I’m trying to capture and crop a screenshot on my Windows computer for a project. Usually, I just use the Print Screen button, but I can’t figure out how to easily crop the image afterwards. Is there a built-in tool or some easy method for doing this?
If you’re looking to take and edit a screenshot on Windows, there’s no need to struggle with the Print Screen button and then messing around with an external photo editor. Windows has a built-in tool that’s perfect for this: Snip & Sketch.
First off, hit the Windows key + Shift + S. This will bring up the Snip & Sketch tool. You’ll see a small toolbar at the top of the screen with a few options: rectangular snip, freeform snip, window snip, and full-screen snip. Select the rectangular snip if you want to capture a specific part of your screen. After selecting and capturing your desired area, the screenshot will be automatically copied to your clipboard and a notification will pop up in the bottom-right corner. Click on that notification to open Snip & Sketch.
Now for the editing part, inside Snip & Sketch, you’ll find several tools at the top—pen, pencil, highlighter, eraser, etc. Look for the crop tool; it looks like a square with small lines through the corners. Click on this crop tool and adjust the borders to the exact area you want to keep. When you’re done cropping, hit “Save As” to store your edited screenshot. Simple as that!
Another option, if you prefer more advanced editing features, would be to use a third-party app like ShareX or Greenshot. They both have cropping features, along with a whole range of other useful tools for screen capture and editing. But honestly, for straightforward cropping, Snip & Sketch does the job nicely.
If you got trouble with hotkeys, you can also find Snip & Sketch in your Start menu. Give it a go—it might save you a ton of hassle!
Snip & Sketch? Really? I wouldn’t bother. It feels clunky and super basic. If you’re serious about getting good screenshots and doing some real editing, you’re better off downloading software specifically for the job, like ShareX or Greenshot. Those tools are actually made to handle a lot more than just cropping an image.
Most of the tools inside Snip & Sketch feel like they belong in an app from a decade ago. You want more advanced tools like annotations, automated workflows, and customizable hotkeys? You won’t find that in Snip & Sketch. Plus, its constant notifications can get pretty annoying.
Another downside is if you’ve got multiple monitors—Snip & Sketch doesn’t always play nicely there. Messes up the aspect ratio sometimes.
But, hey, if you only need to crop and can’t be bothered downloading a new tool, then sure, give it a shot. Just don’t expect it to be efficient if you’re doing this often. For anyone who values their time, ShareX all the way.
I see Snip & Sketch has been recommended here, but let’s be honest, it’s far from perfect. If u’r looking for something a bit more intuitive and flexible, especially if you’re tech-savvy, there’s another built-in tool that might actually be more suitable for certain tasks: the Microsoft Snipping Tool.
First off, just hit the Windows Key and type “Snipping Tool,” then launch it from the search results. You’ll get a simple interface that lets you choose from Free-form, Rectangular, Windows, and Full-Screen snips. After capturing, you can edit directly in the tool by clicking the “edit” button. And yep, cropping is right there—no need to deal with notifications popping up or dealing with your clipboard.
But if you’re a DIY enthusiast and love tweaking things to your liking, let’s talk about some third-party apps like FastStone Capture. It’s a lightweight, user-friendly tool with a suite of features like screen recording, advanced annotation tools, and yes, a very intuitive crop function. The beauty is you can set up hotkeys for pretty much any action.
Also, for those of you who prefer open-source options, GIMP is incredibly powerful. Sure, it’s overkill for just cropping a screenshot, but if you have to perform more complex edits down the line, it’s worthwhile learning. GIMP has a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, the layer and selection tools make precise editing a breeze.
One more thing to note, Greenshot has been mentioned and it’s true, it’s a great alternative, offering more advanced features and customization. However, in my experience, there’s a bit of a learning curve and it’s not as natively integrated as Microsoft’s tools.
To wrap it up, Snip & Sketch is fine for quick and dirty tasks but for frequent and more demanding use, third-party tools like FastStone Capture or even GIMP might be much better suited. They offer customization, advanced editing tools, and minimize the hassle with more sophisticated interfaces.