Summary
Teaching Tips: Annotating with the Touchscreen Stylus by App — covers stylus-based markup in PowerPoint (live slideshow drawing, blank-slide/black-white-screen workspace, saving ink annotations), Adobe Acrobat (Draw Free Form and other tools, saving to the PDF, zoom/pan quirks on non-touch-native software), and Zoom.
Body
Teaching Tips: Annotating with the Touchscreen Stylus by App
PowerPoint · Adobe Acrobat
The stylus on your room's all-in-one touchscreen display lets you write and draw directly on slides and PDFs during class — but each app handles annotation a little differently. This guide covers stylus-based annotation in
PowerPoint (live slideshow markup) and
Adobe Acrobat (PDF markup), including a few quirks specific to touchscreen displays.
Not covered by this guide: classroom hardware setup or display/stylus pairing issues — contact Geisel AV:
geisel.av.support@dartmouth.edu or
603-646-5123
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PowerPoint
Live slideshow annotation
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✎
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Annotating During a Slideshow |
"I want to write or draw on my slides live, in front of the class."
Start Annotating
| 1 |
Start your slideshow from the Slide Show tab, or press F5 |
| 2 |
Look for the small toolbar in the bottom-left corner of the screen — it has navigation arrows and a pen icon |
| 3 |
Tap the pen icon to open the annotation menu and choose a tool |
| 4 |
Select a color from the same menu before you start writing |
The annotation toolbar (2), pen icon to open the tool menu (3), and color palette (4)
| 5 |
Write or draw directly on the slide with the stylus |
| 6 |
To stop annotating and return to navigation mode, tap the pen icon again and choose the arrow (mouse cursor) |
The first stylus tap in Slideshow mode may advance the slide rather than start drawing, since PowerPoint defaults to navigation mode. Activate the pen tool first from the toolbar before writing on a slide.
| Shortcut (Mac) |
Action |
| Cmd + P |
Activate the pen tool |
| Cmd + A |
Return to the arrow/cursor |
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□
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Adding a Blank Slide for Extra Working Space |
"I need a blank canvas to draw on, separate from my slide content."
During a slideshow, you can insert a blank slide on the fly to use as a whiteboard:
Option A — New Slide
•Right-click the slide and look for New Slide
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Option B — Black/White Screen
•Press Shift + B for a black screen, or Shift + W for a white screen, then draw on it with the annotation tools
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Right-click during a slideshow → Screen → Black Screen or White Screen
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💾
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Saving Your Annotations |
When you exit Slideshow mode, PowerPoint will prompt: "Want to keep your ink annotations?"
| Choose |
Result |
| Keep |
Saves annotations to the slides |
| Discard |
Removes all annotations from the session |
Tip: If you want a clean copy of your original slides, save a separate version before class, or discard annotations afterward.
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📄
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Adobe Acrobat
PDF markup & annotation
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Acrobat includes a built-in annotation toolkit that works well with a touchscreen stylus. There is no special mode to enter — annotation tools are available whenever a PDF is open.
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📝
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Accessing the Annotation Tools |
"I want to mark up a PDF live, in front of the class."
| 1 |
Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat |
| 2 |
From the control toolbar, select the tool that best meets your needs (see table below) |
| Tool |
What It Does |
| Comment |
Adds a comment bubble to the document |
| Highlight Text |
Draws a color highlight over selected text |
Draw Free Form
(pencil/scribble icon) |
Freehand stylus writing and drawing directly on the page. Additional shapes are available within this menu, along with options to select a color and line weight. |
Tip: For live classroom annotation, Draw Free Form is the main tool. Write with the stylus, then lift it to stop — each gesture creates a separate annotation object.
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✏️
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Using Draw Free Form with the Stylus |
Drawing on the Page
•In the controls toolbar, click the Draw Free Form tool
•Select the pen color from the toolbar
•Your cursor changes to a crosshair — you're ready to draw
•Draw on the page with the stylus — lift the stylus to end each stroke
•After drawing, switch to the Select tool (arrow icon) to move, resize, or delete any annotation
The annotation toolbar (1) and Draw Free Form tool selected, with the shapes submenu open (2)
The standard Acrobat pencil tool was originally designed for mouse use and can feel less smooth than dedicated inking apps. For more fluid, pressure-sensitive writing, use a dedicated PDF annotation tool if one is available on the system.
Annotations are saved with the PDF when you save the file (Cmd+S). Anyone who opens the PDF in Acrobat or Reader will see your annotations.
Tip: Use File → Save As to save an annotated version separately, preserving the original clean file.
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🔍
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Zooming and Panning in Acrobat |
The room display is not an iPad, and Acrobat is not a touch-native app — the experience can feel sluggish, imprecise, or inconsistent compared with a mobile device. This is a known limitation of desktop-style PDF annotation tools on touchscreen hardware.
Use keyboard shortcuts and the toolbar for zoom — they're fast, predictable, and reliable. Reserve touch gestures for light scrolling only.
Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac)
| Zoom in |
Cmd + = |
| Zoom out |
Cmd + − |
| Fit page |
Cmd + 0 |
| Fit width |
Cmd + 2 |
| Actual size |
Cmd + 1 |
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Zoom Toolbar & Touch Gestures
•Tap + or − at the bottom of the right-hand toolbar to step through zoom levels
•View menu → Zoom also offers Fit Page, Fit Width, and other preset views
•Two-finger scroll — slide two fingers up/down to scroll
•Pinch-to-zoom — may work, but response is often jerky or delayed; don't rely on it live
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Important: On some touchscreen displays, touch input and stylus input do not work simultaneously — picking up the stylus may cause the display to prioritize pen input and ignore touch. If two-finger gestures aren't responding, set the stylus down before attempting them.
Tips: Cmd + 0 is especially useful in class — one keystroke returns you to the full page view from any zoom level. In many Acrobat tool modes, holding the Spacebar temporarily activates the Hand tool while you drag with the stylus; release the spacebar to return to your previous tool.
Having trouble with the stylus, display pairing, or a specific app's annotation tools? Email us and we'll help you out.