [July 2, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://forums.bitovi.com/t/google-hangout-cam-switcher/335 "2016-07-02T00:04:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![leoj3n](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/forums.bitovi.com/leoj3n/32/174_2.png) [@leoj3n](https://forums.bitovi.com/u/leoj3n)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://forums.bitovi.com/t/google-hangout-cam-switcher/335/1 "2016-07-02T00:04:52Z")

</div>

Switching between webcam and desktop view in Google Hangouts is a real PITA, and it can be distracting from what’s being shown or talked about, so here’s a possible solution (for OS X only).

## Download CamTwist

Download the stable version of the CamTwist application:

[http://camtwiststudio.com/download/](http://camtwiststudio.com/download/)

After following the package installer, `CamTwist.app` will be located at:

`~/Applications/CamTwist/CamTwist.app`

### Settings

It is necessary to tweak some of the CamTwist settings for high quality screen casting.

#### Resolution

First, find out the resolution of your desktop by going to `System Preferences...` and choosing `Displays`. Change the “Resolution:” radio button to `Scaled` and take note of the dimensions.

The default dimensions for an Apple Thunderbolt Display are `2560 x 1440`. If you’re using a Macbook Retina, you must hover over the preview icon to see the resolution number displayed to the left under the image of a laptop; for the “Default” resolution setting, it will say "Looks like `1440 x 900`".

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex035/uploads/donejs/original/1X/99e0ee795f6d0bb6abf63637dd9d2aae99d7b851.png)

These are the numbers we need to use for “Video Size” within CamTwist. So, open `CamTwist.app` and go to `Preferences... > General > Video Size`, then click the select box and choose `Custom`. Two new inputs will appear; enter the numbers retrieved from the previous step.

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex035/uploads/donejs/original/1X/8f9aed8e82ae9a8c3d82ac59729ee73546f144fd.png)

You may also increase or decrease the “Frame rate:”, but the default of `15` should be fine.

**_Restart `CamTwist.app` after changing the “Video Size” setting._**

#### Setups

We need to create the two CamTwist “setups” that we will be switching between.

##### Webcam

To create the “Webcam” setup, open `CamTwist.app` and under the “Step 1:” column double-click `Webcam`.

The “Step 3:” column should now have `Webcam` under “Effects in use”.

Click “Save Setup” under “Step 3:”, and name it `Webcam`.

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex035/uploads/donejs/original/1X/c3447a7edb48ff271fc6d6e05de3eef274f47cba.png)

Make sure the spelling is exactly “`Webcam`”.

##### Desktop

To create the “Desktop” setup, open `CamTwist.app` and under the “Step 1:” column double-click `Desktop+`.

The “Step 3:” column should now have `Desktop+` under “Effects in use”.

In the fourth “Settings” column, check the “Show mouse pointer (simulated)” checkbox.

Click “Save Setup” under “Step 3:”, and name it `Desktop`.

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex035/uploads/donejs/original/1X/c616159c7c63175c52c024c16c4003840eccfbd4.png)

Make sure the spelling is exactly “`Desktop`”.

## Create Services

To be able to control CamTwist using global keyboard shortcuts, we need to create two “Services”.

### Webcam Service

Open `Automator.app` and choose to create a new “Service”.

Near the top of the window, where it says “Service receives selected”, change `text` to `no input`.

In the leftmost sidebar, choose `Utilities`, then double-click `Run AppleScript`.

Replace the “Run AppleScript” step with the following:

```auto
on run {input, parameters}
	
	tell application "CamTwist"
		loadSetup "Webcam"
	end tell
	
	return input
end run

```

Now do `File > Save...`, and when it asks “Save service as:”, enter `CamSwitchWebcam`.

### Desktop Service

Within `Automator.app`, do `File > New` and choose to create a new “Service”.

Near the top of the window where it says “Service receives selected”, change `text` to `no input`.

In the leftmost sidebar, choose `Utilities`, then double-click `Run AppleScript`.

Replace the “Run AppleScript” step with the following:

```auto
on run {input, parameters}
	
	tell application "CamTwist"
		loadSetup "Desktop"
	end tell
	
	return input
end run

```

Now do `File > Save...`, and when it asks “Save service as:”, enter `CamSwitchDesktop`.

#### Service Locations

By design, these “Services” are saved to:

`~/Library/Services/CamSwitchWebcam.workflow`  
`~/Library/Services/CamSwitchDesktop.workflow`

## Global Keyboard Shortcuts

Go to `System Preferences...` and choose `Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts`.

Hit the `+` to add a new shortcut. For “Menu Title:”, enter `CamSwitchWebcam`. You may set the “Keyboard Shortcut:” to anything of your choosing; perhaps `Control-Option-W`. Finally, click “Add”.

Hit the `+` again to add another shortcut. This time, for “Menu Title:”, enter `CamSwitchDesktop`. Set the “Keyboard Shortcut:” to something like `Control-Option-D`.

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex035/uploads/donejs/original/1X/bea2060f29da7050d4105ab8f5a30ef3ef378bf9.png)

## Google Hangout

To use the CamTwist video output in a Hangout, we can try two methods:

1. Change the input source within Hangouts to the virtual device
2. Share the CamTwist “Preview” window (this works better)

### Method #1: Change Input Device

Before joining a Google Hangout, launch `CamTwist.app`. Then, in the Hangouts window, click the gear icon in the top right corner; in the popup that appears, change “Video” to `CamTwist`.

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex035/uploads/donejs/original/1X/61d6db075922079a32261364b23a236702b384f2.png)

You may ignore the second `CamTwist (2VUY)` option.

#### Limitations

In addition to being a bit laggy, this first method does not scale proportionally to the size of other viewer’s Hangouts windows, and so is inferior to the next method.

### Method #2: Share the Preview Window

In the CamTwist menubar, select `View > Preview`. This will open a large preview window.

Within the Hangout, click the three cascading dots and choose “Share screen”.

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex035/uploads/donejs/original/1X/cb0ae51f0afc78d07e7d22c9e3d28a56d376bccd.png)

In the window that pops up, select `Preview` and then `Share`.

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-canada1.s3.dualstack.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/flex035/uploads/donejs/original/1X/ed3aa351c053158b9083b8e78564d98e7e32c97a.png)

#### Side Effects

The only real side effect of this method is that the “Preview” window must always be open in the background (the window cannot be minimized or hidden, but it may be dragged off-screen) and the chrome at the top of the window is visible within the broadcast (because the entire “Preview” window itself is being shared).

These are fair tradeoffs for less lag on the stream, and proportional scaling for viewers, making this method the clear winner.

Using this method it may make sense to increase the “Frame rate:” to something closer to `30` in the CamTwist settings because the CamTwist stream is now only local to its own preview window. I’m not sure if this actually makes a difference however.

## Wrapping Up

Now, while in a Google Hangout, you should be able to easily switch between Desktop and Webcam modes, simply by hitting the hotkeys you set earlier (`Control-Option-W` and `Control-Option-D`).

### Note About Hotkeys

I’ve found the `Control-Option` shortcuts originally recommended actually don’t fire within certain applications, so you may find that you need to change the shortcuts in `System Preferences... > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts` to something else that works better for you.

### Troubleshooting

CamTwist may open with no visible windows; to show the main window, click the dock icon and then in the menubar choose `View > Main Window`.

If CamTwist is having trouble opening, it may be because a previous version was installed. In this case, just blow away (delete) the `.plist` settings file, located at:

`~/Library/Preferences/com.allocinit.CamTwist.plist`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![leoj3n](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/forums.bitovi.com/leoj3n/32/174_2.png) [@leoj3n](https://forums.bitovi.com/u/leoj3n)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:26am UTC](https://forums.bitovi.com/t/google-hangout-cam-switcher/335/2 "2016-07-02T03:26:21Z")

</div>

Other useful applications for screen sharing and presenting:

- [http://www.controlplaneapp.com/](http://www.controlplaneapp.com/)
- [http://willmore.eu/software/isolator/](http://willmore.eu/software/isolator/)
- [https://github.com/keycastr/keycastr](https://github.com/keycastr/keycastr)
- [https://www.boinx.com/mousepose/overview/](https://www.boinx.com/mousepose/overview/)
- [http://anatoo.jp/mapture/](http://anatoo.jp/mapture/)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![leoj3n](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/forums.bitovi.com/leoj3n/32/174_2.png) [@leoj3n](https://forums.bitovi.com/u/leoj3n)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 7:25am UTC](https://forums.bitovi.com/t/google-hangout-cam-switcher/335/3 "2016-10-08T07:25:48Z")

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Update from CamTwist developer: [http://camtwiststudio.com/ctforums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1354#p5857](http://camtwiststudio.com/ctforums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1354#p5857)