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Back in 2023, Microsoft introduced a new feature in the Snipping Tool called Text Actions, which can detect text in captured screenshots. This feature allowed users to easily copy text from any image and use it for various purposes. Today, Microsoft announced a new update to the Snipping Tool app for Windows 11 Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. This version 11.2503.27.0 update brings the popular Text Extractor feature to the Snipping Tool capture bar. This eliminates the extra step of taking a screenshot to copy the required text, as users can now directly copy text from any image that appears on the screen. To use this new capability, users can open the Snipping Tool app or use the Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcut and click the new “Text Extractor” button in the toolbar. Once the button is pressed, users can select the region they would like to scan for text and then manually select the text to copy. Users can also click the “Copy all text” button in the toolbar to copy all text within the selected region. The “More options” dropdown menu in the toolbar will have the following two options: “Remove line breaks” from copied text. Enable “Automatically copy text,” which dismisses the Snipping Tool sooner and automatically copies all text in the selected region directly to the clipboard. Last month, Microsoft added another neat feature to the Snipping Tool app. The new Draw & Hold experience allows users to easily create clean lines and shapes. To use this feature, users should select the pen tool and draw a line, arrow, rectangle, or oval over the screenshot. Holding the cursor or pen still for a moment before releasing the shape will convert the stroke into a well-formed shape. Users can then resize, move, or adjust it as needed. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of March): 1,357 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Windows 11's Snipping Tool will soon improve marking up photos with a new Drag & Hold feature. Windows Insiders can test out some powerful new features for Snipping Tool and Notepad. Updates to both apps are rolling out to the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11. The Snipping Tool gains a Draw & Hold feature that allows you to create clean lines and shapes when marking up an image. Holding your cursor or pen for a moment after drawing a line or shape will activate the feature. Draw & Hold will then convert your stroke into a well-formed line or shape. The result is a cleaner-looking markup that would typically require another program, such as Paint or a photo editor. I love the Snipping Tool and use it frequently. The Draw & Hold feature will save me quite a bit of time since it means I won't have to open another app to add arrows or shapes to my images. Snipping Tool already lets you add lines, arrows, and shapes but the new Draw & Hold feature lets you do so by drawing with a pen or mouse. Microsoft is also testing an improved protocol launch experience for Snipping Tool that gives greater control to developers. Windows 11's Notepad will gain an AI-powered Summarize feature. (Image credit: Microsoft) Notepad's update adds AI-powered summaries to the app. After selecting text and right-clicking, you'll see a "Summarize" option in the Copilot menu. The feature uses Copilot to create a condensed version of your text. Summarize requires a Microsoft 365 account. You will also need AI credits to use Summarize in Notepad. You can disable AI features in Notepad, including the Summarize tool. Below is the full change log from Microsoft for the updates to Snipping Tool and Notepad. Snipping Tool version 11.2502.18.0 Draw & Hold In this update, we are making improvements to the inking markup experience by introducing draw & hold, which helps you draw neat lines and shapes with ease. To get started, open Snipping Tool and capture a screenshot of any content on your screen. If the image does not automatically open in the app, click on the toast notification to “Mark up and share” your image. Select the pen tool and draw a line, arrow, rectangle, or oval over the image – before letting go of the shape, hold your cursor or pen still for a moment to convert your stroke into a well-formed shape. Resize, move, or adjust your shape as needed before clicking away to let the ink dry. Protocol Launch For developers, Snipping Tool now supports a new and improved protocol launch experience! App callers can now customize which Snipping Tool capture features are shown when invoked from their experience. The protocol is designed to offer improved flexibility, security, and ease of use, aligning closely with familiar HTTP-based interactions. This shift can make use of the protocol more intuitive for developers, and it expands support for better integration with web technologies. To learn more and get started, check out the Launch Snipping Tool developer documentation page. Notepad version 11.2501.29.0 With this update, we are introducing the ability to summarize content in Notepad with the help of generative AI. We are also adding recent files to the File menu, a highly-requested feature, allowing you to quickly reopen recently closed documents. Summarize To get started, select the text you want to summarize, then right-click and choose Summarize, select Summarize from the Copilot menu, or use the Ctrl + M keyboard shortcut. Notepad will generate a summary of the selected text, providing a quick way to condense content. You can experiment with different summary lengths to refine the output. If you prefer, you can disable AI features in app settings. To use Summarize, you need to sign in with your Microsoft personal account. Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Copilot Pro subscribers will be able to use AI credits to use Summarize in Notepad. Recent Files With recent files, you can now reopen your recently closed files directly within Notepad. To access Recent Files, open Notepad and go to the File menu, where you will find a list of your recently used documents. Click on any file to instantly reopen and continue editing. You can also clear the Recent list at any time or turn off the Recent Files feature in app settings if you prefer not to keep a history of recently closed files. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of February): 874 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Microsoft finished this week with a couple of Windows 11 preview builds for Windows Insiders, plus a fresh update to the Snipping Tool app. The operating system's default screenshot-taking utility is getting a handy feature for those frequently recording their screens. Snipping Tool version 11.2501.7.0, which is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders, introduces a video trimming tool. With the latest update, you can record something on your screen and then cut off unnecessary parts without leaving Snipping Tool or launching Clipchamp or any other video editor. Here is what Microsoft says in the announcement: In addition to screen recording trimming, Microsoft is working on new OCR capabilities with a dedicated shortcut. The feature was spotted by the end of 2024, and we are still waiting for Microsoft to announce it. Other Windows Insider updates announced today include several new features and improvements for Copilot+ PCs, new Start menu layouts, and a brand-new method to share files from your PC to another device. You can learn more about those changes here and here. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of January): 487 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Windows 11 picks up several new improvements, bug fixes, and features through the Windows Insider builds all over the year. A recent Windows Insider build brought more ways to share files. However, a new tip suggests that an upcoming Windows Insider build will include a handy feature for the Snipping Tool. The Snipping Tool received a major update in the past few months such as the ability to screen record, optical image recognition (OCR), the ability to copy data tables, etc. Insider @phantomofearth on social media platform X has highlighted a hidden feature in one of the insider builds that adds keyboard shortcuts for the Snipping Tool's OCR feature. As per the tip, the feature can activated by using the shortcut "Win+Shift+T." This keyboard shortcut will negate the need to go through additional steps to use the OCR feature in the Snipping Tool. Currently, you need to press the "Win+Shift+S" to launch the Snipping Tool, or head over to the Start Menu and look for the application. Then, to use the OCR feature, you have to select the image and choose "Text Actions" from the menu. For now, there is no clarity if Microsoft will ship this feature. However, you can always sign up for the Windows Insider Program to test out new features and hope you stumble upon this new option with one of the builds. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of October): 4,832 news posts RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

The Snipping Tool editing experience on Windows 11 is about to get a new feature that will let you add shapes to your screen grabs, and that's pretty awesome. What you need to know Windows 11's Snipping Tool will let you add shapes to your screenshots soon. The feature was spotted in a recently released Windows 11 preview build, though it's not available for everyone since it appears to be in A/B testing. It is likely to roll out to Windows Insiders via a future preview build. Microsoft has shipped many new features and improvements to Windows 11's Snipping Tool, including a screen recording feature, transforming it from a basic screenshot capture tool to a fully-fledged productivity tool. And now, the company is seemingly working on incorporating a new feature to the tool that will let you add shapes such as circles and arrows to images, ultimately enhancing the editing experience on the platform as spotted by tech enthusiast PhantomOfEarth on X (formerly Twitter). This is a welcome addition to the platform as it will let users incorporate circles, rectangles, arrows, and more into screenshots directly from the Snipping Tool rather than having to launch other apps like Microsoft Paint or other third-party tools. It's worth noting that the feature has yet to roll out to users who are part of the Windows Insider program despite running on the latest version of the app. As highlighted by PhantomOFEarth, accessing the feature requires technical prowess that will allow you to tinker around with the code to find the hidden capability. As is the case most of the time, this feature might still be in A/B testing, which explains why it's unavailable for users despite updating to the latest version (11.2312.33.0.0). There's a probability that Microsoft might be getting ready to ship the feature to users via a future Windows 11 preview build. Microsoft is also gearing up to ship the next Windows 11 feature drop in February, which features many nifty features and quality-of-life improvements. Reports indicate that the company is developing the next major version of Windows, codenamed Hudson Valley, which is slated to ship later this year as Windows 11's successor. Source Last one. 28 minutes to post these. You're welcome.

Microsoft is working on some new features for Snipping Tool, Windows 11's default app for screen recording and taking screenshots. Following the addition of screen recording and optical image recognition (OCR), the company is about to introduce the ability to add basic shapes to your screenshots. The feature was spotted by the ever-giving source of insights into Windows 11 preview builds, @PhantomOfEarth. He managed to unearth the Snipping Tool's shape features by messing around with the system's internals. Sadly, the updated app is not rolling out to Windows Insiders, so getting it to work requires more software magic than just installing the latest update or enabling a command. Still, the published video gives plenty of info on what is about to come. According to a post on X, a future Snipping Tool update will let you add shapes like squares, circles, lines, and arrows, change their colours, and turn the shape fill on or off. You will also be able to customize outlines with thickness and colour options. The ability to add shapes to screenshots will make Snipping Tool a much more appealing alternative to well-established apps for taking screenshots, such as ShareX or Snagit. Also, it is good to see a feature in the works that is not all about AI (I am looking at you, Cowriter in Notepad). Microsoft has not announced the updated Snipping Tool app with shapes support, but @PhantomOfEarth claims the feature is already working well in version 11.2312.33.0 (the latest release for Insiders). Therefore, you can expect the company to unveil it to Windows Insiders somewhere soon, maybe alongside the next Windows 11 preview build. Source

Microsoft is working on new features for Windows 11's default screenshot-taking application, Snipping Tool. The app will soon let you add emojis to your screenshots, detect QR codes, and perform HDR correction after taking screengrabs on HDR monitors. The ability to add emojis to screenshots in the Snipping Tool app will join the recently introduced shapes and forms. In addition to drawing squares, circles, lines, and arrows, Snipping Tool will offer users a seemingly limited set of emojis to spice up screenshots and make them a little more fun: stars, hearts, eyes, thumbs up/down, and more. Another great upcoming addition is QR code support. Windows 11 will finally have a built-in on-screen QR reader, sparing you from pulling out your phone every time you want to scan a QR code. Take a screenshot with Snipping Tool, and it will present you with a "QR Codes" button in the bottom-right corner. Finally, Snipping Tool will allow you to correct screenshots taken on HDR monitors so that they look good on SDR displays. In case you missed it, Windows 11 preview builds received HDR wallpaper support about a year ago, and the feature should be available in the Stable Channel in version 24H2. Microsoft has not announced any of those changes yet. Still, a public release in the Windows Insider Program should not take too long. Source

In addition to all the new Windows 11 Insider Preview builds that were released today. Microsoft also released new updates to the Windows 11 Snipping Tool and Notepad apps for Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels. Here is the changelog for the app updates: Snipping Tool (version 11.2307.44.0) With this update to Snipping Tool, we are introducing the combined capture bar, making it easier to switch between capturing screenshots and screen recordings without having to open the app. Use the Print Screen or Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcuts to open the capture bar for snipping, where you will continue to find the familiar snipping modes or try the new Win + Shift + R keyboard shortcut to open the capture bar for recording. Snipping Tool combined capture bar showing screenshot capture options. We are also improving the screen recording experience based on your feedback by introducing support for optionally recording your PC audio and voice overs using a microphone. New app settings let you configure the default audio recording settings for new screen recordings, and if you have multiple recording devices, you can select your preferred recording device before you start recording. Snipping Tool capture bar while recording showing new audio options. FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Snipping Tool. Notepad (version 11.2307.22.0) With this update, Notepad will start automatically saving your session state allowing you to close Notepad without any interrupting dialogs and then pick up where you left off when you return. Notepad will automatically restore previously open tabs as well as unsaved content and edits across those open tabs. Saved session state does not impact any of your files, though, and it is still your choice whether to save or discard unsaved changes to files anytime you close a tab. You can turn this feature off in app settings if you would prefer to have a fresh start every time you open Notepad. Notepad with one open tab. FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Notepad. [PLEASE NOTE: We are beginning to roll these experiences out, so they may not be available to all Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] You can check out the full blog post here: Source

One week ago, Microsoft released an update for its Windows 11 Snipping Tool app for Canary and Dev Channel members that added a few new features. Today, the company is rolling out yet another update for Snipping Tools that includes yet another additional feature: visual search. In the updated blog post for this release, Microsoft says: For those folks who keep up with this information, the version number for this new Snipping tool release today is 11.2404.39.0. The new visual search feature joined the three other new Snipping Tool functions that were added last week for Canary and Dev Channel Insider members to try out. One of the features that was added last week lets the app detect any QR codes that might appear in your screenshots so you can access that link on your PC. Another feature that was added lets Snipping Tool users add emojis to any screenshots they take with the app, This is available by just clicking or tapping the Shapes toolbar. You should then be able to see and use the new Emoji option. Once you find the specific emoji you want to put in, it will then show up in the middle of the app. You can then resize it or move it around to where you want to place it. Finally, last week's update added a way for users to change the opacity of a shape's fill and outline colors in Snipping Tool. The app also included the ruler tool once again. There's no word yet when any of these new features will be included in Snipping Tool for a general availability release. Source

Microsoft issued an emergency security update late on Friday that fixes the flaws in the Windows 11 Snipping Tool and the Windows 10 Snip & Sketch tool that were discovered earlier this week. The flaws, which were similar to ones found in Google's Pixel snipping tools, have been labeled as the "Acropalypse." Both tools had issues that would have allowed hackers to possibly bring back data that users had previously cropped out of an image. Microsoft updated the Windows 11 Snipping Tool for Insiders in the Canary Channel to fix the problem on Thursday. Now updates for both the Windows 11 Snipping Tool (10.2008.3001.0) and the Windows 10 Snip & Sketch tool (11.2302.20.0) are now available in the Microsoft Store. In addition, Microsoft has issued a security note for the flaw, CVE-2023-28303. The note states that this alert has been labeled as "Low" because "successful exploitation requires uncommon user interaction and several factors outside of an attacker's control." Specifically, the note states: The user must take a screenshot, saved it to a file, modify the file (for example, crop it), and then save the modified file to the same location. The user must open an image in Snipping Tool, modify the file (for example, crop it), and then save the modified file to the same location. Keep in mind that this issue does not appear in the default Snipping Tool in Windows 10, or any older versions. The "Acropalypse" has been canceled: Microsoft updates Windows 10 and 11 snipping tools

A newly revealed issue in Microsoft's image-snipping tools in both Windows 10 and 11 have been discovered by one of the people who first reported on a similar problem in Google's Pixel screenshot tool Markup. The reverse engineering researcher David Buchanan posted his findings earlier today on his Twitter account, The post shows that when Buchanan took a screenshot with the Microsoft Windows 11 Snipping Tool and then saved it, he could then crop the image, save that image to the same file, and show that the "cropped" data hasn't been deleted after all. This flaw means that someone could bring back the data from the part of the image that was cropped in mostly the same way the Pixel-based cropped image could be recovered. Buchanan stated, "The same exploit script works with minor changes (the pixel format is RGBA not RGB)." He added in a later post that the same issue is found with Microsoft's Snip & Sketch tool included with Windows 10, but apparently not with the original Windows 10 snipping tool. These exploits could in theory be used by hackers to reveal previously cut-out sensitive information in images, like passwords, credit card numbers, bank accounts, and more. They are all been labeled collectively as the "Acropalypse". Google has since patched this issue in its Pixel phones. As of this writing, Microsoft has yet to comment on this issue. Windows 10 and 11 snipping tools are saving data you thought you had deleted

Microsoft plans to launch its Windows 11 operating system later this year. Some default applications that are available in Windows 10 will be updated in the process. The Snipping Tool becomes the new screenshot taking application on Windows 11; reason enough to check it out and find out how good it actually is. Is it good enough to replace dedicated screenshot capturing programs such as PicPick or SnagIt, and how does it compare to the two screenshots app of Windows 10, Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch? Microsoft maintains two screenshot apps on Windows 10. The original Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch, which it introduced later on as a replacement for the classic tool. In fact, when you open the Snipping Tool on Windows 10, you will see a message stating that it will be replaced with the Snip & Sketch tool eventually. It is unclear if this is ever going to happen though. A quick comparison of the classic Snipping Tool of Windows 10 with the new Snipping Tool of Windows 11 reveals that the classic tool appears to have been the blueprint for the new screenshot tool. In fact, the new tool looks like a modern version of the classic tool on first glance. Screenshots are saved automatically using a generic name and an increasing number. You can reset the screenshot count number. Here is a screenshot of the classic Snipping Tool, and below that is a screenshot of the Windows 11 Snipping Tool. The menu looks nearly identical: you get the new, mode and delay options in the new tool. Cancel and options are missing, but you get a link to the settings when you select the three-dots icon in the interface. Compare the new interface to the Snip & Sketch tool, displayed below. The look and feel of the main interface resembles the classic tool. When you open the settings on the other hand, you will notice that Microsoft has taken them from the Snip & Sketch tool instead, even though most options are similar. The classic Snipping Tool's settings include seven options, including the default option to include URLs below snips automatically. The option is missing from the Snip & Sketch options and also from the options of the new Snipping Tool of Windows 11. In fact, the options of the new Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch are identical, except for the option to change the app theme of the new Snipping Tool. But what about functionality? The capturing modes of the new Snipping Tool are identical to those of the classic Snipping Tool and also Snip & Sketch. The delay options have been changed to 3, 5 and 10 seconds. The classic tool supported delays between 1 and 5 seconds, the Snip & Sketch tool delays of 3 and 10 seconds. All three tools copy the captured screenshot to the clipboard by default and display it in a basic editor. The editor of the Windows 11 Snipping Tool resembles that of the Snip & Sketch tool of Windows 10. The main toolbar offers identical options, but some icons have been moved. The undo/redo buttons are now displayed in the center of the toolbar instead of on the left side. All capturing options are available right on the toolbar in the new Snipping Tool for easier access. Closing Words and verdict The new Snipping Tool looks like the child of the classic Snipping Tool and the Snip & Sketch tool. It is a good decision to launch a single screenshot tool in Windows 11 and not two tools, as it removes confusion. The functionality has not changed, and that means that the new Snipping Tool remains a basic option. It may be good enough for the occasional screenshot, but if you need more options, e.g. to capture scrolling windows or better editing options, you still need to look elsewhere. How good is Windows 11's new screen capturing app Snipping Tool?

Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer Panos Panay today revealed that Windows 11 will come with an updated Snipping Tool. The current Snip & Sketch tool available in Windows 10 will be updated with a new experience in Windows 11. In the embed below, you can check out a short demo of this new Snipping Tool experience coming with Windows 11. Microsoft will ship an updated Snipping Tool with Windows 11

Microsoft is testing a Screen Recorder option in the Snipping Tool. The feature is currently available for some users in the Dev Channel of the Windows 11 Insider Preview Program. The company is taking its sweet time to roll out the app update to users. I got access to it recently, and liked the feature. This got me thinking, would the latest version work if we sideloaded it in the stable channel of the OS, like we did with the Windows Media Player? I tried it, and it does. Note: The following steps will replace your existing version of the Snipping Tool with an experimental version. It might have some bugs, but you can get the old version back (instructions below) if you are facing some issues. How to install the new Snipping Tool with video recording option in Windows 11 1. Visit the store.rg-adguard.net website. 2. Set the first drop-down menu to ProductId. 3. Paste this code in the text box: 9MZ95KL8MR0L 4. Now, click on the third box on the page, and change it to Fast. 5. Hit the checkbox button, the page will take a few seconds to populate the links. 6. The version that we are looking for is 11.2211.35.0. It's about 5.75MB to download. The file's name is Microsoft.ScreenSketch_2022.2211.35.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.Msixbundle 7. Run the installer, and click the update button in the window that appears. Wait for it to finish the process. 8. Open the Snipping Tool, and you should see the Record button next to the Snip option. Reverting to the old version of Snipping Tool In case you want to roll back to the previous version of the app, which is 11.2209.2.0, you download it by selecting the RP channel build in step 4 above. Run the installer, and choose Reinstall. The file's size is 4.25MB and the name is: Microsoft.ScreenSketch_2022.2209.2.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle Snipping Tool's video recorder The video recorder in the Snipping Tool does not have a hotkey. Begin by clicking the Record button from the toolbar, and then draw a box around the part of the screen that you would like to capture. You can adjust your selection by dragging the edges of the box to resize it. Click the start button when you are ready, and a 3-second timer will appear on the screen. Once it counts down to 1, the recording starts. You can discard the video by clicking the trash can icon at anytime. Click the stop button to end the capturing process. Snipping Tool will display the video in its interface, so you can play it directly without switching to a video player. Sadly, it does not seem to include the audio played during the recording, which makes this a little more than a GIF maker. The video captures the mouse cursor, and there is no setting to disable this behavior. You may copy the recording to the clipboard, and paste it in another app too. Or you can choose to save the recorded video to a file in the MP4 format. There are no options to edit the video in Snipping Tool, so you have to use a third-party tool to modify it. The app crashed on me once during the testing process, but has worked fine ever since. It's not a world beater by any means, but the basic video recording option should be sufficient for creating GIFs and short videos. You should check out open source tools like Screen2GIF, or OBS Studio for advanced video recording and editing options. You can install the Windows 11 Snipping Tool with video recording option on the stable channel, here's how to do it

Back in October, Microsoft shared details about some of the upcoming Windows 11 features. These include stuff like iCloud integration with the new Photos app, which has been available on the Insider channel. Alongside that, the company also mentioned new Apple TV and music apps, but perhaps the most exciting feature was the announcement of a new screen recording feature in the Snipping Tool. Basically, alongside the option to "snip", the new Snipping Tool would also have the option to record videos. While the feature is not available yet, it may not be long before we get it. A Windows 11 Insider and Reddit user SubjunctiveQuaver has seemingly spotted what appears to be a quest for the Snipping tool. Microsoft kicked off the 2022 Bug Bash with the latest Windows 11 beta channel builds 22621.1028 and 22623.1028 (KB5021866). The bug bash is filled with such quests that often reward users with a chance to test upcoming features. Here is what the official blog post says: Starting tomorrow December 7th, Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels will see quests start to light up in the Feedback Hub covering various scenarios we’re looking for feedback on. Take the opportunity to try out some new features and let us know how things are going! The Bug Bash will be running from 12am PST December 7th, to 11:59pm PST December 12th. Insiders who participate (by filing feedback or completing quests on the latest builds for their channel) will receive a badge in the Feedback Hub once the Bug Bash is over. While we do not get any more information than what we had already known, like video recording quality details, and such, it is still exciting to see that the feature is being tested and feedback is being accepted, meaning it shouldn't be too long before we start seeing it roll out. Source and image: SubjunctiveQuaver (Reddit) Bug bash quest spills the beans on Windows 11 Snipping tool screen record feature

Microsoft rolled out Windows 11 Dev Channel build 25211 just a few hours ago. It contains several new features including more customization options for Widgets and the return of a highly requested Windows 10 capability, which is the ability to open the Task Manager upon right-clicking the Taskbar. Another nifty improvement worth highlighting is one that has been made to Snipping Tool. Basically, the Dev Channel build comes with a new version of Snipping Tool, namely version 11.2209.2.0. It allows the application to automatically save any screenshots you take. Prior to this release, each time you took a screenshot, you would have to click the floppy disk "save" icon in the app and then select the path and name for the file. It seems that this interrupted the workflow of people who take a lot of screenshots so Microsoft is making their lives easier by allowing Snipping Tool to automatically save content. Screenshots can now be found in the Pictures > Screenshots directory of your Windows 11 installation. It's interesting to see that this is now the default behavior of the app. That said, you can change the settings to revert to the previous process of manually saving screenshots. Furthermore, Microsoft has highlighted again that Office Insiders can now try out the new Outlook for Windows experience. In the coming weeks, this will also become available to Windows Insiders using the Mail app, even if they are not Office Insiders. It's important to remember that there is no guarantee that Dev Channel features will make their way to the general release version of Windows 11. There's no word yet on whether the auto-save capability will also be made available to the legacy app on Windows 10 eventually either, but it seems unlikely. Windows 11 Dev Channel build 25211 lets Snipping Tool automatically save screenshots

If you want to grab all or a part of your computer screen, the Snipping Tool in Windows 11 lets you capture it easily. Besides, you can even add colored borders to the captured region, but you first need to enable settings related to the feature. Let’s find out how it is done! Add colored borders to Snipping Tool captures in Windows 11 There is more than one way to capture screenshots in Windows 11. However, all those images won’t show borders surrounding them unless they are configured to do so. Here’s how you can change the settings in Windows 11 Snipping Tool to add custom color and change border thickness for images. Click on Start and in the search box, type Snipping Tool and select it from the list of options displayed. Click the See more menu visible as three horizontal dots in the upper right corner of the Snipping Tool window. Choose the Settings option. Scroll down to the Add border to each screenshot option under the Snipping section. To enable borders for the screen captures, toggle the switch to the ‘On’ position. If you would like to add a custom color and adjust the thickness of the borders surrounding images, hit the drop-down button next to the Add border to each screenshot option. Choose a custom color to change the color of the outline. Simply tap the color box and select the desired color. Similarly, move the slider to the right or left to adjust the border thickness of the images. How to add borders to Snipping Tool captures in Windows 11

Not so long ago, Microsoft announced a new Snipping Tool app with built-in screen recording capabilities. Although it is great to see Microsoft finally adding a native screen recorder to its operating system, users quickly discovered that the updated app lacks many features, such as the ability to pause a recording, change framerate, and more. Customers puzzled by the lackluster initial release will be glad to learn that Microsoft has released an updated Snipping Tool with some much-needed changes. As noted by Twitter user @PhantomOfEarth, Snipping Tool 11.2212.24.0 now lets you pause a screen recording. Besides, it now features a simplified mode switcher that ditched the "Snip" and "Record" text on the buttons. Finally, the app has received slightly changed controls for customizing the recording area border. Unfortunately, the app still does not allow changing the framerate, which is capped at 30fps, and you cannot reposition the recording area when paused. If you are unhappy with this, be sure to file your complaints in Feedback Hub. You can download the updated Snipping Tool from the Microsoft Store. Those wanting a more capable app for taking screenshots and recording the screen in Windows 11, check out ShareX 15, which is now available for download in the stable channel. Microsoft updates Snipping Tool with the ability to pause screen recording

Although Windows 11's rollout in terms of general availability has begun (check out our review here), it is important to note that due to its staggered nature, the update may not be available to everyone just yet. While there are ways to skip the queue and download Windows 11 right now, it's worth knowing what the OS offers before you decide to pull the trigger. That is exactly what we have been doing in our ongoing Closer Look series for the past couple of months. So far, we have taken a look at Search, Widgets, the Start menu, Snap Layouts and Snap Groups, the Taskbar, quick settings and notifications, Virtual Desktops, power and battery settings, default apps configurations, File Explorer, context menus, Teams integration, the updated Clock app in Windows 11, and the Microsoft Store. Today, we'll be discussing the unified Snipping Tool experience in Windows 11. For the purpose of this hands-on, we'll be taking a look at the generally available Windows 11 build versus a publicly available and up-to-date Windows 10 (version 21H1 build 19043.1266). Snipping Tool in Windows 10 Starting with Windows 10, we actually have two experiences related to the Snipping Tool. The first is the legacy application (screenshot above). It is a very straightforward tool that allows you to take free-form, rectangular, window, or full-screen snip, and enables you to add a delay of 1-5 seconds before a screenshot is taken. There are also some basic options such as screen overlays, prompts, and more. Since 2018, Microsoft has been showing the notification that Snipping Tool is moving to Snip & Sketch - more on that later -, but that hasn't happened in Windows 10 so far. Editing capabilities in Snipping Tool for Windows 10 Once you have taken a snip, the Snipping Tool also offers some basic editing capabilities such as drawing with a pen, highlighter, erasing ink, copying an image to clipboard, sharing it with others, and opening it in Paint 3D. Suffice to say that there's not a lot you can do here but it's a quick and easy tool to utilize if your sole purpose is just to take a screenshot and make some basic edits on top. Editing capabilities in Snip & Sketch for Windows 10 The second snipping experience we have on Windows 10 is Snip & Sketch, which is Microsoft's modern alternative to the Snipping Tool. It is essentially a rebranding of Screen Sketch, and features a more refined UI as well as new functionalities. You can open it directly via the app or the Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcut - the latter will open the app with snipping ready. It also enables you to snip immediately, after 3 seconds, or after 10 seconds. Once you have taken a screenshot, it offers you a range of capabilities that sets it apart from the Snipping Tool. This includes different types of pointing devices, the ability to crop images, and a ruler. All other functionalities from the Snipping Tool have been carried over too. You also get the ability to print or open the image with another app. The settings allow you to add outlines to snips, show you prompts before saving an image, toggle auto-copy to clipboard, and open snips in multiple windows. It isn't anything mind-blowing, but then again, it's more advanced than Snipping Tool and is really not an alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Both Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch can be updated from the Microsoft Store and are not tied to OS upgrades, which is really good. Snipping Tool in Windows 11 Coming over to Windows 11, we have a couple of interesting things of note. Since 2018, Microsoft has been saying that the Snipping Tool is moving to Snip & Sketch, but what we see in Windows 11 is that it's actually the other way around. Snip & Sketch does not exist anymore and all its capabilities have been moved to the Snipping Tool. While it doesn't make a difference since the feature-set has been unified either way, you'll notice that "Snip & Sketch" will return no results in Windows Search, since it has been completely removed. Launching the Snipping Tool now opens up a new UI that borrows from the Windows 11 design language as well as Snip & Sketch. As can be seen in the screenshot above, it packs a minimalist UI with some modern icons to replace the legacy ones from Windows 10. The delay timer settings have been changed as well. In Windows 10, the Snipping Tool offered a range from 1-5 seconds with 1 second increments while Snip & Sketch offered 3 seconds or 10 seconds. The new Snipping Tool in Windows 11 instead provides 1, 3, 5, or 10 second delays. Honestly, I would much appreciate if Microsoft offers a slider instead of arbitrary values when it comes to delay timers. It's a bit strange to me that the company has gone forward with its current implementation instead of giving more power to its customers. Editing capabilities in Snipping Tool for Windows 11 Once you have snipped your screen, you'll notice that the image editing experience is largely the same as it was in Snip & Sketch for Windows 10. A few minor changes include new icons and reshuffling of their order. There's not much else to talk about here since it's the same experience as Windows 10, and I have already talked about it before. Overall, I like the fact that the Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch have finally been unified. This is something that has been pending for over three years. It was always a bit confusing to me to have two screen-snipping apps with lots of overlapping functionality, and Windows 11 solves this problem with ease. That said, as someone who is a very active user of the Snipping Tool, I do have to say that the app is not perfect. I don't expect a Photoshop alternative, but I would love this app even more if Microsoft makes at least three changes. First, the delay timer should be a slider rather than arbitrary values. I don't think this is a major feature to implement since the capability is already there, Microsoft just inexplicably locks it down to a couple of options. Secondly, I would prefer if Microsoft added some sort of visible countdown timer provided that you do take a screenshot with some delay. Right now, if you add a delay of, let's say 5 seconds, and you want to take the screenshot of your display in some specific state, you have to rush through the process because unless you're also counting down seconds in your head, Microsoft gives you no indication about the countdown. This really needs to change. Thirdly, while the basic editing feature-set covers most of my use-cases, I would really like a dedicated obfuscation tool such as a blurring capability. As a News Editor at Neowin, I frequently have to take screenshots via the Snipping Tool, and sometimes, they also contain sensitive details. Right now, I either have to hide them in a haphazard way using the marker/pen inputs in Snipping Tool or utilize another tool with blurring capabilities. I think that the Snipping Tool in Windows 11 could really use a blurring functionality, as it's something that will be beneficial in other use-cases too. I really like the Snipping Tool in Windows 11. It's a very basic app, but it's mostly quite good at what it does. Now, if Microsoft could add the features I talked about above, this might become my favorite app in Windows 11. Closer Look: Snipping Tool in Windows 11