ZoomIt – Screen zoom and annotation

ZoomIt is a screen zoom, annotation, and recording tool for technical presentations and demos. You can also use ZoomIt to snip screenshots to the clipboard or to a file. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image. I wrote ZoomIt to fit my specific needs and use it in all my presentations.

Using ZoomIt

The first time you run ZoomIt it presents a configuration dialog that describes ZoomIt’s behavior, let’s you specify alternate hotkeys for zooming and for entering drawing mode without zooming, and customize the drawing pen color and size. I use the draw-without-zoom option to annotate the screen at its native resolution, for example. ZoomIt also includes a break timer feature that remains active even when you tab away from the timer window and allows you to return to the timer window by clicking on the ZoomIt tray icon.

Shortcuts

ZoomIt offers a number of shortcuts which can extend its usage greatly.

FunctionShortcut
Zoom ModeCtrl + 1
Zoom InMouse Scroll Up or Up Arrow
Zoom OutMouse Scroll Down or Down Arrow
Start Drawing (While In Zoom Mode)Left-Click
Stop Drawing (While In Zoom Mode)Right-Click
Start Drawing (While Not In Zoom Mode)Ctrl + 2
Increase/Decrease Line And Cursor Size (Drawing Mode)Ctrl + Mouse Scroll Up/Down or Arrow Keys
Center The Cursor (Drawing Mode)Space Bar
Whiteboard (Drawing Mode)W
Blackboard (Drawing Mode)K
Type in Text (Left Aligned)T
Type in Text (Right Aligned)Shift + T
Increase/Decrease Font Size (Typing Mode)Ctrl + Mouse Scroll Up/Down or Arrow Keys
Red PenR
Red Highlight PenShift + R
Green PenG
Green Highlight PenShift + G
Blue PenB
Blue Highlight PenShift + B
Yellow PenY
Yellow Highlight PenShift + Y
Orange PenO
Orange Highlight PenShift + O
Pink PenP
Pink Highlight PenShift + P
Blur PenX
Draw a Straight LineHold Shift
Draw a RectangleHold Ctrl
Draw an EllipseHold Tab
Draw an ArrowHold Ctrl + Shift
Erase Last DrawingCtrl + Z
Erase All DrawingsE
Copy Screenshot to ClipboardCtrl + C
Crop Screenshot to ClipboardCtrl + Shift + C
Save Screenshot as PNGCtrl + S
Save Cropped Screenshot to a FileCtrl + Shift + S
Copy a Region of The Screen To ClipboardCtrl + 6
Save a Region of The Screen To a FileCtrl + Shift + 6
Start/Stop Full Screen Recording Saved as MP4 (Windows 10 May 2019 Update And Higher)Ctrl + 5
Crop Screen Recording Saved as MP4 (Windows 10 May 2019 Update And Higher)Ctrl + Shift + 5
Screen Record Only The Window That The Mouse Cursor is Positioned Over Saved as MP4 (Windows 10 May 2019 Update And Higher)Ctrl + Alt + 5
Show Countdown TimerCtrl + 3
Increase/Decrease TimeCtrl + Mouse Scroll Up/Down or Arrow Keys
Minimize Timer (Without Pausing It)Alt + Tab
Show Timer When MinimizedLeft-Click On The ZoomIt Icon
LiveZoom ModeCtrl + 4
LiveDraw ModeCtrl + Shift + 4
Start DemoTypeCtrl + 7
Move back to the previous snippet (DemoType)Ctrl + Shift + 7
Advance to the next snippet (DemoType User-driven Mode)Space Bar
ExitEsc or Right-Click

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