Pad
Use your iPad or Android tablet as a pressure-sensitive pen tablet for your Mac or Windows PC
- macOS
- Windows (beta)
- iPadOS
- Android
Mac and Windows hosts · iPad and Android tablets · No account · Version 1.3
Your computer streams a display, window or region to the tablet. The stylus comes back as real tablet input — pressure, tilt, hover, eraser, where the pen supports them — with no driver. It runs over Wi-Fi, USB-C or a device-to-device link.
Watch
See it on a Mac or a Windows PC
Mac
Pressure and the eraser end in Krita, trackpad-style pinch and rotate, Quick Keys, App Profiles, typing and undo on a French keyboard, Extend and the setup checklist, filmed on a Mac with PadPad.
Windows
Drawing, the eraser end, pinch and rotate, Quick Keys, app profiles, typing on any layout and the setup checklist, filmed on a Windows PC with PadPad and PadDroid. Windows host in beta.
Inside the app
A look inside
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Draw with pressure in the apps you already use.
Your Pencil or stylus reaches Krita, Photoshop and other tablet-aware apps as pen input, not mouse clicks.
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The same tablet on a Mac or a Windows PC.
PadMac and the PadWin beta are the host apps. PadPad and PadDroid connect to either.
On a PC the sidebar shows Ctrl, Alt, Shift and Win.
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Handwrite on your computer.
Equations, class notes and whiteboards, written by hand into the note app open on your Mac or PC.
The notebook stays on the computer.
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Sign without moving the file.
Write onto the PDF open on your computer and save it in place.
The agreement is made up for this demo.
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Stream one window, one app or the whole screen.
Pick from the tablet: a display, an app, one window or an area you drag out.
Fit to iPad resizes a window to the tablet’s shape.
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Tune every stroke.
Shape the pressure curve, add smoothing and preview the stroke before the video catches up.
Gestures and quick keys follow the front app.
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An Android tablet works too.
PadDroid makes an Android tablet and its stylus the same pen tablet, with the same hosts.
Pressure comes through where the stylus reports it.
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Or the phone in your pocket.
For a signature or a quick sketch, a phone is enough: PadPad on iPhone, PadDroid on Android.
App Store and Google Play
The store pictures
Real captures of the PadPad and PadDroid settings.
Built for the job
Who Pad is for
Digital artists and designers
Use a stylus in desktop Photoshop, Krita, Clip Studio Paint, Affinity, Blender and more.
Students and teachers
Handwrite notes and equations, or mark up material while it stays on the computer.
Documents and quick signatures
Annotate or sign a PDF from a tablet or phone without moving the file.
Anyone reusing a screen they own
Reuse an iPad, Android tablet or phone instead of buying another peripheral.
Capabilities
What it does
Real tablet events, not mouse clicks
Pressure, tilt, azimuth and barrel roll arrive as system tablet input that Wacom-aware apps already read.
Stream exactly what you need
A display, a window tracked as it moves, one app’s windows or a dragged-out rectangle.
Mirror or extend
Mirror any display, or add a virtual display matched to the tablet, with no letterboxing.
A pressure curve you can shape
A multi-point editor with soft, linear and hard presets, min/max endpoints and smoothing, synced live.
Gestures and quick keys, per app
Taps and gestures map to eraser, hover, right click, modifiers or shortcuts, remembered for each app.
Latency you can watch
Hardware HEVC at 60 fps drops frames rather than buffering; the sidebar shows a round-trip indicator.
Practical guides
Start with what you want to do
Digital art How to use an Android tablet as a drawing tablet for a PC or Mac
7 minute read →
Apple Pencil How to use an iPad as a drawing tablet for a Mac or Windows PC
7 minute read →
Study & documents Use a tablet or phone to handwrite, annotate and sign on your computer
7 minute read →
Krita Use your tablet as a pressure-sensitive drawing tablet for Krita
6 minute read →Get Pad
Get Pad
Other downloads
- Portable zip, x64 Intel or AMD
- Portable zip, ARM64 Snapdragon and other ARM PCs
Install on your iPad, then pair with PadMac or PadWin. PadDroid 
The short answers
Questions about Pad
What do I need to use Pad?
You need PadPad on an iPad or PadDroid on an Android tablet, plus the host on your Mac or Windows PC (PadWin is a beta). Put both on the same local network and connect.
Does stylus pressure work in desktop drawing apps?
Yes. With a pressure-capable stylus, Pad sends real pressure, tilt and eraser input to tablet-aware apps, not mouse clicks.
Which desktop apps work with Pad?
Apps that accept pen, tablet or pointer input: Photoshop, Krita, Clip Studio Paint, Affinity and Blender, plus note, whiteboard, PDF and markup apps.
Krita on Windows draws only a dot, or pressure doesn’t work. What do I change?
In Krita, choose Settings → Configure Krita → Tablet settings, select Windows 8+ Pointer Input (Windows Ink), click OK and restart Krita. Krita’s default tablet API, WinTab, doesn’t receive PadWin’s pen input. Verified with Krita 6.0.4 on Windows 11.
Does Pad show Windows keys on a PC?
Yes. Connected to PadWin, the tablet shows Ctrl, Alt, Shift and Win; connected to PadMac, ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ ⌃. Shortcuts match the computer: Undo is Ctrl+Z on Windows and ⌘Z on a Mac.
PadMac says a permission is on, but it still doesn’t work. Why?
After some updates the switch stays on for an older build. PadMac 1.1 and later offer Repair in the menu. By hand: System Settings → Privacy & Security; under Screen Recording and Accessibility, remove PadMac with minus (−), add it back, then quit and reopen it.
Can I use a phone to sign or annotate a document on my computer?
Yes. PadDroid takes touch input, so an Android phone works as a small surface for a quick signature or mark-up without moving the document.
Does Pad upload my screen?
No. The screen stream and stylus input travel directly between your own devices; Codonic does not relay or store them.
Privacy by design
What Pad knows about you
- Pad does not collect personal data.
- Your screen and your stylus input travel directly between your own two devices.
- Deleting the app deletes everything it stored.