How to Draw on Screen | Tools for Windows, Mac, and Mobile

Free and paid tools like ZoomIt, Epic Pen, ProMouse, and mobile overlay apps let you annotate your display for presentations, demos, and live teaching.

Learning how to draw on screen doesn’t require expensive hardware or complex software. A transparent annotation overlay lets you sketch, circle, highlight, arrow, or zoom over anything already on your display, and the tools that create it run on every major platform. Below is what each operating system offers, how to set the tools up, and the pitfalls that catch most new users.

What “Drawing on Screen” Actually Means

Screen annotation tools place a transparent layer above all running windows. Anything you draw appears on top of your current content without altering the underlying file or application. These overlays are used in technical presentations, live product demos, remote classroom teaching, video tutorials, and developer walkthroughs. The annotation layer disappears as soon as you clear it, leaving no trace on your desktop or open documents.

Drawing on Screen: Tools for Windows, Mac, and Mobile

Each platform has its own set of reliable annotation tools. The right choice depends on whether you need a full feature set for professional presentations, a lightweight utility for quick sketches, or a mobile solution for on-the-go demonstrations.

Microsoft’s ZoomIt (Windows)

ZoomIt is a free Sysinternals utility from Microsoft designed specifically for screen zooming and annotation during technical presentations and demos. The current version is ZoomIt 9.10, released on April 29, 2025. You download the executable from Microsoft’s ZoomIt page, run it directly with no installation, and it lives in your system tray. No installer is needed — the tool is portable and runs immediately after download.

The default hotkeys let you start annotating in seconds. Ctrl+2 activates the live drawing mode, where you can freehand sketch, draw arrows, circles, and rectangles, and type text. Ctrl+1 triggers the zoom mode, which magnifies a region of the screen while keeping your annotations visible. Ctrl+4 starts a screen recording with the annotation layer included. To clear all drawn marks, press Esc or right-click anywhere on the overlay. ZoomIt works on any version of Windows the Sysinternals suite supports and is the gold standard for Windows-based presenters.

Epic Pen (Windows and Mac)

Epic Pen is a cross-platform annotation app that places a floating toolbar on your screen. You download the installer from the official Epic Pen site, run it for your operating system, and launch the app. The toolbar gives quick access to a pen, highlighter, eraser, and color picker, and you can draw over any application without interrupting your workflow. A common practical tip: before switching to a different window or presentation slide, tap the clear button on the toolbar or use the assigned hotkey to remove all annotations — leftover marks can obscure content underneath.

ProMouse (macOS)

ProMouse is a Mac-native app that provides freehand drawing, arrows, circles, spotlight, zoom, and cursor highlighting on top of any running app. After installing ProMouse, open its Preferences panel to configure hotkeys for each annotation mode. You assign keys for the drawing pen, circle tool, arrow tool, spotlight, zoom level, and the clear-all function. The tool is app-agnostic — annotations appear over any software window, making it useful for teaching, recording, and live demos on macOS. One caveat: if a keyboard shortcut you assign conflicts with a system or application shortcut, the drawing action won’t trigger, so test your chosen keys before a live presentation.

Mobile Screen Drawing Apps

On Android, Draw on screen & Capture provides a floating drawing toolbar that stays above all apps. After installing from Google Play, you grant the overlay and accessibility permissions the app requests, then enable the floating tool. A pen, highlighter, and eraser become available to annotate anything on your phone or tablet screen. On iOS, ScreenBrush works similarly and is available on the App Store. It draws over the entire screen for quick demonstrations. On both platforms, the exact feature set depends on OS permissions and the app version — overlay behavior, screen capture rules, and available tools vary more than on desktop.

What Are the Common Setup Mistakes?

Most setup issues come from three sources: shortcut conflicts, missing permissions, and forgetting to clear the overlay before switching tasks.

• Shortcut conflicts: On both Windows and Mac, the hotkey you assign to your annotation tool may already be claimed by another app, an accessibility feature, or the operating system itself. Open the tool’s preferences and choose a key combination that nothing else uses. ZoomIt’s defaults (Ctrl+2, Ctrl+1) rarely conflict because they are less common, but ProMouse users on macOS should verify each assigned key works before a live session.
• Missing permissions: macOS requires accessibility permissions for overlay tools to work. If ProMouse or Epic Pen does not respond after launch, open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility and verify the app is checked. Mobile apps need overlay permissions granted in the system settings before the floating toolbar appears.
• Visible leftovers: The most common presenter mistake is switching windows or sharing a screen with annotations still drawn. Every tool provides a clear-all action — Esc for ZoomIt, a toolbar button for Epic Pen, and configurable keys for ProMouse. Make clearing the overlay a habit before clicking on a different window.

Which Screen Drawing Tool Should You Pick?

The choice comes down to your platform and how you present. For Windows users delivering technical presentations or developer walkthroughs, ZoomIt is the strongest option — it is free, portable, and pairs zoom with annotation in one lightweight utility. For Windows or Mac users who want a simpler drawing toolbar without the zoom and recording features, Epic Pen offers a straightforward floating interface. Mac users who need multiple annotation modes — arrows, circles, spotlight, zoom — alongside freehand drawing should go with ProMouse. On mobile, the app you choose depends on your store: Draw on screen & Capture for Android and ScreenBrush for iOS both provide the overlay functionality needed for quick on-device demos.

Once the tool is running and your hotkeys are confirmed, test the full workflow — start drawing, switch apps, clear the overlay, and start again — before using it in front of an audience. That dry run catches permission gaps and shortcut conflicts before they interrupt a live presentation.