Effective communication and engagement are more important than ever. Whether you’re sharing a presentation, brainstorming ideas, or conducting a training session, the ability to annotate can transform a passive online meeting into an interactive and dynamic experience. Zoom’s powerful annotation tools enable you and your participants to draw, highlight, and annotate directly on a shared screen, making your virtual meetings, presentations, and collaborations more productive and engaging.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through how to annotate on Zoom, offering tips and tricks to ensure your virtual meetings are both effective and interactive. Whether you’re using a Windows, Mac, or Android device, we’ve got you covered. Let’s dive into the world of Zoom annotations and discover how to bring your virtual interactions to life!

Zoom Annotation Tools — What’s Included?

Before we begin, let’s look at the annotation tools available on Zoom. On the Annotation Toolbar, you will find all the necessary annotation tools needed. Here’s a full breakdown of moving from the top of the toolbar to the bottom: :

Mouse: Use this to go back to your mouse to control your screen

Select: Select any annotations and move them around your screen

Text: Place additional text on the screen

Pen: Draw, highlight, place shapes or use the smart pen to turn lines into clean shapes (ie line, square, circle etc)

Stamps: Place stamps/ stickers on screen

Spotlight: Activate a laser pen or an arrow cursor to bring people’s attention to one place

Eraser: Erase annotations

Format: Change the color or font and format when using the pen or text tools

Undo & Redo: Undo a stroke of annotations or redo an action

Delete: Clear all drawings, your own drawings, or the viewer’s drawings

Save: Save a screenshot as a PDF or PNG

How to Annotate on Zoom (4 Effective Ways)

Follow along below for everything you need to know to annotate on your screen or a participant’s shared screen in your next online Zoom meeting if you are using Windows, Mac, or Android devices.

Method 1: Annotate on your Shared Screen

To annotate your screen for your audience to see, you first need to share your screen.

During your Zoom meeting, click on the “Share Screen” button located on the toolbar.

Select the screen you wish to annotate on or share your whole screen.

Once the screen is shared, you will see a toolbar at the top. Click the Annotations icon to bring up the Annotation Toolbar.

From here, select your desired annotation tools and begin writing, highlighting, and drawing.

When you are done with your annotations, you can save a screengrab of your screen and annotations as an image. Then you must click on the garbage can to delete them.

For a breakdown of all the annotation tools available, keep reading!

⚙️ Troubleshooting

I cannot find the annotation tools on Zoom

If you do not see the annotation tools mentioned above, ensure you meet the following prerequisites:

Zoom Desktop Client or Mobile App: Download and install the latest version of the Zoom Desktop application, instead of using it on the web
Enable Zoom Annotations: In your Zoom settings, ensure your annotations are activated to use. This can be updated by logging into your Zoom account via a web browser, navigating to the “Settings” menu, and under the “Meetings” & “Meeting (Basic)” sections, toggling on the “Annotation” option.

Presenting with PowerPoint? Easily save and share your annotations natively in your presentation instead!

Method 2: Annotate on a Participants’ Shared Screen

When someone else is sharing their screen, you can still use annotation tools and markup their screen, or work collaboratively.

Click the Annotation icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the participant’s shared screen.

The Annotation Toolbar will appear and you can begin annotating using any of the tools available!

Method 3: Annotate on iOS

You can annotate while sharing your screen while using your iPhone too. However, note that you can only annotate when sharing a portion of your screen, not the whole screen.

To access, Click Share.

Then select the option share website, or other portion on your screen.

From there, a pen icon will appear on the bottom left of your screen. Click to begin your annotations.

Method 4: Annotate via PowerPoint why Sharing on Zoom (with 5 Pro Tips 🔥)

The last (and in our minds the best) way to annotate on Zoom is via PowerPoint. When annotating in PowerPoint, you can save all the notes and annotations you make directly in your presentation, with no deleting necessary! This way you can have a record of annotations you made and easily share it with your audience.

To annotate in PowerPoint this way, you will need the free PowerPoint add-in ClassPoint. Sign up to download and install and it will appear right in your PowerPoint ribbon!

Share your whole screen in Zoom, then begin your PowerPoint slideshow to access all the ClassPoint annotation tools.

You will see the ClassPoint toolbar appear at the bottom of your screen.

Click on the pen, highlighter, laser, shapes, or text boxes to begin writing your notes, highlighting important parts of your slide, or adding visuals to the slide.

🔥 Pro Tip: Ran out of Space? Add a Blank Whiteboard Slide

If you run out of space for your notes, ClassPoint allows for a whiteboard to be added to your presentation.

Click the Whiteboard icon on the tool and select a pre-made template, or customize your own whiteboard slides!

A blank slide will be added to your presentation. Any annotations made will be saved so that you can have a record of what was discussed.

🔥 Annotations Don’t Need Saving? Use Disappearing Ink

ClassPoint’s laser can be turned into a laser pen. Perfect for drawing attention to parts of your slide without worrying about keeping those annotations that might clutter your slide.

Click on the Laser icon on the toolbar.

Then, click and drag the laser to start marking up your slide. Watch as it disappears quickly.

🔥 Tired of Drawing to Explain? Use Moveable Objects

Besides the most used writing tools, you can also add interactivity to your presentation with ClassPoint’s Draggable Objects. This feature allows you to move objects around your slide for a visual explanation, a matching activity, or to reveal information on your slide.

Any shape, text, or image on your slide can be set up to be draggable, and then in your presentation, you can move them freely around your slide.

🔥 Share the Annotations with your Audience

With ClassPoint’s annotations in Zoom, you can easily share all the annotations at once with your audience — no need to send multiple files of screenshots or worry about remembering to save the annotations before deleting.

After your presentation, share the file as a PDF with all annotations and whiteboard files included. In PowerPoint Edit mode, click the Share PDF icon.

Select what slides to share with your audience and ensure the box is checked to include the annotations and whiteboards.

A QR code will be generated and your audience can scan the code to access the file with all annotations and whiteboard slides included.

Want more? Check out these handy PowerPoint annotation hacks!

Bonus Tips on Annotating on Zoom

😎 Zoom Whiteboard

While screen sharing, you may need more space to annotate, discuss, and collaborate as a team. Zoom offers a whiteboard feature for easy access to annotate on a blank canvas. To use the whiteboard follow these steps:

Click the Whiteboard icon on the toolbar. If you don’t see it, click the More icon on the bottom toolbar. From there click Whiteboard.

On the whiteboard, you have access to a similar Annotations Toolbar to begin taking notes and collaborating with your team.

Not enough tools in this whiteboard? Take a look at other interactive whiteboard tools to use in your meetings!

😎 Zoom Annotation Shortcuts — Save Them!

For quicker access to annotation tools, use these shortcuts:

Windows:

• Alt + T (Windows): Show/hide the annotation toolbar.
• Alt + Shift + T (Windows): Start/stop annotation
• Ctrl + Z: Undo
• Ctrl + Y: Redo

Mac:

• Cmd + T (Mac): Show/hide the annotation toolbar
• Cmd + Shift + T (Mac): Start/stop annotation
• Cmd + Z: Undo
• Cmd + Y: Redo

Additionally, while not specifically related to annotations, some other useful Zoom shortcuts include:

• Alt+F4: Close current window
• Ctrl+F: Search
• F6: Navigate among Zoom popup windows
• Ctrl+Tab: Switch to next product tab
• Ctrl+Shift+Tab: Switch to the previous product tab

FAQs

Is the Zoom annotation feature free?

Yes, the annotation feature is available for both free and paid Zoom accounts.

How can I access annotation tools during a meeting?

During a meeting, you can access annotation tools by sharing your screen and clicking the “Annotate” button in the meeting controls. If someone else is sharing their screen, click the Pen icon at the bottom of the screen.

What if I don’t see the option to annotate in Zoom?

If you cannot find the annotation tools, ensure that:

1. The feature is enabled in your Zoom settings.
2. You are using the latest version of the Zoom client or app.
3. The meeting host has allowed participants to annotate.

Can participants annotate on shared screens?

Yes, participants can annotate on shared screens if the host has enabled this feature. The host can also control who can annotate during the meeting.

Can I use Zoom annotations on mobile devices?

Yes, you can use annotations on both iOS and Android devices. Simply join a meeting, start sharing your screen, and tap the pen icon to access annotation tools. Do note that you can only annotate when you share a portion of your screen in Zoom on iPhones.

What types of annotations can I use on Zoom?

Zoom offers a variety of annotation tools, including text, draw, stamp, spotlight, eraser, and format options.

How can I save my annotations in Zoom?

To save your annotations, click the “Save” button on the annotation toolbar. This will save your annotations as an image file (PNG or PDF) on your computer.

To have annotations that automatically save, use ClassPoint’s annotation tools while presenting in PowerPoint!

How do I clear annotations during a meeting?

You can clear annotations by clicking the “Trashcan” button on the annotation toolbar. You have the option to clear all annotations, your own annotations, or specific participants’ annotations.

Zoom annotations can significantly enhance the interactivity and effectiveness of your virtual meetings. With these tools at your disposal, you can make your presentations more engaging and collaborative, whether you’re working on a desktop, monitor, iOS, or Android device. By leveraging the tips and tricks shared in this guide, you’ll be able to unlock the full potential of Zoom’s annotation features and elevate your virtual interactions.