The Snipping Tool application, designed for capturing screenshots in the Windows system, has received a number of enhancements and new additions since it first appeared with Windows 7. Microsoft continues to work hard to enhance the application with more features to help users perform complex tasks in a simple and easy way. We have shared tips with you before on how to use the Snipping Tool like a pro, but in this article, let’s explore a set of other hidden tricks and features that will also help you get the most out of the Snipping Tool on Windows 11. If you think the tool’s task is limited to taking screenshots, you will be proven wrong after reading the following lines.
Features of Snipping Tool in Windows 11
Screen Recording
The Snipping Tool application’s task is not limited to taking a screenshot and saving it; it also has the ability to record the screen in video format, but this is an exclusive feature only for Windows 11. To use it, run the application and click on the new “Record” button on the toolbar, then click “New”. The screen will then be shaded to select the part you want to record before starting the recording session. You can adjust the area by dragging the edges of the box to resize it. After finishing, click the “Start” button at the top, and a 3-second timer will appear on the screen. Once the countdown is over, the recording will start immediately.
Note that the tool records anything that happens within the specified area, and you can also activate the microphone audio recording feature, as well as the option to mute any computer sound. After finishing the recording, click the Stop button or delete the recording by clicking the Delete icon on the top bar. If you choose to save the recording, a preview of the video will be displayed, and then you can save it to the device in MP4 format.
Extracting Text from Images
One of the newly added features to the Snipping Tool is Text Actions, which allows you to extract text from a screenshot, video clip, PDF file, or any image containing text in general. You can extract it instantly with the click of a button. The wonderful thing here is that the feature performs its task without the need for an internet connection, supports almost all languages, including Arabic, and does not require any pre-set adjustments.
All you have to do is run the application and select the area on the image from which you want to extract the text. After capturing the image, click on the preview that appears in the notifications area to display the image inside the integrated editor of the Snipping Tool. Then click on the Text Actions button, and the application will automatically recognize all the text in the image, and highlight the copyable parts. You can now simply select a specific text from the image using the mouse and then right-click to choose “Copy text” or click on “Copy all text” from the toolbar above to copy all the recognized text in the image to the clipboard.
Adding Illustrations to Images
Sometimes we need to highlight a specific part of a screenshot so that it stands out more with those you share the image with. To do this, you can take advantage of the built-in illustrative tools with the Snipping Tool application. After capturing the screen image and displaying the preview, simply click on the Shapes section at the top, and then you can choose to add shapes such as squares, circles, lines, arrows, and change their colors. You will also be able to customize the bold lines of the shape in terms of thickness and color, in addition to the ability to add three-dimensional emoticons. Certainly, this ability to add shapes to screenshots makes the Snipping Tool a more attractive alternative to well-known screen capture applications like ShareX or Snagit.
Redacting Sensitive Information from Images
You can use the Text Actions feature in the Snipping Tool application on Windows 11 to easily obscure and hide personal information from images. All you need to do is open the image containing the information, then run the application and select a box or rectangle around the part you want to capture from the image. Then click on the preview that appears in the notifications area to display the image inside the integrated editor of the Snipping Tool, and then click on the Text Actions button at the top. After recognizing the texts in the image, click on the Quick redact button to automatically highlight information such as email addresses and phone numbers. Or manually select text from the image, then right-click to choose “Redact text” and after finishing, click the “Save” button to save the image and then securely share it with others.
