Laser, Pen, Arrow, Eraser: free forever

Screen annotation tool for Windows that draws over live apps

Point, draw and circle on anything on your screen while it keeps running. Laser, Pen, Arrow and Eraser are free forever on Windows 10 and 11, one hotkey away over every app, and Zoom, Teams and OBS capture every stroke when you share or record the entire screen.

Download free fromView onMicrosoft Store

Free forever tier14-day Pro trialNo account100% offline

9 toolsLaser, Pen, Highlighter, Arrow, shapes, Text, Whiteboard, Eraser, Screenshot

No freezeDraws over live apps

32 levelsUndo with Ctrl+Z

Esc, EscIdle, then erase

Ctrl+SpaceEvery tool at the cursor, or docked

$06 tools free forever

How do you draw on screen in Windows 11 while presenting?

Windows 11 has no built-in pen that draws over running apps: Snipping Tool marks up a captured screenshot, and PowerPoint’s pen works only inside a slide show. Install SHARA, hold Ctrl+Win+X (or open the Ctrl+Space Wheel, or use the docked toolbar) and draw over any app while it keeps running. Share your entire screen and your audience sees every stroke.

How it works

Open, draw, fix, get out

Open the Wheel at your cursor. Hold Ctrl+Space and flick toward Draw, Shape, Erase or Screen, then release. A quick tap pins the Wheel open instead. Prefer something always in sight? The docked toolbar at a screen edge holds the same tools.
Or go straight to a tool. Hold Ctrl+Win+X to draw with your equipped tool, Ctrl+Win+W for shapes, Ctrl+Win+Y to erase. Hold is the default; each can be set to toggle.
Adjust without a settings window. On the Wheel, arrow keys or the mouse wheel change pen thickness or shape type; Shift or Alt + wheel for fine steps.
Fix it or leave. Ctrl+Z undoes your last stroke, and pressing Esc exits annotation instantly. A right-click also exits drawing.

ESC

On the Ctrl+Space workflow

“SHARA has earned a permanent place in my training toolkit. The exceptionally smooth and clear writing, even at very small sizes, and the brilliant Ctrl+Space workflow that puts every tool right where my mouse is make live annotation remarkably effortless, letting me focus on teaching rather than managing the tool.”

RJRajnish Kumar Jha
Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)

The palette

Nine tools, six of them free

Dashed tiles are SHARA Pro. Every install starts with a 14-day Pro trial, so you can try them all.

LaserFREE

A bright pointer with a fading trail. People follow your path; nothing is left to clean up.

Ctrl+Win+X with Laser equipped

PenFREE

Freehand ink that stays readable at small sizes. Hold Shift to snap a straight line in 45° steps.

Ctrl+Win+X with Pen equipped

HighlighterPRO

Translucent highlighter. Mark a whole row or paragraph and the text underneath stays readable.

Ctrl+Win+X with Highlighter equipped

ArrowFREE

Drag from where you are to where you mean. The fastest way to say “this one”.

Ctrl+Win+W, shapes mode

Line, Rectangle, CirclePRO

Clean boxes around a panel, circles around a value, straight lines for a quick diagram.

Ctrl+Win+W, shapes mode

EraserFREE

Remove one stroke and keep the rest. Ctrl+Win+B clears everything at once.

Ctrl+Win+Y

TextFREE

Type a label right on the screen, with an optional backing so it reads over busy content. Pin a number, name a step.

Ctrl+Win+I, or Screen on the Wheel

WhiteboardPRO

A white, black or grid board over your desktop when you need a blank page. Same pen, shapes and Text on top.

Ctrl+Win+K, or Screen on the Wheel

ScreenshotFREE

Capture the screen with your ink on it, saved to Pictures or copied to the clipboard, ready to paste into the chat.

Toolbar, or Screen on the Wheel

Not includedNo stylus pen-pressure support. SHARA draws with the mouse, touchpad or a pen, over what is already on screen.

The Esc lifecycle

Two presses of Esc, three states

Most tools make you choose between keeping your ink and using your computer. SHARA doesn’t.

1 · Drawing

Your clicks draw

Hold Ctrl+Win+X or pick a tool on the Wheel or toolbar. Ink lands over the running app.

2 · Idle

Ink stays, you work

Clicks and typing go back to your apps. Scroll, run the demo, answer a question; your marks stay put.

3 · Erased

Clean screen

The second Esc erases all ink and shapes. Ready for the next point.

Nothing freezes. SHARA draws on a transparent layer above your apps, not on a screenshot, so videos play, dashboards refresh and code keeps running under your ink. Teachers use it to annotate a live lesson on a projector or a call, and presenters to mark up a shared dashboard in Zoom or Teams.

Settings you can change

Make the ink yours

COLOUR

One colour free, sets in Pro

Free draws in one saved colour per tool. Pro adds colour sets (Whiteboard, Blackboard, custom) with Alt+1 to Alt+4, even mid-stroke, and Ctrl+Win+R to cycle sets.

THICKNESS

Pen size on the Wheel

Change stroke thickness from the Wheel with the arrow keys or mouse wheel, while you present.

TRIGGER

Hold or toggle

Draw, shapes and eraser hotkeys work on hold by default. Switch any of them to toggle and draw with a left-click drag.

HOTKEYS

Rebind anything

Every global hotkey is configurable. Defaults are on the keyboard shortcuts page.

Free vs Pro

Free covers pointing and drawing. Pro adds the extras.

For annotation	SHARA Free	SHARA Pro
Laser, Pen, Arrow, Eraser, Text labels, Screenshots	✓Forever	✓Included
Docked toolbar, SHARA Wheel, undo (32 levels), Clear All	✓Forever	✓Included
Highlighter (translucent)	14-day trial	✓Included
Line, Rectangle, Circle	14-day trial	✓Included
Whiteboard (white, black or grid)	14-day trial	✓Included
Ink colours	One saved colour per tool	✓Colour sets, Alt+1 to Alt+4
Price	$0, no expiry	$19.99 once, no subscription

Free forever tier. SHARA Pro is a $19.99 one-time lifetime license with a 14-day money-back guarantee, usable across your personal Windows devices via the Microsoft Store.

Install free and draw on your next call. Highlighter, shapes and Whiteboard are unlocked for your first 14 days.

Download free fromView onMicrosoft Store Or get Pro, $19.99 once

Works with

Your ink shows up in the meeting and the recording

Zoom and Microsoft Teams: share your entire screen. A single-window share doesn’t capture SHARA’s ink.
Google Meet: present your entire screen.
OBS Studio: a Display Capture source records every stroke.
Camtasia Recorder: captures all overlays, full screen or region.
Presenter Mode: hides the Ctrl+Space Wheel from recordings, so viewers see the ink appear but never the menu.

Overlays render on a system layer captured natively by Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and OBS. Presenter Mode hides the Ctrl+Space Wheel from recordings. In Zoom or Teams, share your entire screen: a single-window share doesn’t capture SHARA’s overlay. SHARA is DPI-calibrated, so ink stays aligned on 4K and on multi-monitor setups with mixed scaling.

Used by

Where people draw with SHARA

Lessons on a projector or a call

Circle the answer, arrow to the next step, erase with Esc.

Classroom setup Zoom & Teams

Presenting remotely

Mark up slides, dashboards and docs that stay live under the ink.

Meeting setup Technical instructors

Software training

Laser along a toolbar, Pen around the setting that matters.

Instructor setup

FAQ

Screen annotation questions

Does Windows 11 have a built-in way to draw on screen?

Not over live apps. Snipping Tool (Win+Shift+S) lets you mark up a captured screenshot, and PowerPoint has a pen inside a slide show. Zoom and Teams have annotation bars that work only inside that meeting. SHARA draws over every app, in or out of a meeting.

Does my screen freeze while I draw?

No. SHARA draws on a transparent layer above your apps, so everything underneath keeps running. The first Esc puts your ink in idle, so it stays on screen while you use your apps normally. A second Esc erases all ink and shapes.

Will people in Zoom, Teams or Google Meet see my drawing?

Yes, when you share your entire screen. Overlays render on a system layer captured natively by Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and OBS. Presenter Mode hides the Ctrl+Space Wheel from recordings.

Does SHARA support a stylus or pen pressure?

You can draw with a pen as well as a mouse or touchpad, but SHARA has no pen-pressure support, so stroke width never changes with pressure.

Can I type text on screen?

Yes. The Text tool (free) puts a typed label anywhere on screen; press Ctrl+Win+I or pick it from the toolbar or the Screen slice of the Wheel. For a blank page, the Pro Whiteboard gives you a white, black or grid board over your desktop.

Do I need the Wheel, or can I keep a toolbar on screen?

Either. Every tool sits in the docked toolbar at a screen edge and in the Wheel that opens at your pointer while you hold Ctrl+Space. Both hold the same tools, and a hotkey switches between them.

How do I undo or wipe everything?

Ctrl+Z undoes up to 32 steps. Ctrl+Win+B clears all ink, and a Clear All can be undone too.

Screen annotation

Draw on your screen without stopping it

Laser, Pen, Arrow, Text and Eraser over every Windows app, free forever. Highlighter, shapes, Whiteboard and colour sets come with Pro, and you can try them for 14 days.

Laser, Pen, Arrow, Text and Eraser: free Highlighter, shapes, Whiteboard and colour sets: Pro Draws over live apps 100% offline

Download free fromView onMicrosoft Store Get SHARA Pro, $19.99 once →

Free forever tier · 14-day money-back on Pro · No subscription

Disclosure: Mashyo makes SHARA. Windows, Snipping Tool, PowerPoint and Teams are Microsoft products; Zoom, Google Meet, OBS and Camtasia belong to their makers. None are affiliated with SHARA. Last updated: October 16, 2026.