The Snipping Tool is one of the most useful features in Windows 11. It lets you capture screenshots of any part of your screen and save them as images or copy them to the clipboard. You can also annotate your screenshots with pens, highlighters, and erasers—but that’s not all this tool can do. Over the years, Microsoft has added updates to make the Snipping Tool even better. We’ll go over four tips and tricks to help you get the most out of this tool, whether you’re on a gaming PC or one of our favorite laptops.

4 Use keyboard shortcuts for faster access

You can search for the Snipping Tool in the Windows Start menu and open it from there, but there’s a quicker way – just press Windows + Shift + S. For an even faster shortcut, head to Settings > Accessibility, scroll to the Interaction section, and select Keyboard. In the list, you’ll see an option to Use the Print screen key to open Snipping Tool. Turn this setting to On, and you can open the Snipping Tool by only pressing the Print Screen key.

The Snipping Tool supports several other useful keyboard shortcuts to make capturing screenshots even easier. When the app is open, you can press Alt + M to choose a snipping mode or Alt + N to create a new snip in the same mode as the last one. To adjust your selection, use Shift + arrow keys to move the cursor through different snip types. Once you've taken your snip, Ctrl + C copies it to the clipboard, while Ctrl + S lets you save it.

3 Copy text from images

Windows 11 adds extra functionality to the Snipping Tool with built-in OCR (Optical Character Recognition). This feature lets you copy text from your snips and paste it elsewhere. To use it, first take a snip, then click the Text Actions button on the Snipping Tool toolbar to make the text selectable. From there, you can select and copy the text with your mouse. Alternatively, you can quickly grab all text within the snip by clicking the Copy all text button on the toolbar or by using Ctrl + A to select all and Ctrl + C to copy.

You can also use the Snipping Tool to edit the text in your screenshots, for example, to remove confidential information before pasting it into another application or sharing it with other users. You can click on Quick Redact in the toolbar, and the tool will automatically redact email addresses and phone numbers.

2 Use delayed snips for complex menus

If you need to capture pop-up menus or tooltips that disappear when you click away, Snipping Tool has a solution. Open the Snipping Tool, then select Delay and choose a delay time (up to 10 seconds). After you set the timer, you can navigate where you need to and take your snip with any selected capture mode, allowing you to grab those menus that usually vanish too quickly.

1 Record videos with the Snipping Tool

In early 2023, Microsoft added video recording features to the Snipping Tool. You can record a video of any area on your screen while capturing both system audio and microphone inputs. To get started, open the Snipping Tool, switch to video mode, and click New. You’ll need to define the area you want to capture before starting — pick any rectangular section, as long as it doesn’t stretch across multiple monitors.

Once you’ve selected an area, click Start at the top of the screen to begin recording. If you want to capture your voice, click the Microphone icon next to the recording timer. To record system audio, click the icon to the right of the microphone. When you’re done recording, hit the Stop button (the red square) at the top. You’ll also have the ability to preview your recording before sharing it.

Look beyond the Snipping Tool

The tips and tricks discussed here will help you make the most of the Snipping Tool. If you’re looking for more options, consider these five alternatives to the Windows Snipping Tool. Our favorite is ShareX, which is free and offers features that rival some of the pricier tools that require purchases and subscriptions.