How to use the Snipping Tool shortcut on Windows 10

How to use the Snipping Tool shortcut on Windows 10

The Snipping Tool for Windows 10 is a very powerful and helpful tool to take a full screen snapshot or capture just a portion of it. You can capture text and graphics and save it in your desired format.

In this article you’re going to learn how to use the Snipping Tool shortcut on Windows 10.

It is very friendly to use and can get even easier with shortcut keys. Unfortunately, there is no default keyboard shortcut to launch the Snipping Tool.

If you use the snipping tool frequently, it is advised to create a Snipping Tool shortcut Windows 10.

Using shortcuts for the Snipping Tool will make your work easy as well as save you a lot of time. With this, you do not need to go through the Start menu every time. Wouldn’t it be great if you were able to launch the Snipping Tool with just a tap on the keyboard?

In this post, we will discuss different ways to create and use the Snipping Tool Windows 10 shortcut.

Table of Contents

  1. How to use the Snipping Tool shortcut on Windows 10
    1. Create a desktop shortcut for the Snipping Tool
    2. Create Hotkey for Snipping Tool Windows 10
  2. Windows 10 Snipping Tool shortcut keys
    1. Pen Tool Shortcuts
    2. Windows 10 Snip & Sketch keyboard shortcuts
  3. Wrap Up

How to use the Snipping Tool shortcut on Windows 10

While speaking of the Snipping Tool keyboard shortcut, you need to know what else this tool can do for you. It is very helpful for you to do some tasks like saving and sharing news, stories, recipes, and reviews, etc. You can either capture the whole screen or just an area.

Plus, you can share the screenshot through email right from the “Snipping Tool” interface.

Create a desktop shortcut for the Snipping Tool

Creating a desktop shortcut will let you access the Snipping Tool in a quick and easy way every time you need it. And the process is simple:

  • Go to the Start Menu > Accessories;
  • Right-click on the “Snipping Tool” > More > Pin to Taskbar.

This will create a taskbar shortcut that you can access with a single click no matter the task you’re performing.

Create Hotkey for Snipping Tool Windows 10

If you take screenshots frequently, having a shortcut to open the Snipping Tools on Windows 10 comes in handy. Although you can create a desktop shortcut, having a Windows 10 Snipping Tool hotkey maybe even a better option.

With the help of the following steps, you can create a keyboard shortcut for Snipping Tool Windows 10.

  • Go to the Start Menu > Accessories;
  • Now, right-click on the “Snipping Tool” > More > Open File Location;
  • Right-click on the Snipping Tool shortcut and select “Properties”.
  • At the top, you will see a “Shortcut” tab, under this tab, select the Shortcut key field. Now, enter the keyboard shortcut that you want to use to launch Snipping Tool. You can use a shortcut combination like Ctrl + Alt + K or Ctrl+ Alt+ S as the keyboard shortcut.

Now, click OK, and try your new hotkey. You’ve just created a Snipping Tool keyboard shortcut Windows 10 and every time you press it, it will directly launch the “Sniping Tool” without losing precious time.

Windows 10 Snipping Tool shortcut keys

Note that these shortcuts will only work if the Snipping Tool is opened in your Windows 10. Also, you should be on the active window when using these shortcuts.

Alt + N or Ctrl + N: Press Alt/Ctrl key and the N key at the same time. It will start a new screen capture.

Alt + M: Set the screen capture mode. Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to choose from the following options:

  • Free-form snip;
  • Window snip;
  • Rectangular tool;
  • Full-screen snip.

Then, press the Enter key to commit your selection.

Alt + D: Set the delay for starting the screen capture. Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to choose from:

  • 1 Second;
  • 2 Seconds;
  • 3 Seconds;
  • 4 Seconds;
  • 5 Seconds;
  • No delay.

Then, press the Enter key to commit the choice.

Pen Tool Shortcuts

Alt + T then:

  • P: Select Pen;
  • B: Blue Pen;
  • P then P: Custom Pen;
  • P then L: Black Pen;
  • P then R: Red Pen;
  • P then C: Access to Customize Pen.

Other Shortcuts

  • Ctrl + S: Use this keyboard shortcut to save the screenshot;
  • Ctrl + C: Copy the screenshot;
  • Ctrl + E: Edit the screenshot in Paint 3D;
  • Ctrl + P: Print the screen capture;
  • Alt + F: Access File menu;
  • Alt + F then T then E: Send as an Outlook e-mail;
  • Alt + F then T then A: Send as an email attachment in Outlook;
  • Alt + T then H: Highlighter tool;
  • Alt + T then E: Eraser tool;
  • Alt + T then O: Set options in the Snipping Tool;
  • F1: Go to Snipping Tool Help;
  • Esc: Exits the tool.

Windows 10 Snip & Sketch keyboard shortcuts

For those who are unfamiliar with Snip & Sketch, it is a modernized version of the Snipping Tool. Microsoft released this updated version with the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

To Windows 10 users who did not have installed this update yet, the Snipping Tool shows an option to get the new tool. Alternatively, you can get Snip & Sketch from the Windows Store.

Once you have opened the tool, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts to access a wide array of functions:

Shift + Windows Key + S: Opens the screen capture bar with some options available at the top of the screen. This only lets you take a screen capture. You cannot use this keyboard shortcut to open the Snip & Sketch app for editing.

  • Ctrl + N or Alt + N: New Screen Capture;
  • Ctrl + O or Alt + O: Open a file for editing;
  • Ctrl + P: Print screen capture;
  • Ctrl + Z: Undo edit;
  • Ctrl + Y: Redo edit;
  • Ctrl + T or Alt + T: Toggle Touch Writing on and off. For use with touch screens;
  • Ctrl + B or Alt + B: Ballpoint pen tool;
  • Ctrl + C or Alt + I: Pencil tool;
  • Ctrl + H or Alt + H: Highlighter tool;
  • Ctrl + E or Alt + E: Eraser tool;
  • Ctrl + R or Alt + R: Crop tool;
  • Ctrl + Z or Alt + Z: Zoom tool;
  • Ctrl + S or Alt + S: Save capture;
  • Ctrl + C or Alt + C: Copy capture;
  • Ctrl + A or Alt + A: Share capture;
  • Ctrl + M or Alt + M: Open see more menu;
  • Esc: Exits the app.

Wrap Up

So, now you have all keyboard shortcuts, whether you are using the Snipping Tool or the updated version – Snip & Sketch. These save a lot of time for frequent users of the mentioned tools.

The Snipping Tool is the best built-in tool for snip screens. It becomes easier to use with snipping tool shortcut keys. You can easily open and save images with shortcut keys. To create a Windows 10 snipping tool shortcut, take help from the above post.

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