how to use snipping tool on windows

June 27, 2026

Here’s a clear, step‑by‑step guide on how to use Snipping Tool on Windows , focusing on Windows 11 (most steps are similar on Windows 10).

1. How to open Snipping Tool

You can open Snipping Tool in three main ways:

Press Windows key + Shift + S to start a snip overlay directly on your screen.

Open Start → type Snipping Tool → click the app.

On many PCs, pressing Print Screen (PrtSc) is set to open Snipping Tool’s snip overlay.

Once the overlay appears, the screen will dim and a small toolbar will show at the top.

2. Choose a snip type

On the dimmed overlay bar, you’ll normally see four options:

Rectangular snip: Drag to select a rectangle area.
Freeform snip: Draw any shape around what you want to capture.
Window snip: Click a specific window (like a browser or app).
Fullscreen snip: Capture the whole screen at once.

Click the mode you want, then drag or click as prompted to capture.

3. Taking a screenshot step by step

Example using the shortcut:

Go to the screen you want to capture.
Press Windows + Shift + S.

Select the snip mode (e.g., Rectangular).

Drag to select the area (or click a window / full screen).
Release the mouse. The capture is taken and briefly appears as a small thumbnail near the corner.

If you click that thumbnail, it opens in the Snipping Tool editor.

4. Editing your snip (image)

In the Snipping Tool editor you can quickly mark up and adjust your screenshot:

Draw / highlight : Use pen and highlighter tools in different colors to mark important parts.

Eraser : Remove any drawings or highlights you added.

Shapes & arrows: Add boxes, circles, arrows, and a few emojis to point out things or highlight sections.

Crop : Trim the image to just the part you need.

Open in Paint : For more advanced editing (text, more images, etc.), choose “Edit in Paint.”

When you’re done:

Click Save to store the file (usually as PNG).

Or click Copy and paste it into email, chat, or a document.

5. Recording your screen with Snipping Tool (video snips)

On newer Windows 11 builds, Snipping Tool can also record video clips:

Open Snipping Tool from Start.
Click the video icon (if available) instead of the screenshot icon.

Choose the rectangular area you want to record.

Decide if you want system audio and/or microphone audio included.

Start recording, then stop when finished.

The clip is saved directly; you can then open it in tools like Clipchamp to add captions or audio if you want more editing.

6. Text extraction and redaction (privacy features)

Newer Snipping Tool versions have Text actions using OCR (Optical Character Recognition):

Extract text from a screenshot:
- Open the snip in Snipping Tool.
- Click Text actions.
- Select text and choose Copy text or Copy all text.

Redact sensitive text (emails, phone numbers):
- With Text actions , select text and choose Redact text , or use Quick redact to automatically hide emails and numbers.

All of this happens locally on your device for privacy.

7. Handy settings and quality‑of‑life tweaks

You can adjust Snipping Tool to better fit your workflow:

Open Snipping Tool.
Click the three dots (…) → Settings.

Useful options include:

Auto-copy snips to clipboard.

Auto-save snips to a chosen folder.

Show or hide selection borders.

Include audio in recordings.

You can also enable notifications so each new snip pops up as a clickable toast, making it easier to jump into editing.

8. Quick reference (HTML table)

Below is an HTML table you can reuse in a blog or help article:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Action</th>
      <th>How to do it</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Open Snipping Tool</td>
      <td>Press Windows + Shift + S, or search “Snipping Tool” in Start and open it.</td>
      <td>On some PCs, Print Screen also opens the snip bar.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Take a rectangular screenshot</td>
      <td>Press Windows + Shift + S, choose Rectangular mode, drag over the area, release.</td>
      <td>Thumbnail appears; click it to edit and save.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Capture a window</td>
      <td>Press Windows + Shift + S, choose Window mode, click the window.</td>
      <td>Great for grabbing just an app without the whole desktop.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Capture full screen</td>
      <td>Press Windows + Shift + S, choose Fullscreen mode.</td>
      <td>Useful for multi-step tutorials or showing everything.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Annotate screenshot</td>
      <td>Open snip in editor, use pen, highlighter, shapes, or crop tools.</td>
      <td>Draw arrows, boxes, or circles to highlight important parts.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Record screen area (video)</td>
      <td>Open Snipping Tool, switch to video mode, select area, start/stop recording.</td>
      <td>Optionally include system and mic audio; edit later in Clipchamp.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Copy text from image</td>
      <td>Open snip, click Text actions, select text, choose “Copy text” or “Copy all text”.</td>
      <td>Works best on clear, standard fonts.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Redact sensitive info</td>
      <td>Use Text actions → “Redact text” or “Quick redact”.</td>
      <td>Automatically hides emails and phone numbers.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Change default behavior</td>
      <td>Open Snipping Tool → … → Settings.</td>
      <td>Turn on auto-save, auto-copy, selection borders, and more.</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

9. Mini “story” example

Imagine you’re making a quick how‑to for a teammate:

You press Windows + Shift + S , grab just the error message box with a rectangular snip, then highlight the exact line they should look at.

You use Text actions to copy the error code directly from the screenshot instead of retyping it.

Before sharing it in chat, you use Quick redact to hide your email shown in the corner of the app.

That’s the typical, everyday power‑user flow with Snipping Tool in 2025–2026 Windows builds. TL;DR: Use Windows + Shift + S , choose the snip type, capture, then annotate, save, or share from the Snipping Tool editor; on modern Windows 11 you can also record video, extract text, and quickly redact sensitive info.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.