Sincron Screen ToolsMicrosoft's ZoomIt is free and great for zooming and drawing in presentations. If you want an on-screen toolbar, polished screenshots or a way to read text in another language, here is where Sincron Screen Tools fits in.
Hold Shift for a straight line, Ctrl for a rectangle and Ctrl + Shift for an arrow.
It depends on what you are missing. ZoomIt is a free Sysinternals utility from Microsoft that zooms the screen (Ctrl + 1), draws on top of it (Ctrl + 2), records the screen to MP4 or GIF, takes screenshots, copies text with OCR and has a break timer. It also ships inside PowerToys and has a Mac version.
If live zoom is what you need, ZoomIt is still the right pick, and Sincron Screen Tools does not zoom. Sincron makes sense when you want to draw with an on-screen toolbar and a free color picker, turn a capture into a screenshot with a background, padding, rounded corners and shadow, or translate on-screen text in place.
The two can run side by side: Sincron's default shortcuts (Ctrl + Shift + C, D, T and S) do not clash with ZoomIt's. Drawing and capturing in Sincron are free and unlimited; translation uses your own OpenAI or OpenRouter API key.
Reviewed on October 3, 2026
Where ZoomIt's official documentation does not mention a feature, the table says so instead of claiming it does not exist.
| Feature | ZoomIt | Sincron Screen Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Screen zoom | Yes: static zoom (Ctrl + 1) and LiveZoom (Ctrl + 4) | No |
| Draw over any app | Yes: Ctrl + 2, or LiveDraw with Ctrl + Shift + 4 | Yes: Ctrl + Shift + D, on every monitor |
| Shapes by key, whiteboard and blackboard | Yes: Shift, Ctrl, Ctrl + Shift and Tab; W and K | Yes: the same modifiers; W and K |
| How you use it | Keyboard shortcuts | On-screen toolbar with tools, colors, a free color picker and thickness, plus shortcuts |
| Blur pen | Yes (X) | No |
| Screen recording | Yes: MP4 or GIF, with a trim editor | No |
| Break timer | Yes (Ctrl + 3) | No |
| Screenshots | Snip to clipboard or file, plus scrolling screenshots | Region or full screen, with or without your drawings |
| Background, padding, corners and shadow | Not mentioned in the official docs | Yes, in the Screenshot Studio |
| Copy on-screen text (OCR) | Yes (Ctrl + Alt + 6) | No; it copies only the translation |
| Translate on-screen text in place | Not mentioned in the official docs | Yes (Ctrl + Shift + T), with your own OpenAI or OpenRouter key |
| Platforms | Windows; Mac version (macOS 14 or later) | Windows 10 and 11 |
| Price | Free | Free to capture and draw; $36 a year or $89 lifetime for unlimited translation and summaries |
ZoomIt features checked in the Sysinternals and PowerToys documentation on October 3, 2026.
Price: Free
Price: Free; Pro at €24 a year (subscription)
Sincron's shapes use the same modifiers as ZoomIt: Shift for a straight line, Ctrl for a rectangle, Ctrl + Shift for an arrow and Tab for an ellipse. W opens the whiteboard, K the blackboard, E clears everything and Ctrl + Z undoes. The main colors have letters too: R, O, Y, G and B.
The difference is what you can see. Sincron shows a toolbar you can drag around, with a pen, highlighter, text, eraser, colors, a free color picker, thickness, capture, undo and clear. It helps anyone who has not memorized the shortcuts or would rather pick colors and thickness with the mouse.
The panel below uses the same drawing toolbar as the app. Try an arrow, a rectangle and the highlighter without memorizing anything.
Hold Shift for a straight line, Ctrl for a rectangle and Ctrl + Shift for an arrow.
Ctrl + 1 zooms in on a detail, and Ctrl + 4 keeps the zoom live while the app underneath keeps running. To record the demo, press Ctrl + 5.
Ctrl + Shift + D opens the drawing toolbar. The capture button takes the screen with your drawings to the Screenshot Studio, where you set the background, padding, corners and shadow before pasting it into chat.
Ctrl + Shift + T translates the selected region and places the translated text over the original, with a similar color and position. It works on internal systems, PDFs, games, videos and terminals.
Sincron does not magnify the screen, static or live. If zoom is central to your presentations, stick with ZoomIt or use Windows Magnifier.
Screen recording, a break countdown and typing prepared code are ZoomIt features that Sincron does not have.
Translating and summarizing require your own OpenAI or OpenRouter API key. You create the key in your account with that provider and add credit there; the provider bills you directly for usage. The free plan includes 5 translations a day.
ZoomIt has a Mac version. Sincron runs only on Windows 10 and 11.
Yes. ZoomIt is a free Sysinternals utility from Microsoft. You can download the standalone version or turn it on in PowerToys settings.
Yes. Ctrl + 5 records the full screen, Ctrl + Shift + 5 records a region and Ctrl + Alt + 5 records the window under the mouse, to MP4 or GIF. When you stop, an editor lets you trim the clip.
Yes. Sincron's default shortcuts (Ctrl + Shift + C, D, T and S) do not clash with ZoomIt's, which use Ctrl + a number. Use ZoomIt for zoom and recording, and Sincron to draw with a toolbar, polish screenshots and translate.
No. Sincron draws, captures, translates and summarizes, but it does not magnify the screen. For zoom, use ZoomIt or Windows Magnifier, which opens with the Windows logo key + plus sign.
Sincron Screen Tools shows an on-screen toolbar with a pen, highlighter, text, eraser, colors, a free color picker, thickness, capture, undo and clear. Its shape and board shortcuts match ZoomIt's.
Pen, shapes and a whiteboard over any app, with Ctrl + Shift + D.
Pick a screen area or a window, add your webcam and share one clean window in Teams, Zoom or Meet.
PowerPoint's pen, annotation in Teams, Zoom and Meet, and drawing over any app.
Install Sincron Screen Tools to draw with an on-screen toolbar, capture with your drawings and translate text in place. Drawing and capturing are free and unlimited.
