Pad
Turn a tablet or phone into a pressure-sensitive drawing and writing pad for Mac or PC
- macOS
- Windows (beta)
- iPadOS
- Android
Free to use
Pad is two halves of one tool. A host app runs on the computer you actually work on, captures a display, a window or a hand-picked region, and encodes it with the hardware video encoder. A client app runs on the tablet, decodes that stream, and sends every stylus sample back the other way.
The point is the return path. Most screen-sharing tools send a mouse click. Pad synthesises real tablet events, so applications that already support a drawing tablet get pressure, tilt, azimuth, barrel roll, hover and a genuine eraser pointer without a driver, a plug-in or a setting change.
That same return path is useful far beyond illustration. Students can handwrite in a note or whiteboard app running on the computer, teachers can mark up material live, and a phone can become a quick touch surface for signing or annotating a document that never leaves the desktop.
Everything happens over your own network — Wi-Fi, USB-C, or a direct device-to-device link with no router at all. The shortest path between the two machines is the fastest one, and latency is the whole game here.
Built for the job
Who Pad is for
Digital artists and designers
Use a stylus with the desktop versions of Photoshop, Krita, Clip Studio Paint, Affinity, Blender and other pen-aware creative tools.
Students and teachers
Handwrite equations and notes, work through a problem on a digital whiteboard, or mark up learning material while it remains open on the computer.
Documents and quick signatures
Annotate a PDF or sign a document using a tablet—or a phone screen for a small, one-off action—without transferring the file to another device.
Anyone reusing a screen they own
Turn an existing iPad, Android tablet or phone into a useful desktop input surface instead of buying another dedicated peripheral.
Capabilities
What it does
Real tablet events, not mouse clicks
Pressure, tilt, azimuth and barrel roll are injected as system tablet input. Apps that read a Wacom read Pad, unmodified.
Handwrite, annotate and sign
Write into note and whiteboard apps, mark up a document or add a signature while the original file stays open on the computer. An Android phone can handle quick touch actions when a large canvas is unnecessary.
A pressure curve you can actually shape
Multi-point curve editor with soft, linear and hard presets, draggable min/max endpoints and adjustable smoothing — applied host-side and synced live, so you can test a change while still drawing.
Mirror or extend
Mirror any display, or create a true virtual display matched to the tablet panel — no letterboxing, and windows drag onto it like real hardware.
Stream exactly what you need
A whole display, a single window tracked as it moves, one application’s windows, or a rectangle you drag out yourself. Stylus coordinates always map onto what you can see.
Gestures and quick keys, per application
One, two and three-finger taps and hold-while-drawing gestures map to eraser, hover, right click, held modifiers or any shortcut — remembered separately for each app on the host and switched automatically.
Latency you can watch
Hardware HEVC at 60 fps with low-latency rate control, congestion handled by dropping frames rather than buffering, and a locally rendered stroke preview that covers what remains. A round-trip indicator sits in the sidebar.
Practical guides
Start with what you want to do
How to use an Android tablet as a drawing tablet for a PC or Mac
A practical route from an Android tablet to pressure-sensitive input in Photoshop, Krita, Clip Studio, Affinity or Blender.
7 minute read → Apple PencilHow to use an iPad as a drawing tablet for a Mac or Windows PC
What to look for when turning an iPad and Apple Pencil into a pen display for the desktop apps you already use.
7 minute read → Study & documentsUse a tablet or phone to handwrite, annotate and sign on your computer
A no-file-transfer workflow for students, teachers and anyone who needs a quick pen surface on a Mac or Windows PC.
7 minute read → KritaUse your tablet as a pressure-sensitive drawing tablet for Krita
A focused setup and troubleshooting guide for getting real stylus pressure into Krita from a tablet you already own.
6 minute read →Free to use
Get Pad
The short answers
Questions about Pad
Is Pad free?
Yes. PadDroid, PadPad, PadMac and PadWin are free to use.
What do I need to use Pad?
Install PadDroid on an Android tablet or PadPad on an iPad, then install the matching host on your Mac or Windows PC. The Windows host, PadWin, is currently a beta. Put both devices on the same local network and connect them.
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 desktop apps rather than translating the pen into ordinary mouse clicks.
Which desktop apps work with Pad?
Pad is designed for apps that accept pen, tablet or pointer input: creative tools such as Photoshop, Krita, Clip Studio Paint, Affinity and Blender, plus note, whiteboard, PDF and document-markup apps.
Can I use a phone to sign or annotate a document on my computer?
Yes. PadDroid can use touch input, so an Android phone can serve as a small writing surface for a quick signature, mark-up or handwritten action without moving the document off the computer.
Does Pad upload my screen?
No. The screen stream and stylus input travel directly between your own devices on the local connection; 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.