Does HoverScribble work over Zoom and Google Meet?

Yes. HoverScribble draws a transparent overlay on top of any application on your screen, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex. Your annotations show up to anyone you share your screen with.

Can I annotate PowerPoint or PDFs during a lesson?

Yes. HoverScribble works on top of any Windows application, so you can mark up PowerPoint, Google Slides, PDFs, web pages, video players, or anything else on your screen without switching apps.

Does it work with my Wacom tablet or Surface pen?

Yes. HoverScribble has full stylus pressure sensitivity built in for any Windows Ink-compatible tablet, including Wacom, XP-Pen, Huion, Surface Pro, and similar devices.

Can students see my annotations during a screen-share?

Yes. Because HoverScribble draws on top of your screen, anything you draw is visible to students through normal screen sharing in Zoom, Meet, Teams, or any other tool.

Is there a discount for educators?

HoverScribble is already a one-time $18 payment with lifetime updates and a 7-day free trial. If your school or district needs bulk licensing, email hoverscribble@gmail.com and we'll work something out.

Guide, updated 2026

How to draw on your screen in Windows 11 & 10.

Windows ships with several free ways to draw on your screen, and for some jobs they are all you need. This guide walks through each one, what it cannot do, and when a dedicated overlay tool earns its place.

Start with the free options Try a live overlay free

Everything below works on Windows 10 and 11.

The free, built-in ways first

Honest starting point: if one of these covers your use case, you do not need to install anything.

Snipping Tool (annotate a screenshot)

Press Win + Shift + S, take a capture, then use the pen and highlighter on the result. Great for marking up a static image to send someone. The limit: you are drawing on a screenshot, not on your live screen.

Microsoft Whiteboard (a separate canvas)

Free from the Microsoft Store. A solid infinite whiteboard for sketching from scratch. The limit: it is its own app with its own canvas. You cannot draw over your slides, browser, or a video call with it.

PowerPoint's presenter pen (slides only)

In a running slideshow, press Ctrl + P and draw directly on the slide. If everything you present lives in PowerPoint, this is genuinely enough. The limit: it only exists inside a full-screen slideshow.

ZoomIt (free Microsoft tool for zoom + quick lines)

Microsoft's free Sysinternals utility. Zoom into the screen and draw lines or rectangles while zoomed. The limits: drawing freezes your screen (the content underneath stops moving), and there is no toolbar, eraser, or color picker workflow. See our honest ZoomIt comparison.

When you need to draw over a LIVE screen

All four built-ins share one gap: none of them draws on top of moving, live apps, a playing video, a scrolling page, or an ongoing Zoom call. That is the job of a screen-overlay tool. HoverScribble is ours; here is the whole flow.

Install and press Ctrl + Shift + P

The toolbar appears over whatever is on screen. Your apps keep running underneath, videos keep playing, pages keep scrolling.

Draw with pen, shapes, or highlighter

20+ tools, 15+ shapes, any color. Stylus pressure works on Surface, Wacom, XP-Pen, and Huion devices.

Use fading ink on calls

Strokes vanish on their own after a few seconds, so you can emphasize without cleaning up. Anyone on your screen share sees it live.

Flip to whiteboard when you need a blank page

One click turns the screen into a whiteboard or blackboard, then back. Spotlight and laser pointer are there for presentations.

Which one should you use?

The honest decision table.

Marking up a screenshot to send

Use Snipping Tool. Free, built in, done. No download needed.

Sketching ideas from scratch

Use Microsoft Whiteboard. A dedicated canvas beats an overlay for pure brainstorming.

Occasional zoom + a quick line

Use ZoomIt. Free, tiny, made by Microsoft. Fine if you can live with drawing on a frozen screen.

Drawing over live apps, calls, and videos

This is overlay-tool territory: HoverScribble ($18 once), Epic Pen (freemium with a paid Pro tier), or gInk (free, open source, fewer tools). We compare honestly: vs Epic Pen, vs ZoomIt.

If you go the overlay route

HoverScribble is a one-time purchase, not a subscription.

$18

one-time, lifetime updates

7-day free trial, all features 20+ tools unlocked No subscription Works on Windows 10 & 11

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Common questions

How do I draw on my screen in Windows 11 without downloading anything?

Use what is built in: Snipping Tool (Win + Shift + S) to annotate screenshots, PowerPoint's Ctrl + P pen inside a slideshow, or Microsoft Whiteboard for a blank canvas. None of them draws over live apps, but for static content they cost nothing and are already installed.

Does Windows 11 have a built-in screen drawing tool for live apps?

Not for live drawing over running applications. The built-in options either capture a screenshot first (Snipping Tool), work inside one app only (PowerPoint), or use their own canvas (Whiteboard). Drawing over live apps needs an overlay tool such as HoverScribble, Epic Pen, or gInk.

How do I draw over a YouTube video or a Zoom call?

You need an overlay tool, because the built-ins cannot target live, moving content. An overlay app draws on a transparent layer above the screen, so the video keeps playing underneath and everyone in a screen share sees your annotations.

Can I draw on screen with a stylus or pen tablet?

Yes. Windows Ink handles stylus input system-wide, and overlay tools like HoverScribble add pressure sensitivity, so Surface Pen, Wacom, XP-Pen, and Huion devices draw with natural line weight anywhere on the screen.

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$18 one-time after trial.