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How to Take Screenshots with Snipping Tool in Windows

How to Take Screenshots with Snipping Tool in Windows

Snipping Tool is an application included in Windows 8/7 which allows you to take screenshots of the entire screen, windows, custom rectangular area or custom shape area from your screen. These screenshots can be saved as JPG, PNG or GIF pictures on your hard drive, then you can send them by email or keep them in your pictures folder.

Unlike PrtScn (PrintScreen) command which will take a screenshots of the entire screen, the Snipping Tool allows you to select a custom area or even a custom shape that you draw with mouse on your screen.

Where to Find Snipping Tool in Windows 7

Click on Start, then search for Snipping Tool and click on it.

Where to Find Snipping Tool in Windows 8.1/8

Press Windows + Q, then search for Snipping Tool and click on it.
The Snipping Tool window looks like this.

How to Take a Custom Screenshot

Near the New button, you can select what type of screenshot do you want to make:

  • Free-form Snip will allow to select a custom area from the screen
  • Rectangular Snip allows to select a custom, but perfect rectangular area from the screen
  • Window Snip allows to select one of the active (opened) windows with a single click. This will select the entire window.
  • Full-screen Snip will take a screenshot of the entire screen

To take a custom screenshot, select the Free-form Snip option.

Then drag your mouse and select a custom shape from the screen.

When you release the mouse, the screenshot will be in Snipping Tool’s interface.

Then you can click Save to save it as PNG, JPG or GIF image.
Tip Save it as JPG, because the image will have a smaller file size and will preserve the colors at a high quality.

Also, you can send the image directly in your default email client, ready to be sent as attachment.

Edit the screenshot

The application allows to make basic editing operations, such as highlighting custom areas of your screenshot (also includes an eraser to delete what you have modified).
Besides highlighter, the program allows to draw custom lines through the Penbutton. You can customize its shape, size and color.

How to Take Screenshot of a window

You can make screenshots for an entire window of an application. Just select the Window Snip option.
Then just go with your mouse hover the window. The window will have a red border. Just click once and the screenshot will appear onto the Snipping Tool’s interface, then you can save it or send it by email.

How to Take a Custom Rectangular Screenshot

Select the Rectangular Snip option.
Then drag your mouse to select a custom area from the screen. The area will have a red border.
When you release the mouse, the screenshot will be available into Snipping Tool’s interface and you can save it as JPG image on your hard drive.

Snipping Tool Options

You can change the color of the border, when you take screenshots. By default is red, but you can choose another one from the Ink color.

  • Always copy snips to clipboard: you can copy&paste screenshots directly into another programs such as Word
  • Include URL below snips: if you take screenshot of a web page from Internet Explorer and save it as MHT file, the URL (web address) will be displayed below the image when you will view it.
  • Prompt to save snips before exiting: if you uncheck this option, you can close the program and will not ask you if you want to save the screenshot
  • Show screen overlay when Snipping Tool is active: if you uncheck it, when you will take a screenshot, the screen will not change its transparency or opacity.
  • Ink color: change the color of border for the selection
  • Show selection Ink after snips are captured: the contour of the screenshot will remain highlighted with the Ink color, after the screenshot appears in Snipping Tool’s interface
 The Snipping Tool is a free, useful and easy to use program included in Windows 7/8