Support

Support & FAQ

Common questions about Presenter Pointer. Most can be answered here without needing to contact us.

Installation & activation

How do I install Presenter Pointer?

Search for "Presenter Pointer" on the Mac App Store, or click the download button on this site. Installation is automatic once you click "Get". The app appears in your /Applications folder.

How do I open it after installing?

Open it however you'd open any Mac app — from Launchpad, from the Applications folder in Finder, or by pressing ⌘Space and typing its name.

Once it's running, look for the small icon in your menu bar at the top-right of the screen. There is no Dock icon by design: that's what keeps the app from ever stealing focus from Keynote or PowerPoint while you draw.

It isn't running after I restart my Mac. Is something wrong?

No — Presenter Pointer doesn't start itself at login yet. After a restart, open it once from Launchpad or Spotlight and it stays in the menu bar until you quit or shut down.

If you'd like it to start automatically, tell us — it's on our list, and hearing that people want it moves it up.

How do I quit it, and how do I get it back?

Click the menu bar icon and choose Quit. To bring it back, open it again from Launchpad, Finder, or Spotlight. Quitting also releases ⌘⇧X, so the shortcut won't do anything until the app is running again.

How do I draw?

Hold the Option (⌥) key and drag anywhere on your screen. That's it. Release ⌥ and you're instantly back in whatever app you were using — there is no mode to enter or exit.

How do I switch tools?

Two ways. Click the Presenter Pointer icon in your menu bar and pick Rectangle, Straight Line, Arrow, Circle, or Spotlight — or, without letting go of ⌥, tap ⇧ to step through them.

The second way is built for the middle of a sentence: a panel lists the five tools, each tap moves to the next, and releasing ⌥ keeps the one you landed on. Tap ⌘ instead to step backwards. You can start drawing while the panel is still on screen.

Because only modifier keys are involved, nothing is ever typed into the app underneath — your slides and your text fields stay untouched.

What does ⌘⇧X do?

⌘⇧X pauses and resumes Presenter Pointer. While paused, holding ⌥ does nothing and every app receives your input normally — useful when another app needs ⌥ + drag for itself, like duplicating files in Finder or cloning objects in design tools. Press it again, or choose Resume from the menu bar icon, to re-arm.

⌘⇧X doesn't pause or resume. What do I do?

The most likely cause is another utility has registered the same global shortcut. Check your other tools and disable the conflicting binding — common culprits include Alfred, Raycast, BetterTouchTool, and Magnet. You can always pause and resume from the menu bar icon instead.

Holding ⌥ doesn't draw. What do I check?

First, confirm Presenter Pointer is running — look for its icon in the menu bar (top-right of your Mac screen). If it's missing, open the app from /Applications.

If the icon is there, click it and check the status line at the top of the menu: "● Active" means it's armed; "○ Paused" means it's paused — choose Resume (or press ⌘⇧X).

Can I remap ⌥ or ⌘⇧X?

Currently no. If you have a strong preference for different keys, please let us know — if enough users request it we'll add a customization option.

Using the app

What do I need to remember?

How do I undo or clear annotations?

Open the menu bar icon and choose "Undo Last Shape" or "Clear All". Shapes also fade on their own after the linger time you set in Settings.

I updated from an older version — where did the keyboard shortcuts and the indicator bar go?

The single-letter keys (R/A/C/S/P) and the on-screen indicator bar were removed. They had a hidden cost: registering those combinations took them away from every other app, so characters like ® and ç could no longer be typed anywhere on the Mac.

Switching now happens either from the menu bar icon, or by holding ⌥ and tapping ⇧ to step through the tools. Both leave your keyboard completely alone, so slide advance and typing keep working. ⌘⇧X also changed from show/hide to Pause/Resume.

What does Advanced mode add?

Enable "Show advanced tools" in Settings to add a Keep ∞ item to the menu bar menu. With Keep ∞ on, shapes stay on screen until you clear them instead of auto-fading.

How do I open settings?

Click the Presenter Pointer icon in your menu bar and select "Settings…" from the menu.

Can I change the annotation color?

Yes. Open Settings and pick from five preset colors (Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow) or use the custom color picker for any color you want.

Can I make annotations stay on screen instead of fading?

Yes. In Settings, increase the Linger value to keep annotations visible longer — or enable "Show advanced tools" and switch on Keep ∞ from the menu bar menu to keep them until you clear them.

Compatibility

Does Presenter Pointer work with Zoom / Teams / Meet?

Yes. Annotations are drawn in a transparent overlay above all applications. Whatever your screen-sharing software captures includes the annotations. This works for Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, Loom, OBS, QuickTime recording, and any other screen capture tool.

Does it work in Keynote / PowerPoint / Google Slides presentation mode?

Yes. The annotation overlay sits above any application, including full-screen presentation modes. Hold ⌥ to draw; release, and focus is already on your presentation app — Presenter Pointer never takes keyboard focus, so slide advance keeps working the whole time.

Does it work on multiple displays?

Yes. The overlay covers all connected displays simultaneously. Annotations drawn on one display only affect that display, and the selected tool applies across all displays.

Does it work on Apple Silicon?

Yes. Presenter Pointer is a Universal Binary that runs natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. macOS 13 (Ventura) or later is required.

Does it work on macOS Sonoma / Sequoia?

Yes. The latest macOS versions are fully supported.

Pricing & purchase

How much does it cost?

$9.99 (USD) — one-time purchase. Equivalent prices apply in other Mac App Store regions.

Is it a subscription?

No. One-time purchase. Pay once, use forever.

Are future updates free?

Yes. All future updates to Presenter Pointer are included with your purchase.

Can I get a refund?

All sales are processed by Apple via the Mac App Store. Refund requests follow Apple's standard refund process. Visit reportaproblem.apple.com within Apple's refund window to request one. We're not able to issue refunds directly because we don't process payments — Apple does.

Privacy & data

Does Presenter Pointer collect any data?

No. The app does not connect to the internet, does not include analytics or tracking, and does not transmit any data. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Does it require any permissions?

No. Presenter Pointer does not request Accessibility, Screen Recording, or any other privacy-sensitive permissions.

Still need help?

If your question isn't answered here, please reach out via the Mac App Store review/contact link, or email us. We aim to respond within 2 business days.