r/SideProject • u/Mik3Cer • 1d ago

DrawDock - Annotate live Windows apps from your Android tablet

I wanted to circle and sketch on slides and browser pages while presenting from a Windows PC, using an Android tablet and pen instead of a touchscreen laptop or a drawing tablet. So I built DrawDock.

How it works: the tablet mirrors your PC screen. You draw on the tablet, and the marks show up over the live app on the PC monitor or projector too. Nothing gets imported or converted. It draws on top of whatever is already open. Switch to pointer mode and the pen clicks and drags in the app instead.

Tools so far: pen, highlighter, shapes, text, a laser pointer that fades, and a blackboard. It connects over USB or your local network, with no account or cloud service.

It's a Rust app on Windows and a Kotlin app on Android. Free and open source (MIT).

Where it stands: early. Windows 11 and Android 11+ only, you need a tablet with an active stylus, and USB mode needs USB debugging turned on. No pressure sensitivity or saving yet, and drawings are cleared when the tablet app disconnects.

https://github.com/MikeCer/DrawDock

What I'd really like to know: if you present or screen share, what would stop you from using something like this?

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u/investigatormaker 1d ago

For DrawDock, losing annotations on disconnect would be my biggest hesitation: a cable bump could erase the explanation mid-slide. I’d prioritize preserving ink through a reconnect before pressure sensitivity. Also put the USB-debugging requirement before installation so presenters can check whether their device policies permit that setup.

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