Pressing Win + Shift + S opens Snipping Tool’s capture controls over the desktop. Choose a screen area or a full-screen capture, then edit the resulting image or share it with another app.
Choose a snip mode
Use the keyboard shortcut to bring up the capture menu without leaving the screen you want to capture. Select a rectangular region, draw a freeform outline, pick a window, or capture the entire screen.
- Rectangular snip: drag across the part of the screen to include.
- Freeform snip: trace an irregular area.
- Window or full-screen snip: capture a chosen window or the whole display.
Mark up and save a screenshot
After capturing, use the editing tools to crop the image or draw attention to a detail with a marker. This suits tasks such as circling a control in a software screenshot or pointing out a section of a document. Snipping Tool saves captures to the default folder, and its sharing options let you send an image to another app.
Record screen activity
Switch to the recording mode to capture on-screen activity as a video. Select the area to record, start the capture, and stop it when the demonstration or issue reproduction is complete.
Pros
- Win + Shift + S opens the capture controls
- Supports rectangular, freeform, window, and full-screen snips
- Includes image cropping and marker annotations
- Can record screen activity
How do I open Snipping Tool’s capture controls?
Press Win + Shift + S to open the capture menu.
Can Snipping Tool capture only part of the screen?
Yes. Choose a rectangular or freeform snip to select an area, or capture a window.
Can I annotate a screenshot in Snipping Tool?
Yes. Use the marker to highlight or comment on an image, and crop it with the editing tools.
