Quick Links
The Snipping Tool has been an integral part of Windows for years, enabling you to capture and annotate screenshots. However, some recent changes have supercharged this basic app, allowing me to do much more than capture the screen.
Capture Video and Microphone
You can now capture screen recordings with the Snipping Tool in Windows. Previously, I could only record the screen natively on Windows 11 using the Xbox Game Bar. It barely worked and didn’t allow me to select specific portions of the screen. Because of this, I gravitated towardusing OBS Studio to record my screeninstead.
Using Snipping Tool’s screen recording feature, I can freely select a portion of the screen, just like I do when I want to capture a screenshot in Windows 11. Moreover, I can record the audio via my lapel mic or choose any other input device with a microphone.
Image by Abhishek Kumar Mishra – no attribution
I can also turn off the system audio. This lets me remove the annoying click and other OS sounds while recording tutorials. The app also has a global setting to permanently turn off the system audio and automatically save the screen recordings.
I can’t remember how many times I have accidentally closed the Snipping Tool without saving the recorded clip or screenshot. Enabling this setting has really helped me avoid losing any captures I take.
Microsoft doesn’t offer any editing options in the Snipping Tool app. However, there is a ClipChamp shortcut in the app, so you can easily open recordings in an editor. You can also use any other video editing tool to add the final touches to your recording.
Annotate Screenshots With Shapes and Emojis
you may also add a variety of annotations, including shapes and emojis. Both these elements appear under theShapesoption after you capture an image.
I love being able to use circles and rectangles to edit the captured screenshot and highlight something—all without needing to use the pen tools to draw weird shapes anymore.
Before, I had to open the screenshot in Paint to add shapes, and it didn’t offer emoji support at all. To add shapes and emojis, right-click any image in File Explorer and selectOpen with>Snipping Tool. Now, find the emoji you want to add to the dropdown menu and click on it.
Identify and Copy Text From Images
Multiple apps, includingthe Snipping Tool and Phone Link, now have Optical Character Recognition (OCR) abilities. This lets me copy text from images in the Snipping Tool without installing PowerToys or resorting to an online tool toextract text from images.
After capturing an image, click on theText Actionstool to identify all the text elements in the image. I often use this feature to scan contact details from photos.
You can select all the text or use the mouse to highlight and copy a selection of text. You can also choose to hide phone numbers and email addresses from a screenshot.
I also tested an upcoming upgrade for the Text Actions feature that can copy entire tables in one go. It’s a little clunky but hard to beat since it is included in Windows already.
Scan QR Codes
Scanning QR codes from an image on a PC with a phone is easy, but you can’t do it inside Windows. You can scan QR codes in the camera app, but that is an awkward way to use your webcam, and it doesn’t work for images stored on your PC.
Snipping Tool uses its OCR capabilities to scan the QR code text. You can then copy the text and even visit the URL directly. This removes the need to scan the QR code on your phone and then send it over to your PC.
Do an Image Search
I don’t use this option frequently, but it is useful when I snap a catalog or a scene from a video. To perform an image search, take a screenshot using the Snipping Tool, then click the three dots in the top-right corner. SelectVisual Search with Bing, and it will pull up the image search in a new window.
The results aren’t always the most accurate, but it is nice to have the functionality built directly into the Snipping Tool app.
The Snipping Tool app is already really useful for snapping screenshots quickly. These additional features are especially handy for taking your screenshots further. Not only does it help reduce the reliance on third-party web tools, but it also helps save you from having to download and install additional software since Snipping Tool is included in Windows by default.
