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Do you need to take a screenshot or video of your screen? The easiest way to do this is with the built-in Snipping Tool in Windows 11. In this articlewe go over the Snipping Toolincluding how to use ithow to disable its PrtScrn button integrationand some alternatives if you want to use a third-party app instead.
Using the Snipping Tool in Windows 11
The Snipping Tool is a screen capture app that allows you to take screenshots and record videos of your desktop. To open this built-in Windows appsearch for "snipping tool" in the taskbar search bar or press Windows key + Shift + S.
Steps
How to Use the Snipping Tool
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Open the Snipping Tool. You can do this one of three ways:- Type snipping tool into the taskbar search bar and click on it to open it.
- Press ⊞ Win+⇧ Shift+S.
- Press PrtScrn.
- If you want to disable the PrtScrn functionalityjump ahead to learn how.
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Choose whether you want to take a screenshot or a video. If you want to take a screenshotclick the camera icon to the right of the + New button. If you want to take a videoclick the video camera icon instead. -
Choose what type of snip you want to do. To choose your snipping click the drop-down to the right of the screenshot or video toggle. You can choose from the following options:[1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source- Rectangle: Draw a rectangular box around the item you want to snip.
- Window: Choose a window and take a screenshot or video of it in its entirety.
- Full screen: Take a screenshot of the entire screen. (Screenshot only)
- Freeform: Draw around an object you want to snip. (Screenshot only)
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Set the delay timerif needed. If you're taking a screenshotyou can choose to delay the capture for 35or 10 seconds. This is useful if you need to click something or perform some other kind of task before you take the screenshot. By defaultit's set to "No delay."- You cannot set a delay timer when taking a video.
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Click + New once you're ready to take your screenshot or video. Depending on the snip method you choseyou may need to draw a rectangle or freeform shapeor choose a window to take a screenshot of. -
Save or edit your snip. After you take a snipyou'll see a number of editing options at the top of the screen.[2] X Research source- Use the buttons at the top of the screen to cropmark uphighlightor further edit your screenshot.
- Click Edit in Paint to open the snip in MS Paint for further editing.
- Click the floppy disk icon to save your snip.
- By defaultscreenshots are saved to the Screenshots folder in your Pictures folderand videos are saved to the Screen Recordings folder in your Videos folder.
- Click the icon with two rectangles to copy the snip.
- By defaultsnips are automatically added to your clipboard once you take themso you can just go to another window and press Ctrl+V to paste it.
- Click the icon of a square with an arrow coming out of it to share the snip.
- Click the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner for more options.
Disabling PrtScrn Functionality
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Open the Settings menu. There are a few ways to do this:- Press ⇧ Shift+I.
- Right-click the Windows icon and choose Settings.
- Type Settings into the taskbar search bar and click Settings.
- Click the Windows icon and choose Settings.
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Click Accessibility. It's on the left-hand sideand it has an icon of a blue person. -
Click Keyboard. It's under the "Interaction" headerand it has an icon of a keyboard. -
Toggle off "Use the Print screen key to open screen capture." Nowwhen you press the PrtScrn keyit will capture an image of your current screen instead of opening the Snipping Tool.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
References
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/use-snipping-tool-to-capture-screenshots-00246869-1843-655f-f220-97299b865f6b
- ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/learning-center/how-to-screenshot-windows-11?msockid=2796fbd792d66fc9332eed6f93ae6e8a
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/100bs8n/is_there_a_better_snipping_tool_for_windows_11
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