How to use Snipping Tool in Windows 10

How to take a screenshot on Windows 7 without the snipping tool

In our daily work life, we come across relevant information that we may want to save for our future use. The best way to give a perspective to your explanation is by sharing or attaching some screenshots.

To make it easier, let’s check how to use the snipping tool in Windows 10. Capturing screenshots is now made easy with the help of the snipping tool in Windows 10.

Sometimes we may want our emails and PowerPoint presentations to highlight the specific aspects and information from the previously done analysis.

The snipping tool for Windows 10 has certain easy-to-use functionalities. Ranging from a free-flow screen capture to the finest editing of the screenshots, the snipping tool has come a long way!

This post is all about adopting the snipping tool to your daily work life and exploring new ways for a workaround. Read ahead to know more!

Table of Contents

  1. What is Windows 10 Snipping Tool?
    1. Benefits of the Snipping Tool
  2. How to use the Snipping Tool in Windows 10
    1. Windows 10 Snipping Tool location
    2. How to crop a screenshot
    3. Keyboard shortcuts to use Snipping Tool
  3. Wrap Up

What is Windows 10 Snipping Tool?

The snipping tool is an in-built Microsoft Windows app that quickly captures screenshots of your system screen. It comes with four modes: free-form snip, rectangular snip, window snip, and full-screen snip.

These different modes let you decide the shape of your screenshot which makes the snipping tool a nice one to use. Another feature that’s worth a mention is the delay function. It lets you decide how many seconds of delay you want the tool to wait before capturing a screenshot.

With a new update, the snipping tool is moving to another home to give rise to a new tool: Snip & Sketch. Editing a screenshot with a 3D touch is now possible in the recent update of the snipping tool.

Benefits of the Snipping Tool

With a built-in Windows 10 tool that makes it easy to capture and edit screenshots, the snipping tool has more benefits than you can imagine. It has four major modes using which you can capture either a free-flow, rectangular or full screenshot of the screen.

The recent update has included touch writing, ball-point pen writing style along with a pencil and highlighter that lets you edit your screen capture or already stored image in style. The snipping tool comes along with a ruler and a protractor, in case you want to add measurements to your screenshots.

If you want to capture a screenshot after a certain amount of time then the “delay” feature will be helpful. With the snipping tool, it is now easy to share the screenshot in one go. But, how to use the snipping tool in Windows 10?

How to use the Snipping Tool in Windows 10

Windows 10 Snipping Tool location

The primary step for using the snipping tool is to locate it! Where is the snipping tool in Windows 10? It’s simple, type “snipping tool” on the search box. Once the tool appears in the list, just click and start using it.

You can also run the snipping tool with the help of the Start button. Access the Start Menu and select All Apps. Then select Windows Accessories and hit the Snipping tool.

Another way to begin using this tool is through Run. Press Windows+R, type “snippingtool” and click OK. You can even open it through the command prompt by typing “snippingtool.exe” and hitting the Enter button.

Once you have the snipping tool running, it’s time to learn how to use it. With the below steps, you can easily work around your screenshots.

How to crop a screenshot

Before capturing a screenshot, you will first need to decide the shape you want to use. You can do it by clicking on the “Mode” button. After selecting the Mode dropdown, you will be available with four choices:

  • Free Form Snip
  • Rectangular Snip
  • Window Snip
  • Full-Screen Snip

While selecting the free form or rectangular snips, make sure you use your mouse to select the area for capturing the screenshot. To include a delay before the capture, click on the “Delay” button and select the number of seconds of delay you want before taking a snip. If you want to take a new screenshot using the same mode, just click on New.

After you capture a screenshot you can write or highlight it by selecting the Pen and the Highlighter buttons. You may also click the Eraser button if you want to erase any section of the screenshot.

To save and copy your screenshot, use the save and copy buttons available at the top of the captured snip. In the “Save As” text box, write the desired name of the snip and save it in any wanted location. To further explore other options in the snipping tool, click on the Options button. You can control the ink colors and various other Snipping tool features.

When you take a snip from the browser window and save it as an HTML file, the snip contains the URL at the bottom. If you want to prevent the URL from appearing below the snip, simply uncheck the “Include URL below snips (HTML only)” checkbox.

If your idea is to give a 3D effect to your screenshot, select Edit > Edit with Paint 3D. Using this you can add color, change the size, and use other features for further enhancements of the screenshot. If you want to print your screenshot, right-click it and select the Print option.

Keyboard shortcuts to use Snipping Tool

To open the snipping tool, press the Windows logo icon on the keyboard and type “snipping tool”. Once you open the snipping tool, select the mode of your snip using Alt + M keys. Use the arrow keys to choose between Free Form Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip, and Full-Screen Snip, and then press Enter.

To capture a new screenshot with the same mode that you used last, press Alt + N keys. Finally, to save your snip, press Ctrl + S keys. To copy your screenshot on the clipboard, press Ctrl + C keys.

Wrap Up

Throughout this article, you got to learn how to use the snipping tool in Windows 10. It is one of the easiest to use built-in Windows tools. In our daily lives, we come across a situation where taking a screenshot is the best way to provide evidence and further explain the scenarios.

In such situations, this Windows app can be your go-to tool. With recent updates, it has modified itself for serving better purposes.

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