How to Use Snipping Tool on Windows 10: Complete Guide

While browsing the internet or reading a blog on the web, you suddenly saw something useful or essential that may help you somehow. Now, you may want a snap of it to keep it safe. 

Luckily, on Windows 10, you don’t require a third-party application or your phone’s camera for taking the screenshots. Windows 10 has an in-built feature for that, known as Snipping Tool.

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Snipping Tool allows you to take a screenshot of the entire screen or snip a part of the screen, and then work on the captured image in an image editor or use it directly. It is a straightforward app that does not require much technical knowledge to get used to. You also have an option to email the captured image directly from the app’s interface.

In this guide, we would discuss how to launch the Snipping Tool in Windows 10 and capture an image using it. Also, we would learn to use its unique delay feature for an efficient screen snapping. 

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Quick Ways to Open Snipping Tool

  1. From Start Menu
  2. Using Command Prompt
  3. From Run Window
  4. Using Windows Search
  5. Create a Keyboard Shortcut

Launch Snipping Tool from Start Menu

  1. Click Start Button

  2. Scroll down to Windows Accessories, and under it, click on the Snipping Tool.From Start Menu


Open Snipping Tool using Command Prompt

  1. Run Command Prompt as adminOpen Command Prompt as Administrator
  2. Then, type snippingtool and press the Enter key Open Snipping Tool using Command Prompt

Launch Snipping Tool from The Run Window

  1. Open Run Command Box 
  2. Type snippingtool and then hit Enter key or click on OKOpen snipping tool by run command

Open Snipping Tool using Windows Search

  • On Windows Search bar type Snipping Tool and click on the suitable icon.Run Snipping tool using search

Create a Keyboard Shortcut for Snipping Tool

  1. Type Snipping Tools on Windows Search and open its location.Open Location of Snipping tool
  2. Right-click on its icon and choose Properties.Properties
  3. Under Shortcut choose Shortcut key of your choiceSelect shortcut key 

How to Capture Screen Using Snipping Tool

After opening the Snipping Tool, you are now ready to take a snip. Before that, you should know about the modes available to grab different types of snaps. Following types of modes are available:

Snipping modes
  • Free-form Snip: In this mode, you can freely pick the part of the screen you want to capture. Just roll-over the mouse pointer over the part you want to grab.
  • Rectangular Snip: This mode allows you to take a rectangular shape snap.
  • Window Snip: Using this mode, you can take the screenshot of an app window, such as a browser window or the dialog box.
  • Full-screen Snip: Full-screen mode allows you to grab the snapshot of the entire screen

Steps to take a Screenshot using Snipping Tool:

  1. Open the Snipping Tool with your preferred way
  2. Then, choose the snip mode according to the screenshot you want to take
  3. Left-click and roll-over to the part you want to captureRoll over and Select
  4. now, the selected part would be copied to the tool’s interface. 
  5. Further, you can Save, Copy, Email, or Edit the grabbed part.Edit the snap

Editing Tools

For editing a snap, you can either choose to Paint 3D or modify it using the in-built tools of the Snapping Tool.

To use Paint 3D, go to Edit  and choose “Edit with Paint 3D.

Following are the in-built editing tools:

Editing Tools
  • Pen: You can use the Pen for writing anything on the snapshot. You also have the option to chose from Red, Blue, Black, or Custom colors.
  • Highlighter: If you want to highlight a part of the screenshot, you can use the Highlighter. 
  • Rubber: The Rubber can be used to rub the mistakes of Pen and Highlighter.

How to use the Delay Option in Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool had one limitation. Previously, it can only be used to capture items that don’t involve mouse movements.

To capture anything which involves mouse movement, you had to rely on taking the screen-shot of the screen using the PrintScreen button on the keyboard and then using the Snipping Tool by pasting the image in MSPaint.

With the new Delay Option in Snipping Tool in Windows 10, you can now easily grab a screen-shot even when mouse movements are involved.

  1. Open the Snipping Tool app and click the Delay option.
  2. From the drop-down list, click on the number corresponding to the delay time you want to set in seconds (from 0-5 seconds).
    Delay Option in Snipping Tool
  3. Now, create a new snip by clicking on the New option.
  4. Depending on the delay set, the screen will be active for you to work and get to a point where you want to capture the screen-shot.
  5. Once the delay time is reached, the screen will freeze out and you can capture your snip.
Delay Option in Snipping Tool

Final Words

So, this was all about the Windows 10 great feature, the Snipping Tool. As you can see, it is not a big deal to get used to it. It is an excellent tool for creating graphical presentations, like the one presented in this guide itself. 

Snipping Tool FAQs

1. What is the shortcut key for the snipping tool in Windows 10?

By default, there is NO keyboard shortcut key for launching the Snapping Tool. However, you can create a shortcut key for it using the step provided on this guide.

2. Where are the snipping tool files saved in Windows 10?

When you save a screenshot using Snipping Tool, you will get an option to save it to your desired location. However, by default, it is saved to the Pictures folder.

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