5 Ways I Use the Windows Snipping Tool for More Than Just Screenshots

The Snipping Tool has been a staple of Windows for years, allowing you to take screenshots and annotate them. However, some recent changes supercharged this basic app and allowed me to do much more than just capture the screen.

Capture video and microphone

You can now take screen recordings using the Snipping Tool in Windows. Previously, I could only record my screen natively in Windows 11 using the Xbox Game Bar. It barely worked and didn’t allow me to select specific parts of the screen. For this reason, I’ve been leaning towards using OBS Studio to record my screen.

Using Snipping Tool’s screen recording feature, I can select any part of the screen, just like I do when I want to take a screenshot in Windows 11. In addition, I can record audio using the lapel microphone or select any other input device using the microphone.

I can also turn off the system sound. This allows me to eliminate annoying clicks and other OS noises when recording tutorials. The application also has global settings to permanently disable system sound and automatically save screen recordings.

I can’t remember how many times I accidentally closed the snipping tool without saving the recorded clip or screenshot. Enabling this setting has really helped me avoid losing any images I take.

Microsoft does not offer any editing options in the Snipping Tool. However, there is a ClipChamp shortcut in the app, so you can easily open the recordings in the editor. You can also use any other video editing tool to complement the footage.

Annotate screenshots with shapes and emoticons

You can also add various notes, including shapes and emoticons. Both of these elements appear under Shapes after taking the picture.

I love that I can use circles and rectangles to edit the captured screenshot and highlight something – all without having to use the pen tools to draw weird shapes.

Before, I had to open a screenshot in Paint to add shapes, and it didn’t offer emoji support at all. To add shapes and emoticons, right-click any image in File Explorer and select Open with > Cut out tool. Now find the emoticon you want to add to the dropdown menu and click on it.

Identify and copy the text from the pictures

More apps, incl The snipping tool and Phone Link now have optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities. This allows me to copy text from images in the Snipping Tool without installing PowerToys or using an online tool to extract text from images..

After taking the picture, click on Text actions tool to identify all text elements in an image. I often use this feature to scan contact information from photos.

You can select the entire text or use the mouse to highlight and copy a selection of text. You can also choose to hide phone numbers and email addresses from the screenshot.

I also tested the upcoming upgrade to Text Actions, which can copy entire tables at once. It’s a little clunky, but hard to beat since it’s already part of Windows.

Scan QR codes

Scanning QR codes from an image on a PC using your phone is easy, but you can’t do it on Windows. You can scan QR codes in your camera app, but that’s an awkward way to use your webcam, and it doesn’t work for images stored on your computer.

The Snipping Tool uses its OCR capabilities to scan the QR code text. You can then copy the text and even visit the URL directly. This eliminates the need to scan a QR code on your phone and then send it to your computer.

Do an image search

I don’t use this option often, but it’s useful when I’m shooting a catalog or a scene from a video. To perform an image search, take a screenshot using the crop tool, then click the three dots in the upper right corner. Choose Visual search with Bingand will open an image search in a new window.

The results aren’t always the most accurate, but it’s nice to have the functionality built right into the Snipping Tool.

Snipping Tool is already really useful for taking screenshots quickly. These additional features are especially useful for additional screenshots. Not only does this help reduce your dependency on third-party web tools, but it also helps you save yourself from downloading and installing additional software, as the Snipping Tool is included with Windows by default.