10 Snipping Tool Hacks Every Windows 11 User Should Know
Discover essential tricks for the built-in Windows 11 screenshot tool, ranging from automated text extraction and quick redaction to built-in screen recording enhancements.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Extract text directly from images or copy-disabled websites without taking screenshots.
- Quickly hide phone numbers and email addresses using the automated redaction feature.
- Set a capture delay of three to 10 seconds for perfect screen arrangements.
- Enable automatic microphone audio recording during screencasts for easy tutorials.
Snipping Tool has evolved far beyond a basic screenshot utility in Windows 11, transforming into a versatile tool suitable for both beginners and power users. Beyond taking standard grabs, it now handles screen recordings, image text extraction, and reverse image searches. Here are 10 essential hacks to help you master this built-in application.
Copying text from images is straightforward. Right-click any image in Windows 11, select Open with > Snipping Tool, and click the Scan Text button to parse all the text. Alternatively, click and drag your cursor over a specific sentence or block, then right-click your selection to copy the text.
If your goal is solely to extract text from protected websites, app interfaces, or scanned PDF pages, you can skip capturing a screenshot entirely. Open Snipping Tool, click the Text extractor button on the toolbar, drag over the desired area, and hit Copy all text from the popover menu to reduce unnecessary image clutter.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The app also provides basic editing capabilities, such as automatically redacting sensitive data. Once you scan text in an open screenshot, select Quick redact from the popover menu to place black bars over all phone numbers and email addresses instantly, offering a much safer alternative to manual blurring.
Setting up timed captures is easy when you need a delay. Right-click the Snipping Tool icon on the taskbar to choose a 3, 5, or 10-second delay, or open the app, click the camera icon, and select the timer icon to configure your preferred delay duration.
Microsoft's continuous feature updates for the native Snipping Tool demonstrate a strategic shift toward reducing users' reliance on third-party utilities for routine daily tasks like text recognition and image annotation.
When helping friends or family troubleshoot tech issues, enable default microphone audio for screen recordings. Click the three-dots icon in the top-right corner, go to Settings, and enable Include microphone input by default when a screen recording starts to narrate your walkthroughs seamlessly.
You can also configure Snipping Tool to add a solid color border to every captured image automatically. Navigate to settings, enable Add border to each screenshot, and use the color block and thickness slider to customize the appearance for social media posts.
The Freeform tool allows you to draw irregular shapes while automatically closing minor gaps in your drawing, meaning steady hands are not required. Access this by clicking the camera icon, selecting the rectangle icon, and choosing Freeform.
Disabling auto-save sends captured images directly to your clipboard instead of cluttering your hard drive. You can make necessary edits or manually hit save only for the images you actually need to keep.
Finally, the Shapes option helps conceal private information or faces. Select the Shapes tool next to the eraser, pick the Emoji tool for emoticons, or use the Square and Oval tools with the Fill option enabled and an optional outline disabled to thoroughly block out confidential data.
Source: Lifehacker
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