Presentify

What is Presentify?

Presentify is a macOS app for annotating your screen during presentations, tutorials, demos, and meetings. It lets you draw over any app or file, highlight the cursor, create a whiteboard, and use spotlight or zoom tools to direct attention to specific areas of the display.

The app is designed for people who need to explain software, documents, or visual concepts while sharing their screen. According to the product page, it works with common presentation and conferencing tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, Keynote, PowerPoint, and OBS.

Key Features

• Screen annotation tools: draw with pens, highlighters, text, arrows, circles, squares, and lines to mark up whatever is on screen.
• Works over many content types: annotate images, PDFs, videos, presentations, and code without switching apps.
• Whiteboard mode: switch to a blank whiteboard for brainstorming, sketching diagrams, or explaining concepts away from the current screen.
• Cursor highlighting: add a ring, squircle, or other shape around the cursor, with customizable color, border, opacity, and click animations.
• Spotlight and zoom tools: dim the screen around a target area or magnify content so small text and details are easier to see.
• Shortcuts and customization: trigger many actions with keyboard shortcuts, including custom shortcuts, and adjust colors, shapes, spotlight settings, and zoom behavior.

How to Use Presentify

Install Presentify on macOS, then choose the tool that matches your presentation task: annotate directly on the screen, open the whiteboard, highlight your cursor, or activate spotlight/zoom. During a demo or lesson, use shortcuts to switch tools quickly and adjust the appearance as needed.

Use Cases

• Teaching a software workflow: draw on menus, buttons, and code while explaining steps live to students or colleagues.
• Running a product demo: spotlight a specific part of the interface or zoom in on small text so viewers can follow the details.
• Presenting in meetings: use cursor highlighting and annotations to keep attention on the speaker’s actions and key points.
• Brainstorming on a whiteboard: sketch diagrams, map out ideas, or work through a concept without opening a separate drawing app.
• Recording tutorials or streams: mark up the screen in tools such as OBS to make walkthroughs easier to understand.

FAQ

Does Presentify work only with presentation apps? No. The page says it can annotate anything on your screen, including images, PDFs, videos, presentations, and code.

Can I use it with video calls and streaming tools? Yes. The product page mentions compatibility with Zoom, Google Meet, Keynote, PowerPoint, OBS, and more.

Does it support keyboard shortcuts? Yes. The app supports keyboard shortcuts for many actions, and the page says you can set custom shortcuts for main actions.

Can I hide drawings automatically? Yes. The page mentions an auto-erase option that removes drawings after a set time.

Is Presentify only for drawing on the screen? No. In addition to drawing on the screen, it includes cursor highlighting, spotlighting, zoom, and a whiteboard mode.

Alternatives

• Built-in presentation annotation tools in apps like Zoom or PowerPoint: these can cover basic on-screen marking, but they are usually tied to a single app rather than working across the whole desktop.
• Separate whiteboard or diagramming apps: these are better if you need a full canvas for planning or sketching, but they do not focus on live screen annotation and cursor emphasis.
• Screen recording or streaming overlays: these can help with demos and tutorials, but they are typically oriented toward recording or broadcast workflows rather than direct on-screen teaching tools.
• macOS accessibility or pointer-highlighting utilities: these can make the cursor easier to follow, but they generally do not include the full set of annotation, spotlight, and zoom tools described on Presentify's page.