A lot of tools are available to take screenshots on Windows computers. It includes both premium and free ones. But, Windows devices come with a pre-installed tool called Snipping Tool, owned by Microsoft. The utility is available in all kinds of Windows versions, including Windows Vista. If you’re a new user to Snipping Tool, you may find it difficult to use this tool. So, we will briefly show how to use the Snipping Tool to take, edit, save, and share screenshots.

Snipping Tool

The following guide will apply for all versions, including the latest Windows 10.

How to Use the Snipping Tool

To launch the snipping tool, head to Start menu, type Snipping Tool, and launch the tool from the search results. As Snipping Tool doesn’t have a specified keyboard shortcut to open, you can pin the Snipping tool to the taskbar for regular use.

Take Screenshots

Firstly, select what kind of snip mode you want to take. There are four choices available in Snipping Tool: Free-form Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip, and Full-screen Snip. The first mode lets you draw free form shape, the rectangular mode takes a screenshot in a rectangular shape, the Windows mode lets you snip the current window, and the last one snips the entire screen.

Snipping Tool Windows

Click the drop-down icon located next to the Mode menu and select your snip mode. Once you selected the mode, click New and snip the area that you want to capture.

Take Delayed Screenshots

Taking delayed screenshots is one of the major highlights of the Snipping Tool. You can delay the screenshots for up to five seconds. The advantage of this feature is that you can screenshot a certain menu or Windows that close while selecting the Snipping Tool. Click the Delay menu located next to Mode and select your time. Once selected, click New and snip the area after the respective seconds.

Take Delayed Screenshot on Snipping Tool

Annotate or Edit the Screenshot

Once taken the screenshot, the image will open on the editor automatically. From there, you can write, highlight, or draw anything on the image. For this, the Snipping Tool provides two editing tools: Pen and highlighter.

Edit Screenshot on Snipping Tool

To customize the pen color, click the drop-down icon located next to the pen icon. It will display three options: Red, Blue, and Black.

Edit Screenshot on Snipping Tool

By clicking on the customize menu, you can select more colors and change the thickness & tip of the pen. There are three thickness levels available: Fine, Medium, and Thick.

Customise Pen

Use Eraser

If you have used a pen and highlighter to select the wrong portion on the image, use the eraser to correct the mistakes. Click the Eraser menu next to the highlighter and tap on the incorrect annotations you have made.

Edit Screenshot on Snipping Tool

Edit with Paint 3D

The integration with Paint 3D lets you add filters, text, 2D shapes, 3D shapes, stickers, and much more to your screenshots. You can also crop the unwanted portions on your screenshot. Click the Paint 3D icon, and the image will open on the Paint 3D app automatically.

Edit Screenshots with Paint 3D

Print Screenshots

You can also print the edited screenshots by simply pressing CTRL + P keys on your keyboard. Press those keys, select your printer, and print your screenshots from the app.

Save and Share Screenshots

By clicking on the Email icon, you can share the edited screenshots directly from the Snipping Tool.

Share Screenshots

To save the screenshot, click the Save icon next to the Delay menu. You can save the screenshot in four different formats: PNG, JPG, GIF, and MHT (HTML file). Select the destination folder and save your image.

Save Screenshots on Snipping Tool

Wrapping Up

All the walk-throws mentioned above will work efficiently to take and edit screenshots using the Snipping Tool on Windows desktop or laptop. Despite having limited editing features, it is a powerful tool for the people who want to take occasional screenshots. Try it out and give your feedback in the comments section. You can also shot your queries related to this guide.