Getting Started with Presentify: Your Complete Guide

Whether you're a teacher, content creator, or professional presenter, Presentify helps you communicate more effectively by letting you annotate directly on your screen. This guide will walk you through everything you need to get started.

Installation

Presentify is available on the Mac App Store, Setapp, and directly from our website (payment handled by Polar.sh). Download and install the app, then you’re ready to start annotating.

Buying from the Mac App Store

If you purchase Presentify from the Mac App Store, the purchase is tied to your Apple ID (not a specific device), so you can use it on any number of Macs as long as you sign in with the same Apple ID.

Getting Presentify via Setapp

Setapp is a subscription service that gives you access to a curated collection of Mac apps (including Presentify). It also offers a 7-day free trial, so if you want to try Presentify before buying, this is the easiest way.

Buying directly from the website

If you prefer not to use the Mac App Store or Setapp, you can purchase Presentify directly and pay via Polar. You’ll receive a macOS .dmg installer and a license key.

That license is for one device at a time—you can deactivate it on one Mac and activate the same key on another whenever you want.

Required permissions

Presentify doesn’t need any special permissions for annotation, cursor highlight, spotlight, or global keyboard shortcuts.

The only permission you may need is Screen Recording—and only for the Zoom feature. If you don’t need Zoom, you can skip this permission and still use the rest of the app.

Launching Presentify

Presentify is a macOS menu bar app, so it doesn’t have a traditional window. To get started, click the Presentify icon in Launchpad or type “Presentify” in Spotlight and press Return. After that, a small Presentify icon appears in the menu bar. Click it to start annotating any screen or highlight your cursor. You can also toggle these features with keyboard shortcuts.

If there’s not enough space in your menu bar, you may not see the Presentify icon. To resolve this, use an app like Ice (free and open source) to declutter your menu bar and free up space. Watch this video to see it in action.

Your first annotation

Once installed, press ⌃ + A (Control + A) to activate the annotation mode. You'll see a toolbar appear at the bottom of your screen with all available tools:

• Free Hand — Draw freely with your mouse or trackpad
• Arrow — Create arrows to point at specific elements
• Rectangle — Draw rectangles to highlight areas
• Circle — Draw circles or ellipses
• Text — Add text annotations anywhere on screen

Whiteboard

Need a blank canvas? Presentify includes a whiteboard. While in Annotate mode, press W to switch to the whiteboard.

Interacting with other apps (Fn key)

Sometimes you may want to advance slides, scroll a page, or click in another app while Presentify is on. You can simply press and hold the Fn key to temporarily interact with the underlying app (instead of Presentify). You can learn more in this video.

Interactive Mode

If you want a distraction-free setup, enable Interactive Mode when starting Annotate. With this mode enabled, Presentify stays in the background and activates only while you press and hold the Fn key. See this video for a quick demo.

Cursor highlighting

One of Presentify's most popular features is cursor highlighting. Press ⌃ + S to toggle a colorful halo around your cursor, making it easy for viewers to follow along.

Customize the highlight

You can customize the highlight color, size, and style in Presentify's settings. Choose from solid colors, gradients, or even animated effects.

Spotlight

Need to focus attention on a specific area? Use the spotlight feature (⌃ + L) to dim everything except the area around your cursor. This is perfect for:

• Highlighting code during programming tutorials
• Drawing attention to specific UI elements
• Creating dramatic reveals in presentations

Zoom

Zoom lets you magnify the area of the screen where your cursor is pointing—great for small text or fine UI details. Zoom is the only feature that needs Screen Recording permission. If you don’t need Zoom, you can skip that permission and keep using everything else.

Tips for effective presentations

• Practice your shortcuts — Memorize the key shortcuts so you can annotate without breaking your flow
• Use contrasting colors — Choose annotation colors that stand out against your content
• Keep things tidy — Turn on auto-erase so drawings fade after a set time (and press ⌫ (Delete) anytime to clear manually)
• Combine with screen sharing/recording — Presentify works great with screen recording tools (like OBS) and video calling apps like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams

Next steps

Now that you know the basics, explore our other guides to learn about advanced features like:

• Interactive Mode
• Stream Deck integration
• Annotate using iPad and Pencil using Apple Sidecar/Screen Mirroring

Happy presenting!