The Snipping Tool is one of the primary ways to take a screenshot in Windows 11, but it goes far beyond simple screen captures. For example, if you want to record your screen activity, the app helps you trim your videos into shorter clips and even create animated GIFs. It can also identify text in an image via optical character recognition (OCR), allowing you to copy and paste it elsewhere. Here are eight ways to use the Snipping Tool beyond just taking screenshots.
1. Edit Your Video
After recording video of the activity on your screen, you’ll be given the option to edit the footage. Your recording pops up in a window where you can watch the clip, save, copy, or share the video, and even edit it. Click the Trim button to view the video on a timeline and begin the editing process. Move the first marker to the right to cut out as much of the start as you want. Move the second marker to the left to cut out as much of the ending as you want. To save your changes, click Apply.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
To perform more extensive editing on your video, click Edit in Clipchamp. In Clipchamp, Microsoft’s professional video editing software, you can trim, clip, and splice your video clips. You’re able to add filters and styles, integrate audio tracks, and apply special templates. You can even export your video as an MP4 file with a resolution as high as 1080p.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
2. Save Your Video as an Animated GIF
Want to create an animated GIF to share on text or social media? At the video player window, click Create GIF to convert the first 30 seconds of your video into that format. Next, you’re prompted to choose whether to save it as a lower-quality file that’s small and easy to share or a higher-quality version that’s larger but clearer. Click the Export button to save it to your Videos folder, or choose a different destination. You can then play the file in the Photos app to see how it looks.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
3. Set a Timer for a Screenshot
By default, the Snipping Tool takes a screenshot as soon as you select the area you want to capture. But maybe you want to delay it to set up the screen a certain way. To do this, click the Delay snip icon on the toolbar. You can then change the delay to three seconds, five seconds, or 10 seconds. After you’ve chosen the delay time, click the camera icon and select New. At the mini toolbar, click the Snipping area button and choose the area you want to capture—rectangle to draw, a window to select, full screen, or freeform to draw the area you want to capture. The tool will wait the number of seconds you selected before taking the screengrab.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
4. Mark Up and Edit an Image
The Snipping Tool lets you mark up an image with different shapes, objects, and colors. Here, you have a couple of options. Click the camera icon, select New, and then click the Quick markup button on the mini toolbar. Select the area you want to capture. The area is highlighted, but you can crop it by dragging the handles on the edges and corners. The bottom toolbar displays the different markup tools.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
You can draw lines on the image if you double-click the Ballpoint pen. You’re able to highlight areas of the image by selecting the Highlighter tool. To erase anything you’ve drawn, click the Eraser tool and then click on the lines or shapes you wish to remove.
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To add shapes to the image, click the Shapes tool. You’re able to add an emoji, square, circle, line, or arrow icon to the image. Click the Outline button to select a new color for the edges of the object. At any point, click the Undo button to reverse your last action or the Redo button to repeat your last action.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
You can also mark up an image immediately after you’ve captured it. To try it this way, click the Camera icon and select New. At the mini toolbar, click the Snipping area button and choose the capture area. After capturing an image, a window opens showing the screenshot and all your editing options. Click the Crop button if you wish to manually crop the image by dragging the handles on the sides and corners. Click the checkmark to apply your changes. You can also send the image to the Photos app for more extensive editing.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
If you take a screenshot that contains text, you can grab it right from the image. At the initial Snipping Tool screen, click the Text extractor icon on the toolbar. You can also click the camera icon and select New. At the mini toolbar, click the Text extractor button. Draw to select the area of text you want to capture. The identified text is then highlighted. Click the Copy All Text button to copy the selection.
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(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
If you’ve already snapped an area of your screen that contains text, you can do even more with it. In the image window, click the Text actions icon at the bottom. With the text from the image converted into editable characters via OCR, you can copy it as text, copy it as a table, and even redact text identified as an email address or phone number.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
6. Copy a Color
The Snipping Tool will also let you select a color by clicking it on the screen. You can then copy and view the value of that color in HEX, RGB, or HSL format. This particular trick is useful for web designers, graphic artists, and anyone else who works with color. To try this, click the camera icon, click New, and then select the Color Picker icon from the mini toolbar. On the toolbar, click the color format icon to choose HEX, RGB, or HSL, depending on the format you need. Click on the area of the screen with the color you want to capture. You can then paste the recorded value to use it elsewhere.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
7. Run a Visual Search with Bing
Want to learn more about what you capture in a screenshot? Just as you would use Visual Intelligence on an iPhone, you can turn to Bing on your PC. Click the camera icon, select New, and then click Quick markup on the mini toolbar. Select the area you want to capture, then click the Visual Search with Bing icon. A Bing search page opens in your default browser, showing the results of the search on the captured area, much like with a traditional reverse image search. From here, you can select a specific result, translate text into a different language, extract text from the image, and even solve any mathematical equation that appears in the image.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
8. Ask Copilot for Help
You can tap into AI to ask Copilot questions about the text, image, or area you capture. For this, click the camera icon, select New, and then click the Quick markup button on the mini toolbar. Select the area you want to capture, then choose Ask Copilot. The Windows Copilot app pops up, showing a thumbnail of the captured area. At the prompt, enter a question you want to pose about the image, and see how Copilot responds.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
About Our Expert
Lance Whitney
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Experience
I’ve been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I’ve written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including , ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I’ve also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.
I’ve used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I’m well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I’m always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that’s become another key area for me.
My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it’s time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.
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