How to Use the Snipping Tool on Windows (Full Guide)

Short version: Press Windows + Shift + S to open the Snipping Tool, choose a mode (rectangle, freeform, window, or full-screen), and drag to capture. The snip lands on your clipboard — click the notification to annotate and save it as a PNG.

The Snipping Tool is the fastest way to grab a screenshot on Windows, and most people only use a fraction of what it does. Here’s the whole thing, plus the one job it can’t do and what to use instead.

The shortcut you actually need

Forget hunting through the Start menu. Windows + Shift + S opens the snip bar from anywhere. The screen dims, a toolbar appears up top, and you’re one drag away from a screenshot.

The four snip modes

The toolbar gives you four ways to capture:

• Rectangular — drag a box around any area. The one you’ll use most.
• Freeform — draw an irregular shape around exactly what you want.
• Window — click a single window to grab it cleanly, borders and all.
• Full-screen — capture everything on the display in one click.

From clipboard to saved file

Here’s the part that confuses people: a snip is copied to your clipboard, not saved as a file. You can paste it straight into a chat, doc, or email. To keep it, click the notification that pops up — it opens the snip in the Snipping Tool app, where you can:

• Crop it tighter,
• Annotate with a pen or highlighter,
• Save it as a PNG.

If you’d rather have every snip saved automatically, open the app’s settings and turn on auto-save to your Screenshots folder.

What the Snipping Tool can’t do

The Snipping Tool only captures what’s on screen right now. That leaves two gaps:

1. Scrolling captures — a long webpage, chat thread, or document that runs past the bottom of the screen. The Snipping Tool physically can’t reach it.
2. Recording + annotation as one workflow — while Windows 11 added basic video recording, it doesn’t mix system audio, a mic, and a webcam, or let you annotate live while recording.

For those, a dedicated capture tool helps. KeepCast does full, region, and scrolling screenshots — plus screen recording with audio and an annotation pen — all locally on your machine. (It’s a local-first Windows app; join the waitlist for early access.)

The quick reference

• Windows + Shift + S — open the snip bar.
• PrtScn — copy the whole screen.
• Alt + PrtScn — copy the active window.
• Windows + PrtScn — save a full-screen shot to your Screenshots folder.

That covers 99% of what anyone needs to capture on Windows — and for the scrolling page the Snipping Tool leaves behind, now you know the workaround.