Tell me more ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite
2

Is there a program to allow me to draw over active windows?

For example, suppose I'm playing a game. I want to be able to draw over the game window to remind me of something later, but I don't want to take a screenshot, because it obviously won't display the game while I'm playing it.

What I need is to be able to draw over a window, but still be able to interact with it, is there a program for that?

share|improve this question
Could you maybe try and be more specific? Do you want to draw within a game, interacting with the game's physical properties, then come back, for example play the same level again, and see that? – slhck♦ Sep 20 '11 at 20:32
No, I only want to draw so I can see it while playing the level, while I'm drawing, I don't need the game to capture my mouse clicks. – user21187 Sep 20 '11 at 20:34
Whenever I am in that sort of situation, I usually just draw on the screen with a water-soluble marker. (NB, I have a glass-screen CRT monitor.) Another option might be to tape a transparency sheet to the screen and draw on that with a marker. – Bobson Sep 20 '11 at 21:38
1  
Bobson: I don't have one of these pens :( – user21187 Sep 20 '11 at 21:43
@M2B a dry erase marker might work, but test it. Question, do you want this to show up only when you run a certain program and at certain points in the game? – uSlackr Sep 20 '11 at 22:34
show 1 more comment

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted
+50

What you are asking for is called "on-screen annotation", for which there are many products available.

The article On-screen annotation lists and describes many such products, some free and some commercial : Presentation Marker, Netop pointer, Annotate Pro, Screen Marker, Presentation Pointer, Screen Marker, Ultimate Pen, Ink2Go, HeyeLighter.

It also points to Wikipedia's comparison of web annotation systems and also to the Makeuseof list of top web annotation tools.

share|improve this answer
2  
I have used ScreenMarker before and it does the job well. It's free, lightweight, and seems to fulfill M28's requirements too. Note however, that the link for ScreenMarker provided in harrymc's first link looks dead. You can find it here. – Arpit_D Sep 26 '11 at 18:49
up vote 0 down vote

You could take the screen shot, annotate and place the pic on a second monitor; or you could follow @Bobson's advice with plastic screen cover and a dry erase marker.

share|improve this answer
1  
I don't have a second monitor neither a marker :( – user21187 Sep 20 '11 at 22:58
you may have to spend a couple bucks for a marker. Otherwise it appears you are out of luck. – uSlackr Sep 21 '11 at 12:26

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.