How to draw on your screen in Windows 10 and 11
Last updated 2026-11-03. Competitor details were checked on their official pages on that date.
Windows has a few built-in ways to draw, but each one works in a limited place: on a screenshot, inside PowerPoint, or on a separate whiteboard. If you want to draw live over anything on your screen while you teach, present or record, you need an overlay app. Here is what each option does.
Built-in options
| Option | How | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Snipping Tool | Win+Shift+S, then open the capture and use the pen or highlighter | Draws on a still screenshot, not on your live screen |
| PowerPoint pen | During a slideshow, press Ctrl+P | Works only inside a PowerPoint slideshow |
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Open the Whiteboard app | A separate canvas, not on top of your other apps |
Free tools from Microsoft: ZoomIt
ZoomIt, part of Microsoft Sysinternals, is free and excellent for zooming. Its draw mode (Ctrl+2 by default) lets you sketch on the screen, but while you are drawing you cannot click the apps underneath. It works well for a quick mark, less well for a whole lesson.
Draw live over any app with an overlay
An overlay app places a transparent layer above every window. You draw, switch to click-through to use the app underneath, and switch back without losing your drawing. These steps use TeachPen, whose free Basic version includes the pen, highlighter, eraser, lines and arrows.
- Download TeachPen and run the installer. It installs on Windows 10 (1809 or later, 64-bit) and Windows 11 without administrator rights.
- Press P for the pen, H for the highlighter, L for a straight line and A for an arrow. Hold Shift while drawing to keep a line straight.
- Press Ctrl+T to switch click-through on, so you can click, type and scroll in the app below. Press it again to draw. Ctrl+Alt+T works from any app.
- Press Ctrl+Z to undo, E for the eraser, or Delete to clear everything.
- Press Ctrl+Tab to hide all drawings and the toolbar, and press it again to bring them back.
The overlay covers every monitor, so it works the same in Zoom, Teams, Google Meet (share your entire screen) and in front of a projector.
Going further with Pro
TeachPen Pro adds rectangles and ellipses, text you can edit later, a whiteboard and blackboard, cursor highlight, spotlight, fade ink, ghost mode (hold Space to click through), custom shortcuts and moving drawn objects with Ctrl+drag. It costs $3.99 a month or $24.99 once.
Try TeachPen free
TeachPen Basic is free with no watermark and no time limit: pen, highlighter, eraser, lines, arrows, colors, undo and redo, click-through and PNG save. Pro adds shapes, text, whiteboard and blackboard, cursor highlight, spotlight, fade ink, ghost mode, custom shortcuts and more for $3.99 a month or $24.99 once.
Windows 10 (1809 or later, 64-bit) and macOS 13 or later on Apple Silicon.