How to Use Snipping Tools to Take a Screenshot on Windows 11

Learn how to use Snipping Tool to take a screenshot on Windows 11.

Windows has a built-in screenshot utility called Snipping Tool. This tool is available in all versions of Windows, but it is more powerful in Windows 11.

Snipping Tool is great for capturing the entire screen, a portion of the screen, or a window. It helps you take screenshots of a part of a page or a full page of a website, applications, videos, and more. 

In addition, you can also annotate the screenshot with arrows, text, highlights, or shapes before saving it as an image file.

Snipping Tool is quite handy to use. With just a few clicks, you can take screenshots. 

In this post, we’ll show you how to use Snipping Tool to take a screenshot on Windows 11.

Let’s get started!

4 Shapes of Snips

Before we begin, I’d like you to be aware of the various snip shapes that the Snipping Tool supports:

1. Rectangular mode: It is the default snip shape. Drag the mouse over the object to form a rectangle.

2. Free-form mode: This mode captures the screenshot in free shapes.

3. Window mode: This mode captures the open window on your monitor. For example, if you want to take a screenshot of an app or explorer window.

4. Full-screen mode: This mode captures the entire screen automatically.

To change the shape of your snip, go to the toolbar and select Rectangular mode, Window mode, Full-screen mode, or Free-form mode.

How to Use Snipping Tool on Windows 11 to Take a Screenshot

1. Click the Start and type in snipping tool in the search box. Click Snipping Tool from the list of results.

2. Click New to start taking a screenshot. 

Or, select the Windows mode if you want to change the shape of your snips. 

3. If you select Rectangular mode or Free-form mode, press and drag your mouse over the object that you want to capture. Release your mouse after you’ve made a selection.

If you want to capture a window, use Window mode and select the window that you want to capture. If there is only one open window on your monitor, the Snipping Tool will automatically select it. 

4. A new window will appear showing the screenshot that you have just taken. You can edit your screenshot using the tools on the taskbar.

The editing tools are a pen, highlighter, eraser, ruler, protector, crop, and more. 

5. Once you’re done editing, click the Save icon on the top left to save your screenshot. Snipping Tool supports three file types: JPG, PNG, and GIF. 

Helpful Tips to Use Snipping Tool

Tip 1: Share your screenshot

After you’ve done editing your screenshot, you can directly share it by clicking the arrow icon at the top left.