In Windows 10 there is an easy to use tool for taking screenshots of the entire screen or any section of the screen you want to capture, called the Snipping Tool.
In this tutorial, we will show you how to take screenshots with it, how to save, edit or email a screenshot, how to use the available markup tools and how to change the settings of the Snipping Tool.
Where to Find the Snipping Tool in Windows 10
Snipping Tool Menu Bar
NEW
Click on New
to capture a screenshot
The screen will fade and you will see a + symbol appear that you can then click the left mouse button, then keeping it pressed, drag it to capture what you want on the screen
You can click Cancel
if you make a mistake or change your mind
Once you have selected the area you want to capture, the menu bar change to the following options
MODE
There are four types of captures available when you select Mode
- Free-form Snip enables you to draw an irregular line around an object or area
- Rectangular Snip allows you to take a screenshot shaped as a rectangle, by dragging the cursor around an object
- Window Snip allows you to select a window (e.g. your Internet browser) or dialogue box (e.g. error message received from an application) and capture it
- Full-screen Snip enables you to capture the entire screen, like the old-fashioned Print Screen key
NOTE: The Full-screen Snip option is not available after you have captured your screen area
SEND
If you want to send your snip selection via email to someone, then click on Send
If you instead click on the dialog down next to Send, then you have two options:
- Email Recipient – Will add the Snipping Tool selection within the email
- Email Recipient (as attachment) – Will add the Snipping Tool selection as an attachment to the email
NOTE: Default option for Send is the last option you selected
How to Print Snipping Selection
Snipping Tool Options
There are further options you can change in Snipping Tool. To get to these, click on Tools > Options
You can then change the following options:
- Hide Instruction Text – hide the instruction text in the main Snipping Tool window.
- Always copy snips to the Clipboard – copy all captures to the Windows clipboard so you can paste them into other applications (e.g. Word processors or image editors).
- Include URL below snips (HTML only) – save your snips as a Single File HTML or MHT documents. If a snip is taken from an Internet Explorer window, it also shows the URL of the webpage included in the screenshot.
- Prompt to save snips before exiting – gives you a heads up if you have any captures that you have not saved, prior to closing the program.
- Show screen overlay when Snipping Tool is active – if disabled, when you are taking a screenshot, the Snipping Tool transparent overlay is no longer shown on the screen.
The second section, named Selection, allows you to make a few settings regarding the color palette :
- Ink Color – changes the color of the selection border when you create a snip.
- Show selection ink after snips are captured – when enabled, the selection border is shown around the snip, using the color selected in the ‘Ink Color’ list.
NOTE: It is advised only to make changes to Options if you are confident you know what you are doing