The Ultimate Guide to Using Snipping Tool

The Windows Snipping Tool is one of the most useful utilities you already have on your PC right now.

This powerful screen capture tool does far more than just take basic screenshots.

Many users overlook its capabilities, but I’ve found it invaluable for both work and personal use.

Let me show you why the Snipping Tool is genuinely worth mastering:

It lets you capture exactly what you need—specific areas, entire windows, or full screens
You can annotate, highlight, and draw directly on your capture
The built-in text extraction feature pulls text right out of images
It includes screen recording capabilities for creating quick videos
It integrates seamlessly with other applications for documentation and presentations

I’ve used dozens of screen capture tools, and the Snipping Tool handles 90% of everyday tasks that most people need.

This guide will show you everything you need to know to transform this underappreciated utility into one of your most-used productivity tools.

Let’s turn you into a Snipping Tool pro!

Finding and Opening the Snipping Tool

Before we dive into the details, let me show you how to access the snipping tool:

Click the Start button or press the Windows key
Type “Snipping Tool” in the search box
Click on the Snipping Tool app that appears

Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + Shift + S to open the snipping menu directly.

It is my preferred way to open it—it’s a serious time-saver.

Once open, you’ll see a simple interface with a couple of main buttons: one for taking screenshots (labeled “New”) and another for recording your screen (the video camera icon).

How to Take A Screenshot

Let’s start with the fundamentals.

There are actually several different ways to capture your screen, and each serves a different purpose.

To take a basic screenshot:

Open the Snipping Tool application
Click the “New” button
Your screen will dim slightly, and your cursor will change to a crosshair
Click and drag to select the area you want to capture
Release, and you’ve got your snip!

Remember: When you take a screenshot, the image isn’t automatically saved anywhere.

It opens in the Snipping Tool editor where you can annotate it, copy it, or save it as a file.

Snipping Modes Explained

One size definitely does not fit all when it comes to screenshots.

That’s why Snipping Tool offers four different capture modes:

Rectangle Mode: The default and most common option.

Click and drag to create a rectangle around exactly what you want to capture.

Perfect for grabbing specific content while excluding everything else.

Window Mode: Captures an entire window with a single click—no more trying to perfectly drag around the borders!

Just select this mode, then click on any open window you want to capture.

The tool automatically grabs the entire window with perfect edges.

Full-screen Mode: Captures everything displayed across your entire screen (or screens, if you have multiple monitors).

It’s like using Print Screen, but with all the Snipping Tool’s editing features afterward.

Free-form Mode: The artistic option!

This lets you draw any shape you want with your cursor, and it captures only what’s inside your drawn line.

Great for emphasizing specific elements or creating more dynamic-looking captures.

To switch between these modes:

Click the dropdown menu next to “Mode” in the Snipping Tool
Select your preferred capture style
Click “New” to start your capture

Pro Tip: Free-form mode is fantastic for product images where you want to remove the background or focus on an irregularly shaped object!

How to Set a Delay Timer

Sometimes you need to capture something that only appears briefly like dropdown menus, tooltips, or hover effects.

This is where the delay feature comes in handy.

Instead of frantically trying to open the tool and capture something before it disappears, you can:

Open Snipping Tool
Click the “Delay” dropdown
Select a delay time (3, 5, or 10 seconds)
Click “New”
Quickly set up whatever you need to capture
Wait for the timer, and the screen will freeze for your snip!

I use this ALL THE TIME for capturing those pesky menus that disappear when you click elsewhere.

Set a 5-second delay, click “New,” then open the menu you want to capture.

The Snipping Tool will activate after your chosen delay, giving you time to prepare the perfect shot.

Editing and Annotating Your Screenshots

Now we’re getting to the good stuff!

Once you’ve captured your screenshot, the Snipping Tool opens it in an editing window where you can mark it up before saving or sharing.

Highlighting Important Elements

Need to draw attention to specific parts of your screenshot?

The highlighter tool is perfect for this:

Click the highlighter icon in the toolbar
Select your preferred color from the palette that appears
Adjust the thickness if needed using the slider
Click and drag across the text or area you want to highlight

The semi-transparent color makes text remain readable while clearly standing out.

I prefer yellow for most highlights.

Bright colors like pink or green can be helpful when creating multiple highlighted sections that need to be distinguished from each other.

Drawing Using Ballpoint Pen Tool

The ballpoint pen tool lets you draw freehand on your screenshot.

To use it:

Click the ballpoint pen icon
Select a color from the palette
Adjust the thickness using the slider
Draw directly on your screenshot

You can use this to:

Add handwritten notes
Create custom marks or indicators
Highlight irregular shapes that don’t fit standard tools
Draw your own arrows or lines with unique angles

Quick Tip: Made a mistake? Click the “Undo” button (the curved arrow) or press Ctrl+Z to remove your last annotation.

Creating Perfect Shapes With Shape Tools

Sometimes freehand drawing looks too messy.

That’s where the shapes tool comes in:

Click the shapes icon (it looks like a square)
Choose the shape you want (rectangle, oval, or line)
Select your outline color and thickness
Choose whether to add a fill color
Click and drag to create your shape

The shapes tool is perfect for:

Drawing circles around important elements
Creating perfectly straight underlines beneath text
Adding arrows that point to specific features
Making boxes to frame important content

The ability to adjust opacity for both the outline and fill gives you incredible flexibility.

For example, I often create red outlines with no fill to circle important buttons, or low-opacity yellow fills with thin black borders to highlight entire sections.

Beyond shapes and lines, the Snipping Tool also offers ways to add more personality to your annotations.

While limited, the Snipping Tool does offer some emoji options that can add visual interest to your screenshots.

You can:

Click on the shapes icon
Select the emoji option
Choose from the available emojis to add visual markers

It is somewhat limited right now, it’s still useful for adding visual markers.

Microsoft will likely expand this feature in future updates.

The Eraser Tool

Made a mistake? No problem!

The eraser tool lets you remove any annotations you’ve added.

It’s as simple as clicking the eraser button and then clicking on the mark you want to remove.

How to Copy Text Directly from Screenshots

Here’s a game-changer most people don’t know about: Snipping Tool can actually extract TEXT from your screenshots!

Let’s say you’ve captured an image that contains text.

Instead of retyping all that text:

Take your screenshot as normal
Click on the “Text actions” button in the toolbar
Select “Copy text”
All readable text from your screenshot is now on your clipboard!
Paste it anywhere you need (document, email, chat)

I tested this feature extensively, and it works AMAZINGLY well on clear, standard fonts.

It’s less reliable with decorative fonts or very small text.

Automatic Redaction

Sharing screenshots that contain sensitive information?

The Snipping Tool has you covered with its redaction feature:

Take your screenshot
Click “Text Actions”
Select “Quick redact”
The tool will automatically detect and redact (black out) email addresses and phone numbers

This is a serious time-saver for privacy protection!

Recording Your Screen as a Video

The newest versions of Snipping Tool have added an incredible feature that transforms it from a simple screenshot tool to a complete screen capture solution: video recording!

To record your screen:

Open Snipping Tool
Click the “Record” button (looks like a video camera)
Select the area of your screen you want to record
Click “Start recording”
Click “Stop recording” when finished

The recording is saved and automatically opens for review.

It creates fairly small files, making them perfect for sharing quick demonstrations via email or messaging apps.

Remember: This isn’t for creating professional-quality videos

But for quickly showing someone how to complete a task? It’s PERFECT.

Cropping Tools

Sometimes you realize after taking a screenshot that you included too much.

Rather than starting over, use the cropping tool:

Click the crop button in the editor
Adjust the borders to select just the area you want to keep
Click the checkmark to apply the crop

This makes it easy to fine-tune your captures after the fact.

Saving, Sharing, and Customizing Snipping Tool

Once you’ve captured and annotated your screenshot, you have several options:

Copy to clipboard: Click the copy button to place the image on your clipboard, ready to paste into documents, emails, or chat
Save as file: Click the save icon to store your creation as an image file (PNG, JPG, or GIF)
Share directly: Click the three dots in the top right corner, then select “Share” to send your screenshot via email or other apps without saving it first

Pro Tip: When saving, consider using PNG format for screenshots with text or sharp lines, as it provides better quality.

Use JPG for photographs or images with lots of colors to keep file sizes smaller.

Customizing Your Settings

Like any good tool, Snipping Tool can be tailored to your specific needs through its settings:

Open Snipping Tool
Click the three dots in the corner
Select “Settings”

Here you’ll find toggles for various features:

Auto-copy to clipboard
Save snips automatically
Include audio in recordings
Show selection border
And more!

Take a few minutes to explore these settings—customizing them to match your workflow can save you tons of time in the long run.

Summary: Getting the Most Out of Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool might seem like a simple screen capture utility at first glance.

But as we’ve seen, it’s packed with powerful features that can save you time.

This built-in Windows tool eliminates the need for expensive third-party software for many common tasks.

My advice?

Start using the keyboard shortcut (Windows + Shift + S) today, and gradually explore the annotation and editing features as you need them.