The Windows Snipping Tool (now called Snip & Sketch) is a handy screenshot grabber bundled right in the operating system.
Snipping Tool is a Microsoft Windows screenshot utility included in Windows Vista and later. It can take still screenshots of an open window, rectangular areas, a free-form area, or the entire screen. Snips can then be annotated using a mouse or a tablet, stored as an image file (PNG, GIF, or JPEG file) or an MHTML file, or e-mailed. Snipping Tool allows for basic image editing of the snapshot, with different colored pens, an eraser, and a highlighter. ~ Wikipedia
I have gotten in the habit of using this easily accessible utility rather than loading a third-party program with a heavy footprint. It’s perfect for down-and-dirty screen grabs and this week’s Quick Tips article will show you some basics of its use.
Running Snip & Sketch
By far, the easiest way to fire up the Snipping Tool is to use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + SHIFT + S. Once you do that, your screen will go dim and a small menu will appear at the top of the screen. That menu allows you to choose to capture a rectangular area of your screen, the full screen, a window snip, or free-form shape.
Your cursor will become a spinning cross and you can draw a shape around that which you want to save a copy of. Once created, it will be saved to your clipboard and show up in the Action Center. A small window will pop-up immediately after the screenshot is captured and if you click on that, a full-blown window will open where you have a lot more control over what you want to do with your “snip”.
Features
Along the top lays a Menu with several choices ranging from different types of writing tools, a highlighter, an eraser, a ruler, and a cropping tool. You can also save the screenshot, copy it, share it, and in the More Menu there are options to open it in another program, print it, change some Settings, and I haven’t looked at this but there is also an offering for some Tips & Tricks.
Conclusions
Snip & Sketch is a very handy tool for the casual user. It is a definite upgrade over previous Windows screen capture mechanisms because of all the editing tools which are now provided. It is easily accessible and best of all, it is free!
As always, if you have any helpful suggestions, comments or questions, please share them with us,
Richard
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Wow
Lovely to know. Now i dont need third party assistance.
Thanks
Hi Shobha,
Glad it helped!
Richard
I tried it on my system. The editor doesn’t pop up on mine but I can still paste the screenshots in another photo editor.
Just an update. If I use the windows key method (Windows key + SHIFT + S) I just get the screenshot. But if I open up the app first by way of the search or start menu, everything works fine.
Hi Terry,
Try this:
The PrtScn key should now open the Snipping Tool.
HTH,
Richard