Snipping Tool is the default screenshot capturing utility in Windows 10. Introduced first with Windows Vista, the Snipping Tool allows you to capture the entire screen, window, or a specific area on the screen.
In the latest Windows 10, Snipping Tool has received some improvements. It now comes with a delay option using which you can capture the screen after a delay of up to 5 seconds. The feature comes in handy while capturing menus. The current version of Snipping Tool doesn’t support video capture though.
Most PC users often use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots. If you also often use the Snipping Tool, you might be interested in using keyboard shortcuts to capture the screen using Sniping Tool quickly.
While there is no dedicated keyboard shortcut out there to launch the Snipping Tool, you can create a keyboard shortcut to open the Snipping Tool either be creating a shortcut of Snipping Tool and then assigning a keyboard shortcut for it or by pining the Sniping Tool to the taskbar.
NOTE: We recommend you go through our Windows 10 Snipping Tool Tips and Tricks guide to know more about the Snipping Tool.
Tip: In Windows 10, you can use Windows logo + Print Screen keyboard shortcut to capture the entire screen quickly and automatically save it to PicturesScreenshots folder.
Snipping Tool keyboard shortcuts in Windows 10
After launching the Snipping Tool, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts:
Alt + M – Choose a snipping mode
Ctrl + S – Save the captured snip
Alt + N – Create a new snip using the last used mode
Ctrl + N – Create a new snip
Alt + D – Delay capture by 1-5 seconds
(After pressing Alt +D, you need to use the down arrow key to select the delay)
Shift + arrow keys – Move the cursor to select a rectangular snip area
Ctrl + C – Copy the captured snip to the clipboard
Esc – Cancel the snip selection
Ctrl + P – Print the snip
After capturing a screenshot, you can press the Alt key > press T > press P, H or E to choose pen, highlighter, or eraser, respectively.