How to Annotate Your Screen During Zoom Calls on Mac
SketchMouse lets you draw, highlight, and spotlight on your Mac screen during any Zoom call — and your annotations are visible to every participant in real time. Unlike Zoom's limited built-in tools, SketchMouse works across your entire screen with professional-grade annotation, magnification, and visual effects. If you run demos, teach classes, or present data over Zoom, this is how you keep remote audiences focused and engaged. The Problem with Zoom's Built-in Annotation Zoom includes basic an
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Zoom participants see my SketchMouse annotations?
Yes. SketchMouse renders its annotations and effects as an overlay on your screen. When you share your screen in Zoom, participants see everything exactly as it appears on your display — including spotlight effects, drawings, magnification, and Spark animations.
Is SketchMouse better than Zoom's annotation tools?
Zoom's built-in annotation is basic and only works during screen sharing. SketchMouse offers a full spotlight with screen dimming, nine drawing tools, a magnifier, visual effects, and AI hand gestures. It also works outside of Zoom — for local presentations, recordings, and other screen-sharing apps.
Do I need to configure anything in Zoom for SketchMouse to work?
No. SketchMouse operates independently of Zoom at the macOS system level. Just share your screen in Zoom as you normally would, and activate SketchMouse tools with their global hotkeys. No Zoom settings or plugins required.
Does SketchMouse work with Google Meet and Teams too?
Yes. SketchMouse works with every video conferencing and screen-sharing application, including Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Slack, Discord, and Loom. It's a system-wide overlay, not a plugin tied to a specific platform.
Can I use SketchMouse for recording tutorials outside of Zoom?
Absolutely. SketchMouse annotations and effects appear in any screen recording — QuickTime, OBS, Loom, or any other capture tool. Many course creators and YouTube tutorial makers use it for this reason.
Download SketchMouse on the Mac App Store