How to Draw on Your Screen During Presentations
Learn how to draw on top of any app during presentations, screen recordings, and video calls using Squiggle's screen overlay.
Ever wanted to circle something on your screen during a presentation? Point at a specific line of code during a screen share? Highlight a chart in a video call?
Squiggle’s screen overlay mode lets you draw on top of any application — live, in real-time.
How it works
- Press Ctrl + Shift + D (or click the overlay button in the dashboard)
- A transparent canvas appears over your entire screen
- Draw with pen, shapes, arrows, or text — on top of whatever is on screen
- Press Escape to close the overlay
Everything underneath stays fully visible while you annotate on top.
What you can do in overlay mode
Draw arrows and circles
Point at specific elements on screen. Circle a button, underline text, draw an arrow to a menu item.
Add text labels
Type quick labels or explanations next to UI elements. Great for walkthroughs.
Highlight with spotlight
Press F for spotlight mode — dims the entire screen except a circle around your cursor. Adjustable size. Perfect for focusing attention during demos.
Freeze the screen
Click the freeze button to capture a screenshot as the overlay background. Now you can annotate a frozen moment without the app changing underneath.
Blur sensitive info
Need to show a dashboard but hide personal data? Use the blur tool to pixelate names, emails, or numbers — live on screen.
Place step markers
Click to add numbered circles (1, 2, 3…) showing the order of steps in a process.
Use cases
Teaching and tutoring
Draw on top of slides, textbooks, or educational apps during online lessons. Circle answers, underline key terms, draw diagrams on the fly.
Software demos
Show a product and annotate the UI in real-time. Point out features, draw attention to buttons, add labels.
Code reviews
Draw on top of your IDE during pair programming or screen-share code reviews. Circle bugs, draw arrows between related code, highlight important sections.
Screen recordings
Record your screen with the overlay active for annotated tutorials. The annotations appear in the recording.
Video calls
Open the overlay during a Zoom/Teams/Meet call while sharing your screen. Draw on whatever you’re showing.
Why not just use Zoom’s annotation?
Zoom, Teams, and Meet have basic annotation features, but they’re limited:
| Feature | Squiggle Overlay | Zoom Annotation |
|---|---|---|
| Draw on any app | Yes | Only during screen share |
| Spotlight | Yes | No |
| Blur/redact | Yes | No |
| Step markers | Yes | No |
| Shapes & text | Yes | Basic |
| Freeze screen | Yes | No |
| Works offline | Yes | No |
| Save annotations | Yes (PNG/clipboard) | No |
Getting started
- Download Squiggle (free)
- The screen overlay is a Pro feature ($5 once)
- Press Ctrl+Shift+D anytime to activate
No subscription. No account. Works offline. Your annotations never leave your computer.