If you do live code demos, teach a class, or run remote lessons, you have probably wanted to circle a line of code, underline a formula, or draw an arrow at a button while everyone is watching. Windows 11 does not have one built-in key for that. I tried the usual options first, and each one let me down in a different way. The fifth one is what I use now.
1. Snipping Tool
Win+Shift+S lets you grab a region and mark it up. But you are drawing on a frozen screenshot, not on the live screen, so it is no use in the middle of a demo or a lesson.
2. PowerPoint's pen
Ctrl+P in slideshow mode works well on slides. The moment you Alt+Tab to your editor, browser or a PDF, the pen is gone.
3. Meeting app annotation (Zoom, Teams)
Fine while you are sharing your screen in that meeting. It does not exist for a recorded tutorial, a classroom projector, or a talk on stage.
4. ZoomIt
Free and great for zooming. Its draw mode works on a frozen copy of the screen, so the app underneath stops updating while you draw.
5. What I use now: OS Pen
OS Pen by Snowfairy AI is a screen pen for Windows 10/11 and Android. It puts a transparent drawing layer over everything on your desktop, so you can draw while the app underneath keeps running. It works the same way in a code demo, a classroom, a recorded tutorial and a live remote class.
How it works:
- Download and install it from https://ospen.snowfairy.ai/download
- Open whatever you want to explain: your editor, a browser, slides, a PDF.
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Space to switch drawing on.
- Draw with your mouse, a pen or a touch screen.
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Space again to go back to typing and clicking.
That one shortcut is the whole trick. You never leave the app you are presenting.
What I use it for:
- Code demos: circle the line I am talking about, draw an arrow from a function call to its definition.
- Teaching: underline steps in a PDF, sketch on the whiteboard mode, use the on-screen ruler, protractor and compass for geometry.
- Live remote classes: the drawing is on my own screen, so it shows up in any meeting app I share from, and in recordings too.
- Presentations: spotlight and laser pointer to keep attention on one spot.
The basic Pen is free on Windows. The paid plans add the highlighter, shapes, whiteboard, precision tools, spotlight and laser pointer.
The honest downsides: it is one more thing to install, and the advanced tools are paid.
If you already know Epic Pen, there is a side-by-side comparison here: https://ospen.snowfairy.ai/os-pen-vs-epic-pen
Which one should you pick?
- Only presenting slides: PowerPoint's pen is enough.
- Only teaching inside one meeting app: its built-in annotation will do.
- Need to draw live over code, a browser, a PDF or a whiteboard, in class or on a recording: use a screen pen like OS Pen.
Step-by-step setup for drawing on screen in Windows 11: https://ospen.snowfairy.ai/draw-on-screen-windows-11
What do you use for marking up your screen during demos or classes? I would like to hear what works for you.
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