How to annotate a presentation
To annotate a presentation during delivery, use your tool's built-in pen: Ctrl+P in PowerPoint, the pen icon in Google Slides' slideshow mode, or the Markup toolbar in Keynote. To collect annotations from a client before sign-off, export the deck as a PDF and share a link — they mark up the exact slide without downloading the file or touching the source.
During a live presentation
Every major tool has a pen mode for drawing on slides in real time. In PowerPoint: press Ctrl+P in slideshow mode to switch to the pen, Ctrl+L for a laser pointer, Ctrl+E to erase. In Google Slides: open slideshow mode, hover the bottom-left corner, click the three-dot menu, and turn on the Pen tool. In Keynote on Mac: press A during a presentation to open the annotation toolbar and draw with your mouse or trackpad. In Canva: click the pen icon in the bottom controls during a live presentation. The drawings are temporary by default — save them before exiting if you want to keep the marks.
Before sharing — adding notes to specific slides
Adding your own callout notes before you send the deck is the clearest way to guide a client through what they're looking at. In Google Slides: Insert → Comment (Ctrl+Alt+M) pins a note to a specific slide; collaborators with the link can see and reply to it. In PowerPoint: Review → New Comment does the same. In Keynote: right-click a slide thumbnail and choose Add Note, or use the Notes field below the slide canvas. In Canva: select an element and click the comment bubble that appears. One gotcha most people miss: notes added via Google Slides' 'Speaker Notes' field are visible to you during presenting but are hidden from anyone viewing the shared link — use Insert → Comment if you want the client to see the annotation.
In Google Slides — sharing for comment-only review
Google Slides has a 'Can comment' sharing level that lets a reviewer annotate without editing the slides: click Share → change the permission from 'Editor' to 'Commenter'. The reviewer sees the deck, clicks any slide, and leaves a comment — you're notified, can reply, and can resolve each thread. This only works if the reviewer has a Google account. For clients without one, export the presentation as a PDF (File → Download → PDF Document) and use a link-based annotation tool — the client clicks the exact slide and pins a note without any account.
Keynote on Mac or iPad
In Keynote on Mac, you can annotate slides using Draw mode: click Insert → Draw to open the drawing canvas on top of a slide, then use the pen, pencil, or crayon tools to mark it up. On iPad, Apple Pencil support makes this feel natural — tap the pencil icon at the top of the slide to annotate directly. For sharing: use File → Export To → PDF to produce a flat version of the deck, or Share → Collaborate to send an iCloud link. The collaboration link requires the recipient to have an Apple ID; for cross-platform clients (Windows, Android), the PDF export route is simpler.
Collecting client feedback without sending the file
Emailing a .pptx or .key file creates a version problem: the client annotates their copy, re-saves it, and sends it back — and you're now reconciling two files. Google Slides' 'Commenter' link fixes this for Google users but requires them to sign in. The cleanest path for client sign-off is to export the deck as a PDF and share a link the client can annotate in a browser without any account. They click the exact slide, pin a note, and you see every comment in one place — no downloaded copies, no inbox search to reconstruct what slide 4 comment was about.
Sending a deck to a client for sign-off? Export it to PDF, drop it into Drafty, and share the link. They click the exact slide and pin a note — no Google account, no way to overwrite your slides. Every comment lands in one thread, anchored to the spot they meant. You see it all in one place, reply inline, and push a revised version on the same link.
Open a live demoQuestions
- How do I annotate slides in Google Slides?
- During a presentation: open slideshow mode, hover the bottom-left corner, click the three-dot menu, and turn on the Pen tool — then draw directly on the slide. Before sharing: use Insert → Comment (Ctrl+Alt+M) to pin a note to a specific slide. To let a reviewer annotate without editing: click Share and change their permission to 'Can comment'.
- Can a client mark up my presentation without editing it?
- In Google Slides, yes — share with 'Commenter' permission. In PowerPoint, no: sharing a link gives edit access too. The reliable cross-tool approach is to export the deck as a PDF and share a link the client annotates in their browser — no account needed, no way to touch the source file.
- How do I annotate a presentation on a Mac?
- In Keynote: press A during a slideshow to open the annotation toolbar and draw on the slide. Before sharing, use Insert → Draw to mark up a slide in editing mode. In PowerPoint for Mac: Ctrl+P activates the pen in slideshow mode. In Google Slides: same as the web — open slideshow mode and turn on the pen from the three-dot menu.
- How do I draw on slides during a live presentation?
- PowerPoint: Ctrl+P for the pen, Ctrl+L for the laser pointer. Google Slides: three-dot menu in slideshow mode → Pen. Keynote: press A to open the annotation toolbar. Canva: the pen icon in the presentation controls. Exit annotation mode with Escape — most tools ask if you want to keep the marks.
- How do I collect feedback on a presentation without emailing the file back and forth?
- Export the deck as a PDF and share a link rather than the file. A link-based review tool lets reviewers click any slide and pin a comment in their browser — all notes land in one place, anchored to the slide they meant, with no file bouncing between inboxes. Google Slides' 'Commenter' link also works, but requires the reviewer to have a Google account.
- Can someone annotate my slides without a Google or Microsoft account?
- Google Slides' 'Commenter' link requires a Google account. PowerPoint Online requires a Microsoft account. To get annotations from a client with no account, export the presentation to PDF and share it via a tool that supports guest commenting — they can mark up the exact slide in a browser with no signup.
Keep exploring
Stop emailing files back and forth.
Share one link. They comment on the exact spot — no account, always the current version.