Annotate

Annotate

A lightweight, keyboard-driven screen annotation tool for macOS that allows you to quickly draw, highlight, and annotate anything on your screen.

Why?

Sometimes you need to emphasize a part of your screen or share ideas visually, and Annotate fills that gap with a simple, efficient interface. It enables real-time screen annotations using tools like pen, arrow, highlighter, rectangle, circle, counter, and text—perfect for highlighting and explaining concepts during presentations, live demos, or teaching sessions where visual annotations enhance understanding and clarity.

Features

• Drawing Tools:
• Pen tool for freehand drawing.
• Arrow tool for directional indicators.
• Line tool for straight lines.
• Highlighter for emphasizing content.
• Rectangle shapes for boxing content.
• ⭕ Circle shapes for highlighting areas.
• Redact rectangles that hide confidential content with a solid, pixelated, or blurred fill. Use Solid for passwords and other secrets.
• Counter tool for adding sequential numbered circles.
• Text annotations with drag & edit support, live resizing, and an optional background pill.
• Select tool for moving and managing objects.
• Eraser tool for removing annotations.
• Fade/Persist Mode: Control whether annotations fade out after a duration or persist on the screen.
• Always-On Mode: Display annotations persistently without user interaction.
• Quick Color Picker: Press C to open a glass swatch picker right on the overlay. Your choice persists across sessions.
• ↕ Quick Size Picker: Press W for an in-overlay size ladder that adapts to the active tool, or step it with [ and ].
• ⬛ Board: Toggle whiteboard or blackboard based on system appearance.
• Cursor Highlight: Visual spotlight that follows your cursor for better visibility during presentations.
• Active Cursor Indicator: Custom cursor styles to visually indicate when Annotate is active.
• Floating Toolbar: Live overlay bar for tools, color, width, and quick actions, toggled with Option + Command + T. Drag it anywhere on screen; its position is remembered per display.