How To Use Snip It Tool For Mac

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Table of Contents

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Search (or if you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search), type snipping tool in the search box, and then select Snipping Tool from the list of results. The CloudApp snipping tool is the best equivalent to the native Mac app. It is quick and easy to use and saves you snipping time by uploading all snips to the cloud, without having to open a new window or app.

Introduction

The Snipping Tool is a program that is part of Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Window 8. Snipping Tool allows you to take selections of your windows or desktop and save them as snips, or screen shots, on your computer. In the past if you wanted a full featured screen shot program you needed to spend some money to purchase a commercial one. If you needed basic screen shot capability, past versions of Windows enabled you to take screen shots by pressing the the PrintScreen button to take a picture of your entire screen or Alt-Printscreen to take a screen shot of just the active window. This screen shot would be placed in your clipboard that you can then paste in another image program of your choice.

What makes the Snipping Tool so attractive is that:

  1. It is free.
  2. It is powerful.
  3. It allows you to take screen shots of only specific sections of your screen rather than the entire window or screen.

This guide will walk you through the steps necessary to use the Snipping Tool to save screen shots of your running programs, portions of other pictures, and your desktop as images on your computer.

Starting the Snipping Tool

Please note, unless you have the Tablet PC Optional Components feature enabled in Windows Vista, the Snipping Tool will not be available on your computer. To enable this feature please follow the instructions in our Windows Vista Feature Guide. When you have enabled the feature, come back and follow the rest of these steps. The Snipping Tool is automatically installed in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Before we go into more detail on how to use the tool and it's options, I want to explain how the tool works. The Snipping Tool allows you to capture portions of your screen using four methods and then save these snips as a JPG, GIF, PNG, or MHT file. The capture methods that can be used to take snips are free-form, rectangular, window, and full-screen. We will go into more information about these different methods later in the tutorial. What is important to know, though, is that when you start the Snipping Tool, it automatically goes into capture mode using the last selection type that was selected. What this means is that while Snipping Tool is capture mode, you will not be able to use Windows normally unless you either cancel the capture by pressing the Capture button or by Alt-Tabbing out of the tool. Now that we understand this, lets move on to finding and starting the Snipping Tool.

To start the Snipping Tool please follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Start button to open your Start Menu. The Start button looks like this:
  2. Then click on the All Programs menu option.
  3. Then click on the Accessories group
  4. Finally click on the the Snipping Tool icon which looks like this:

If you are running Windows 8, you can just search for Snipping Tool at the Windows 8 Start Screen.

The snipping tool should now be started and you will see a screen similar to the one below.


Snipping Tool Main Screen

How To Snip On A Mac Computer


As we are not going to take a snip right now in this portion of the tutorial, press the Cancel button to exit capture mode. Now, let's move on to learn about the different selection types available to us.

The Snipping Tool Options

When you start the Snipping Tool you can click on the Options button to set the preferences on how you want the program to operate. Below we have a table that explains what each of these options do and how they affect the snips, or screen shots, that you create. The options are broken up into Application and Selections groups.

Application Options:

Hide Instruction Text
If enabled, hides the instruction text in the main Snipping Tool window.

Always copy snips to the Clipboard
If this is enabled it will copy all snips to your Windows clipboard so you can paste them into another application such as word processors or other image manipulation programs.

Include URL below snips (HTML only)
With this enabled if you save your snip as a Single File HTML, or MHT document, and the snip was taken from an Internet Explorer browser window it will show the url of the page that you took the snip from.

Prompt to save snips before exiting
If enabled, when you exit the snipping tool it will prompt you to save any snips that were created.

Display icon in the Quick Launch Toolbar
When enabled an icon for the Snipping Tool will be placed in your Quick Launch Toolbar.

Show screen overlay when Snipping Tool is active
If enabled, when you are creating the snip the Snipping Tool interface will disappear.
Ink Color:
This will change the color of the selection border when you create a snip.

Show selection ink after snips are captured
When enabled the selection border will be shown, using the color selected in the Ink Color option, around the snip.

My suggestion is to enable all the application options other than Include URL below snips (HTML only) and Show screen overlay when Snipping Tool is active. For the selection options I would disable the Show selection ink after snips are captured option for better looking snips.

Now that we understand the options, lets learn about the different types of snips that can be taken.

Types of snips that can be taken.

There are four different selection types that you can use to take a snip using the Snipping Tool. In order to change the type of of selection the Snipping Tool will use to create a snip you would click on the small down arrow menu next to the New button. This is shown by the arrow in the image below.

A description of each selection type and an example snip is shown below.

Free-form Snip: This method allows you to draw a shape around your selection using a mouse or a stylus. Once the selection shape is drawn and you close the shape so there are no open sides, the snip will be created and shown to you. An example of a free-form snip is below. Notice how it is a circular snip because I drew a circular selection.


Free-Form Snip Example

Rectangular Snip: This method simply allows you to create a rectangular selection around a portion of your screen and anything in that rectangle will be used to create the snip. An example of a rectangular snip is below.


Rectangular Snip Example


Window Snip: When you use this method, the Snipping Tool will capture the contents of the entire window that you select. An example of a window snip is below.


Windows Snip Example

Full-screen Snip: This method will capture the entire screen on your computer. An example of this type of snip is below.


Full-Screen Snip Example


Now that we know all there is to know about the Snipping Tool, let's learn how to use it.

Taking and savings snips with the Snipping Tool

In this portion of the tutorial I will walk you through taking a rectangular snip. In my example, I will be using the picture of the babies that you we used previously, but any picture will work just as well. So pick a picture and let's get started!

The first step is to open the picture we want to snip, and then start the the Snipping Tool as explained previously.

Once the program is opened we want to select the Rectangular Snip type by clicking on the down arrow next to the New button and selecting Rectangular Snip. This is shown in the image below.


Rectangular Snip Selection


Once the Rectangular Snip option is selected, we click on the picture and drag a rectangular selection around the boy's faces by clicking somewhere on the picture, and while holding the left mouse button, dragging a rectangular box around the area we want to create. This selection is shown below.


Make a rectangular selection


Once the selection is made, we release the left mouse button and the rectangular region will now be sent to the snipping tool. When a snip is created, the Snipping Tool will show the snip in a small window where you can save it as an image, write some text on it using your mouse or stylus, highlight areas of the snip. The snip we just took is shown in the Snipping Tool below.


The newly created snip

Now that the snip is created, if you want to draw on the picture with your mouse or stylus you can click on the Tools menu and then select the Pen you would like to draw with. If you want to highlight certain parts of the picture you can click on the Tools menu and select Highlighter. Last, but not least, if you want to remove anything that you drew with the pen or highlighted, you can click on the Tools menu and select the Eraser to do so.

Finally, when you are happy with how the snip will appear you can:

  • Send it in an email as an embedded image or an attachment by clicking on the mail icon () or by clicking on the File menu and then selecting Send To.
  • Save the snip as a file on your computer by clicking on the File menu and then selecting Save As. The options you have when saving the snip are as a JPG, GIF, PNG, or Single File HTML (MHT). For pictures I suggest you always use save your snip as a JPG.

You have now finished making your first snip. Now start sending your snips to your friends and family or embed them in web sites like this!

Conclusion

Now that you know how to create snips using the Windows Snipping Tool, there is nothing stopping you from making great looking screen shots of your pictures, your work, or even your desktop. As always, if you want to learn more about, or discuss with your peers, the various features available in Windows , then feel free to talk about it in our forums.

Do you want to snip and paste on your Mac? You have come to the right place because here we will give you the best snipping tools for Mac OS.

It’s no wonder that you want to snip on a Mac. Many people want to take screenshots of their desktop. Here are some reasons you may need snipping tools for your Mac:

  1. You need to make tutorial videos for students
  2. You want to share your screen with friends
  3. Your work requires you to take a screenshot and send it to someone
  4. Snipping tools for Mac can help you keep records of important documents that you can’t download

Bloggers and computer users rely on snipping tools for their everyday life. Below, you will find the best apps to help you capture your screen.

Our topics

  • 3 External/installable snipping tools for Mac
  • 4 Conclusion

Are all snipping tools the same?

Before you go ahead and download a tool for your needs, it’s important to know that snipping tools for Mac aren’t all the same.

Some tools allow you to take a screenshot of your full desktop, while others allow you to capture selected areas on your desktop.

Similarly, some tools let you zoom into the area you want to capture, as well as add graphics and text to the screenshots.

Take a screenshot using Mac’s built-in tool

If you need to take screenshots on your Mac, the first thing to try is the native screen capture tool (Grab) that comes pre-installed on your computer. Here is how to use this tool:

Snip It Tool On Mac

  1. Press Command + Shift + 3 together to take a screenshot of your desktop at any time
  2. You can also take a screenshot of a boxed area using Command + Shift + 4
  3. To take a screenshot of a particular window on your desktop, press Command + Shift + 4 + Space keys when the particular window is active

Once you have taken a screenshot, simply press Command + Shift + 3 + Control to copy it to the clipboard.

External/installable snipping tools for Mac

If for any reason, you want to extend the functionality of your built-in screenshot tool, you will need to try a third-party app. These apps come with many additional features that make them better than Mac’s built-in tool.

Here are some of the best snipping tools for Mac. Pick the one that gives you the features you want.

1. Snagit

Snagit lets you capture your Mac desktop with ease. This tool not only gives you basic image capturing but it also allows you to record the screen, as well.

Snagit is a powerful tool with plenty of advanced features to impress users.

Features

  1. Capture desktop
  2. Easily take a screenshot of scrolling screens
  3. Capture video stills
  4. Create animated gifs from captured screens
  5. Easy image editing
  6. Add text, stamps, shapes, and emoticons
  7. Capture the full desktop or a particular window
  8. Users can also capture a particular selected area using this tool

2. Jing

Jing is easily one of the best snipping tools for Mac. It’s visually pleasing and offers many premium features.

This tool is easy to use. You simply use the drag-and-select feature to indicate the area you want to capture and then take the screenshot with a single click.

Features

  1. Capture active windows
  2. Take screenshots of scrolling text
  3. Capture full desktop, active window, or only the selected area
  4. Record video of your desktop activity
  5. Screenshots are easy to share with your friends and can be sent via email
  6. Tons of visual elements to add to your captured images, such as annotations, highlights, captions, and so on
  7. Hundreds of effects and text tools to help you create powerful screenshots

3. Lightshot

When it comes to snipping tools for Mac, you can’t ignore Lightshot. Like other top tools, it offers you plenty of features to make your experience worthwhile.

Lightshot is a fast tool that incorporates many social elements. It enhances your images and allows you to go beyond Mac’s default tool.

Features

How To Use Snip App On Mac

  1. Capture screens using drag-and-select
  2. Find similar images after you capture a screenshot
  3. Use various image enhancing tools to enhance your images
  4. Easily share your images with your friends on social media
  5. Simply and intuitive user interface
  6. Available for Mac, Windows, and Chrome OS

4. Nimbus Screenshot and Screencast

Nimbus is a browser-based screen capture tool. You don’t have to install it on your system like other snipping tools for Mac.

Nimbus is great for capturing browser windows. You can capture an area and then use the cropping feature to fix your image dimensions.

Features

  1. Robust screenshot app for your browser
  2. Great editor interface for easy customization
  3. Edit screens after capturing the image
  4. Add objects to your images
  5. Capture images using the browser address bar, context menu, or set up a hotkey to be used with Nimbus
  6. Easily create a freehand drawing on the image
  7. Record videos with this app
  8. Option to save images in various formats

5. ScreenCloud

ScreenCloud is among the top snipping tools for Mac. It allows you to capture and share your screen with your friends.

ScreenCloud is a unique snipping tool for Mac since it comes with a cloud sharing website. You can upload images to the cloud and share the URL with your friends.

Features

  1. Snip and share your screen with ScreenCloud
  2. No installation required, as the tool works as a browser extension
  3. Upload images to ScreenCloud website for quick sharing
  4. Share your screenshots on popular image sharing websites, such as Imgur and Dropbox
  5. Use drag-and-select feature to capture exactly the area of your desktop you need
  6. Use a hotkey or simply click on the screenshot button in your browser
  7. Easy to save images on your desktop

6. Apowersoft Mac Screenshot

Apowersoft Mac Screenshot is a powerful screen capturing tool for Mac. Just like other snipping tools for Mac in this list, this app also surpasses the built-in Mac tool for capturing your desktop.

How To Snip On Mac

Features

  1. Take a screenshot of your entire desktop or capture a selected area
  2. You can save the image in a format of your choice
  3. The tool offers plenty of editing options to get the desired result
  4. Upload or share your screens with a single click
  5. Zoom in on your screen before capturing for clearer text

Conclusion

Many users want to install a third-party snipping tool on their Mac since the built-in tool only offers basic functionality.

How To Use Snip It Tool For Mac

Free Snip It Tool Download

The tools we discussed above offer many extended features that will help you make the most of your screenshots. You can annotate, add text, and use various graphic elements to improve your images.

Petr is a serial tech entrepreneur and the CEO of Apro Software, a machine learning company. Whenever he’s not blogging about technology for itechgyan.com or softwarebattle.com, Petr enjoys playing sports and going to the movies. He’s also deeply interested about mediation, Buddhism and biohacking.

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