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Highlighter

Draw semi-transparent highlights over your screenshot, like a real highlighter marker.

Shortcut: H

  1. Select the Highlighter tool (press H or click the highlighter icon in the toolbar)
  2. Click and drag over the area you want to highlight
  3. Release to finish

The highlighter draws with a semi-transparent color so the content underneath remains visible.

Option Range Description
Color Any color Highlight color (rendered semi-transparent)
Size 0.5–120px Brush width
Pressure 0–100 How much speed affects width

The highlighter automatically detects text lines in your screenshot. When your cursor is near a line of text, the brush size snaps to match the text line height — making it easy to highlight entire lines cleanly.

  • Snap indicator — The rectangular cursor preview resizes when snapped to a text line
  • Hold Alt — Temporarily disable snapping for freehand highlighting
  • Hold Shift — Constrain to 45° angles (horizontal, vertical, diagonal)

Text detection uses native OCR (macOS Vision framework, Windows text detection) and results are cached for performance. The cache is automatically cleared when switching between captures, so each new capture gets fresh text detection results.

When the Highlighter tool is active, a rectangular cursor preview shows the current brush size. The preview resizes when snapped to a detected text line.

  • Highlight text — Drag across a line of text; snapping keeps it clean
  • Mark areas — Use a larger size to call attention to regions
  • Multiple colors — Use different highlight colors to categorize information
  • Disable snap — Hold Alt for freehand highlighting when snapping gets in the way

See also: Pen Tool | Redact Tool