Windows Snipping Tool is the built-in screen capture app on Windows 10 and 11. Faster than third-party tools. More options than the basic Print Screen key. Once you learn the shortcut and the snip types, you stop hunting for screenshot apps and just use what is already on your computer.
This guide walks through every feature, from quick snips to short screen recordings to delay capture for menus and tooltips.
Opening the Snipping Tool
The fastest way to open Snipping Tool is the keyboard shortcut Win + Shift + S. The screen dims and a small toolbar appears at the top. Memorize this shortcut and you will use it daily.
Other ways to open it include pressing Start and typing Snipping Tool, then clicking the app. On Windows 11, you can also configure the Print Screen key to open Snipping Tool instead of just copying to clipboard. The setting lives in Accessibility > Keyboard if you want to change that behavior.
Taking a Screenshot
Press Win + Shift + S to dim the screen and open the snip toolbar. The toolbar gives you four snip types to pick from. Pick the right one for what you want to capture. Drag to select your area or click a window depending on which snip type you chose.
The screenshot copies to your clipboard automatically. A notification appears in the bottom right. Click the notification to open the snip in Snipping Tool for editing, annotation or saving. If you just need to paste somewhere (a chat, a document), skip the notification and paste directly with Ctrl + V.
The Four Snip Types
Each snip type fits a different capture need. Picking the right one saves cropping work later.
- Rectangle. Drag to select any rectangular area. The default for most screenshots.
- Freeform. Draw any shape with your mouse. Useful for irregular captures.
- Window. Click any open window to capture just that window cleanly.
- Fullscreen. Captures the entire screen instantly. No dragging needed.
- Delay options (3 or 10 seconds). Lets you set up something on screen before capture fires.
Editing Your Snip
After capturing, click the notification or open Snipping Tool to access the editing features. You can use the pen and highlighter for annotations, an eraser to remove annotations, a ruler and protractor for drawing straight lines and a crop tool to trim the screenshot down further.
Windows 11 22H2 and later added a text overlay tool. You can type directly on screenshots which is useful for adding notes or labels. The save, copy and share buttons sit at the top of the editing window for quick actions.
Saving Your Screenshot
In Snipping Tool, click Save (the floppy disk icon) to save the screenshot to your computer. Pick a folder. Choose between PNG, JPG or GIF format. PNG is best for screenshots because it preserves text quality. JPG works for screenshots with lots of photos or gradients. Click Save and the file lands in your chosen folder.
By default, Snipping Tool can also auto-save all captures to your Pictures > Screenshots folder if you enable that in settings. Turn it on and every snip you take gets saved automatically without you having to think about it.
Recording Your Screen
Snipping Tool on Windows 11 added screen recording. To record video instead of just a screenshot, open Snipping Tool, click Record at the top, click New. Select the area to record. Click Start. The recording begins after a 3 second countdown.
Click Stop when done and the recording saves as an MP4 file. Great for short tutorials, bug reports for IT or demonstrating something to a coworker that would take too long to explain in text.
Setting a Delay for Tricky Captures
Some screenshots are hard to take because the thing you want to capture disappears when you click somewhere else. Right-click menus. Tooltips that show on hover. Hover-only animations. The delay feature solves this.
Open Snipping Tool from the Start menu. Click New and then Delay. Pick 3 seconds or 10 seconds. Click New again. The delay countdown starts. During the countdown, set up your screen the way you need it. Open that menu. Hover for the tooltip. When the delay fires, the capture happens automatically.
Where Your Snippings Get Saved
By default, screenshots only go to clipboard. You have to paste them somewhere or save them manually. If you enabled auto-save in settings, they go to Pictures > Screenshots folder automatically. If you saved one manually, it goes wherever you chose during the save dialog. Knowing where your screenshots live makes finding them later much easier.
Tips for Better Snips
Picking up a few habits makes screenshot work much faster over time. Here are the ones that pay off.
- Use Win + Shift + S 90% of the time. It is the fastest workflow once it becomes muscle memory.
- Pin Snipping Tool to your taskbar for one-click access when you do need the full app.
- Use the Window snip for clean app captures without distracting desktop clutter.
- Use the ruler tool when you need to measure or align content in your screenshots.
- For full-page screenshots of long web pages, install a browser extension since Snipping Tool only captures what is visible.
- For scrolling capture in Word or OneNote documents, those apps have their own built-in tools that work better.
Final Thoughts
To use Windows Snipping Tool, press Win + Shift + S, pick your snip type and capture. Edit, annotate or save in the Snipping Tool app. For screen recording, use the Record button in Snipping Tool 11+. It is faster than third-party tools, built in and completely free. Memorize the keyboard shortcut and you will use it daily.
If you have a Snipping Tool workflow that has saved you time, share it in the comments.