Show your keystrokes with SHARA
SHARA’s keystroke pill shows the shortcuts you press, the words you type and your mouse clicks in a small bar over any app, so viewers can follow what you do. It is off until you turn it on. This page shows how to start it, place it and what it does in password fields.
What the keystroke pill shows#
The pill is a small bar drawn above your apps. It turns what you do on the keyboard and the mouse into something viewers can read. How the Wheel and toolbar work.
| You do | The pill shows | When |
|---|---|---|
| Shortcuts | A finished shortcut such as Ctrl+C appears as the keys you pressed together. | All keys and Shortcuts only |
| Typing | The words you type appear as you type them. | All keys only. Shortcuts only hides plain typing |
| Command keys | A single command key appears on its own. | All keys and Shortcuts only |
| Mouse clicks | A click appears in the pill. | When Mouse is set to Clicks |
| Scrolling | Scrolling appears next to the clicks. | When Mouse is set to Clicks + scroll |
Turn the pill on#
- Press Ctrl+Win+T.The pill is off until you turn it on. This is the default hotkey for turning keystrokes on and off, and you can rebind it. Press it again to turn the pill off.
- Or use the Keys tool.Open the Wheel with Ctrl+Space and choose “Keys” in the Screen slice, or press “Keys” on the docked toolbar.
- Press a shortcut or type a word.The pill appears with what you pressed, and goes away by itself after 2 seconds. You can set that from 0.5 to 5 seconds (see Place the pill, below).
- Move on with your work.The pill sits above your apps, so the window underneath keeps running.
Free to install. Every tool, the keystroke pill included, is free for 14 days.
Download free fromView onMicrosoft StoreFree forever: cursor halo, click animation, Pen, Laser, Arrow, Text, Eraser, Screenshot and the Ctrl+Space Wheel. Every Pro tool is free for your first 14 days, with no card and no account. After that, Pro is a one-time purchase ($19.99 in the US). See pricing and the 14-day trial →
Show all keys or shortcuts only#
SHARA shows All keys once you turn the pill on. If you do not want viewers reading what you type, switch to Shortcuts. It is the right choice for a coding stream or a training video.
- Open SHARA Settings from the tray icon and select the Tutor tab.The On-screen actions card sits on this tab.
- Click the Keystrokes tile.Each click steps from Off to All keys, then to Shortcuts, then back to Off. A right-click steps the other way. The caption under the tile names the current state.
- Pick Shortcuts to hide what you type.Shortcuts only hides plain typing, so the pill shows shortcuts and command keys but not the words you type. All keys shows everything.
- Choose whether clicks show.On the Mouse tile, Clicks shows mouse clicks, Clicks + scroll adds scrolling, and Off hides both.
Place the pill and set how long it stays#
| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Placement | Follow (beside the pointer), Bottom (bottom centre of the active monitor), Bottom-left or Top (top centre) | Follow |
| Show for | 0.5 to 5 seconds before the pill clears. Set it with the ring on the Keystrokes tile | 2 seconds |
| Size | 0.8× to 1.5×, set with the size ring | 1.2× |
| Hotkey | Any chord, set in the On-screen actions hotkey recorder at the top of the card | Ctrl+Win+T |
- Open the Tutor tab in Settings.The On-screen actions card holds the tiles.
- Click the Placement tile to step through the places.Follow, then Bottom, Bottom-left, Top, and back to Follow. The help text on the tile says where the next click goes.
- Turn the ring on the Keystrokes tile to set how long the pill stays.The ring reads in milliseconds, from 500 to 5000.
- Turn the size ring to make the pill larger or smaller.It is available while Keystrokes or Mouse is on.
What the pill does in password fields#
SHARA checks the field you are typing into. When Windows reports it as a password box, the pill hides completely and SHARA drops the keys you press, so nothing from that field reaches the screen. The pill comes back when you leave the field. There is nothing to switch on: it applies whenever the pill is showing.
What this does not promise
- It depends on Windows. SHARA reads the field’s own password flag. A password typed into a terminal or a code editor is not known to be covered, so turn the pill off (Ctrl+Win+T) before you type a secret there.
- It is not a recording filter. SHARA does not change what your recorder captures from other apps. Check what is on screen before you go live.
- Unreadable fields fail safe. If SHARA cannot read what kind of field it is, it treats the field as private.
Questions#
Is the keystroke pill free?
It is free for the first 14 days after you first launch SHARA, along with every other tool. After that it is one of the tools in the one-time upgrade; the halo, Laser, Pen, Arrow, Text, Eraser and the Wheel stay free forever. See what stays free.
Will the pill show my password?
No, when you type it into a field Windows reports as a password box: the pill hides and drops the keys until you leave the field. A terminal or code editor is not known to be covered, so turn the pill off before you type a secret there.
Can I show shortcuts but not what I type?
Yes. Click the Keystrokes tile until its caption reads Shortcuts. Plain typing is hidden and the pill shows shortcuts and command keys only.
Why did the typed words vanish when I clicked a new field?
While SHARA checks the field you moved to, it withdraws the typed words so nothing from a password box slips through. Shortcuts and clicks already on screen stay. The pill carries on once the check finishes.
Will viewers see the pill when I share my screen?
Yes, when you share your entire screen: the pill is drawn above your apps like the halo and your ink. A single-window share leaves it out. Share the screen, not a window. To record it, use Display Capture in OBS.
Can I change the hotkey?
Yes. The On-screen actions hotkey recorder on the Tutor tab sets any chord, with a warning when another app already uses it. Change hotkeys shows how. The defaults are on the shortcuts page.
If it doesn’t work
- Ctrl+Win+T does nothing. Another app may hold the keys, or SHARA is off (Ctrl+Win+Z turns all of SHARA off and on). Use the Keys tool on the Wheel instead, or rebind the hotkey.
- The pill will not turn on. Your 14-day trial may have ended. See what stays free.
- Nothing shows in a password field. That is the pill pausing on purpose.
- Viewers can’t see the pill. Share the screen, not a window.
More in Features: Cursor halo · Draw tools · Screenshot.