Introduction
When it comes to taking screenshots, Windows users have many alternatives. Although many third-party applications are accessible, certain users might not require them.
The Snipping Tool, pre-installed in Windows Vista and later versions, can be a helpful fix. It has facilities for editing and annotating screenshots and letting you take them.
While the Snipping Tool was briefly addressed in our earlier articles about taking screenshots on various devices, particularly in Windows 10, we’ll go into more detail here. We’ll thoroughly explain how to use the Snipping tool to take, save, edit, annotate, and send screenshots in this article.
We’ll also demonstrate how to change the settings to suit your preferences.
The Snipping Tool is easily accessed and requires a few easy steps. The Start button, typically found in the bottom left corner of your screen, must first be pressed, and a search box should display after you have clicked the Start button.
Hit the enter key on your keyboard after typing “snipping tool” into the search bar. The Snipping Tool program will be displayed as a result.
Alternatively, you can choose to “Pin to taskbar” or “Pin to Start menu” by performing a right-click on the Snipping Tool result. By doing this, you’ll be able to find the Snipping tool faster and without having to look for it every time you need it in the future.
The Snipping tool is easy to use and quick, and by pinning it to your taskbar or Start menu, you may save time and effort.
Setting up the snipping tool’s options
Customizing the Snipping Tool’s settings following your preferences before using it is essential. Basic features like taking a fresh screenshot, cancelling an existing screenshot in process, and creating a delayed screenshot are available in the Snipping Tool window (if you have Windows 10). However, let’s take a closer look at the options you can adjust by clicking the “Settings” button before exploring those functions.
The “Settings” button opens the Options window, where you can customize the app’s behaviour and appearance. You can alter some settings in the “Application” area, including whether or not to always copy snippets to the clipboard and whether or not to prompt you to save them before quitting. Moreover, when taking a snapshot in an Internet Explorer window, you can include the URL below snippets in Single File HTML or MHT compositions.
You can change the Snipping Tool’s colour palette by going to the “Selection” section of the Settings window. By choosing a colour from the drop-down list, you can alter the ink colour of the selection boundary that appears when you create a snip. Also, you have the option to choose the ink colour of your choice to reveal the selection ink after the snips are captured.
After selecting, click “OK” to return to the main Snipping Tool window. You can now use the Snipping Tool to take screenshots using your desired settings. You can always return to the Settings box and make any necessary adjustments.
Capturing a screenshot using the Snipping tool
You must first click the down arrow to the right of the “New” button to use the Snipping Tool to take a screenshot. This will bring up a drop-down menu with four choices.
The Free-form Snip is the initial choice. With this, you can use your mouse to draw any form, and it will then take a screenshot of the specified region.
The Rectangular Snip is the second choice. This choice enables you to select a rectangular area with your mouse and snap a screenshot.
The Window Snip is the third choice. You can use this option to screenshot the visible portion of any open window by clicking on it. On the other hand, if any of the window’s content is off-screen, it won’t be recorded.
The Full-screen Snip is the fourth choice. You can use this option to capture a screenshot of your full display. If you use numerous monitors, everything on each will be recorded.
It’s vital to remember that one of the options will have a black dot next to it when the menu is open. This shows what kind of screenshot the Snipping Tool will automatically take if you click “New” without first seeing the drop-down option. The last type of snapshot you took will always be the default option.
There’s no need to worry if you choose a snip type and later change your mind. You can undo your selection using a capability already in the Snipping Tool. This tool is helpful if you’ve made a mistake or are dissatisfied with your current choice
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Select “Cancel” to reverse your decision. This button can be accessible anytime before taking the screenshot because it is in the Snipping Tool window. When you click the “Cancel” button, the Snipping Tool window will open again, allowing you to choose a different snip.
How to Take a Delayed Screenshot
Until the launch of Windows 10, the Snipping Tool mainly had stayed the same since its debut in Windows Vista. The Snipping Tool can now snap delayed screenshots in addition to its prior features.
The “Delay” button’s down arrow allows users to select a delay between 0 and 5 seconds. This indicates that after selecting “New,” the Snipping Tool will wait the predetermined amount of seconds before taking the screenshot. This capability is beneficial for creating screenshots requiring users to select menu options or carry out other tasks before capturing the needed image.
Editing Screenshots with Ease
The Snipping Tool opens an editing window when you take a screenshot. The screenshot can be edited and annotated using the Snipping Tool editor. Moreover, the toolbar now has some new choices. To take more screenshots, click the “New” and “Delay” buttons to return to the standard Snipping Tool window.
To save an image to disk, copy it to the clipboard, or open a new email with the image attached, select one of the “Save,” “Copy,” or “Email” buttons.
There are a few annotation tools to the right of those buttons. You can add coloured drawings to the image using the Pen tool. Draw anything you want on the image by selecting “Pen” and clicking again. To modify the pen’s colour, you can select a different hue by clicking on the downward arrow located on the “Pen” button. Select “Customize” from the drop-down menu to access other colours and modify the pen’s thickness and tip style.
To add a thick, transparent yellow line to any area of the image, click the “Highlighter” button. Unfortunately, the highlighter only comes in yellow.
Finally, the Eraser tool transforms your cursor into an eraser so you can remove previously added marks. It functions quite differently from other image editing apps’ erasers. The original screenshot you initially took will not be deleted by the Snipping Tool’s eraser. Moreover, you cannot use it to partially delete your annotations. To remove an annotation, click the eraser on any individual annotation—such as a line you’ve made.
Although there are programs for taking screenshots and manipulating more potent images, the built-in Snipping Tool is still useful. This is particularly true if you snap screenshots or use a PC without any other image editing software. Despite its relatively constrained feature set, the Snipping Tool performs admirably when taking simple snapshots.
Windows shortcuts to open the Snipping tool
On a computer, taking a screenshot can be a quick and simple way to capture data or photos from your screen. The Snipping tool included with Windows makes grabbing screenshots in various forms and editing them simple. You can follow the instructions in this article to start the Snipping tool on your Windows computer.
On Windows 10 or 11, you may use a straightforward keyboard shortcut to launch the Snipping Tool. On your keyboard, concurrently press the Windows, Shift, and S keys to launch the tool. Your screen will noticeably darken as soon as the device is in use. At the top of your screen, there is a selection of five icons that allows you to pick the shape of your screenshot.
The first icon represents the default setting, which takes rectangular-shaped screenshots. The second choice, Freeform Snip, enables freeform screenshot capture. Whereas Fullscreen Snip takes a screenshot of the whole screen, including all open windows and the taskbar, Window Snip only captures the window of a single app that is open on your computer. Lastly, you can close the application without taking a snapshot by selecting Close Snipping.
The Snipping Tool will show a notification in the bottom-right corner of your screen once you’ve decided on the screenshot’s shape. When you click on this message, the Snipping Tool will open, allowing you to edit your screenshot with various options.
Some helpful keyboard shortcuts are included with the Snipping tool that can help you rapidly access its functionality. An example of keyboard shortcuts includes using Ctrl+N to capture a new screenshot, Ctrl+S to save the existing one in your present folder and in the file format you prefer, to copy it to your clipboard and print it, press the keys Ctrl and P.
In conclusion, the Windows PC’s built-in Snipping Tool is handy for taking and altering screenshots. You may rapidly take a screenshot and even easily alter it by utilizing the keyboard shortcuts and the suitable shape.
