On the host, enable Draw. Hold Control (⌃) while dragging to annotate. Release the key and your clicks reach the app normally.
Step by step
- On the host Mac, turn on Draw in Decky. This is the app’s label for annotation. Hold Control (⌃) and drag to make a mark; release Control to click and use apps normally. New Room and Desktop camera sessions start with Draw off.
- To annotate together, start a Room and join it from Decky Display on a Mac, a PC or Android. Open the Room’s drawing controls and choose Ask to draw. A guest waits for the host to approve; a trusted, paired device can be allowed without a prompt.
- Once allowed, choose Pen, Marker or Pointer. On a Mac client, click and drag; on Android, use touch or a supported stylus. Several people can annotate at once. The host’s marks are green; viewers receive their own assigned colors.
- On the PC, click the Decky icon in the notification area, find the Annotate card and turn on Draw. Hold Ctrl and drag to mark any screen; a plain Ctrl-click still reaches the app.
- To annotate together, start a Room and join it from Decky Display on a Mac, a PC or Android. A guest chooses Ask to draw; allow it with Let Them Draw on that viewer in the card headed Your Room.
- Choose Pen, Marker or Pointer. Several people can annotate at once. The host’s marks are green; viewers get their own colors. Undo My Last Mark, Clear All Marks and Keep Marks Until Cleared are in the Annotate card.
What to know
Host annotation is global: it is not a separate mode for each Room or Desktop camera. It can work without an audience, appear for Room viewers or be included in Decky Desktop’s camera picture. Marks sit over the source; they do not edit the original slide, document or app.
Draw works on its own too, on any screen and in a spare desktop’s window. Marks in a camera picture need Decky Desktop, on a Mac.
Drawing permission is separate from control
Being allowed to annotate does not give a guest permission to click buttons, type or move windows on the computer. The host can allow several people to draw while only one viewer controls the computer. In the Room’s viewer list, use Let Them Draw or Stop Drawing to change a viewer’s drawing permission.
If you also hold control, choose which inputs draw: Pointer draws on a computer, or Pen input, Touch and Mouse on Android. Inputs switched off for drawing continue to control the computer. With annotation permission alone, your input makes marks and does not control the underlying app.
Fading, undo and clearing marks
By default, marks fade a few seconds after you finish a stroke. On the host, Keep Marks Until Cleared keeps marks for discussion. Undo removes your last mark; Clear mine removes your own marks. The host can use Clear All Marks to clear everyone’s marks.
Choose Stop drawing on a viewer or turn off Draw on the host when finished. To resume after starting a new session, enable drawing again.
Annotation and the separate Stylus feature
Android annotation accepts touch and supported stylus input, including pressure. Pressure needs a pen and device that actually report it; a basic capacitive pen cannot add pressure sensitivity.
Annotation draws over the shared picture. The separate Stylus feature sends pen input into a drawing app on the computer to edit its document. Pick the workflow you need, and check which inputs are assigned to annotation if your pen marks the overlay instead of drawing inside the app.
If it does not work
If the host cannot mark the screen, check Draw is on, hold Control while dragging and review Decky’s Accessibility permission. If a guest cannot draw, check Room membership, approval and the selected input. Marks that disappear after a few seconds are using the default fade. For missing stylus pressure, check the device and pen support pressure and compare touch with pen input.
If the host cannot mark the screen, check Draw is on and hold Ctrl while dragging. If a guest cannot draw, check Room membership and approval.