- You can now add rectangles, ovals, lines, and arrows to your screenshots with the Snipping Tool.
- The new addition is available as a preview in the Dev and Canary Channels of Windows 11.
- Microsoft is not saying when shapes will arrive in the Snipping Tool.
On Windows 11, the Snipping Tool is becoming a full-featured tool to take screenshots with the addition of shapes. Starting on version 11.2401.32.0, the app includes new tools that allow you to add rectangles, ovals, lines, and arrows to mark up screenshots.
If you take screenshots with the Snipping Tool, you can now open the “Shapes” menu from the toolbar, and from the “Outline” tool, select the color and thickness of the outline.
The “Fill” tool lets you make the shape transparent or filled with a specific color. (Usually, you would use the “Transparent” option.)
Finally, click the “Square,” “Oval,” “Line,” or “Arrow” options, and draw the shape anywhere on the image. You can always resize and rotate the shape and change the fill and outline settings.
Once the shape is no longer focused, it’ll merge into the image. However, you can use the “Erase” tool to remove it.
After you are finished marking up the image, you can save the screenshot on your computer.
In addition to the shapes, Microsoft has been proactively improving the Snipping Tool with various improvements. In previous updates, the company introduced the ability to record videos of the desktop and apps without voice, but soon after, the option to include system sounds and a microphone was implemented.
Following the recording feature, the company began integrating AI, bringing the ability to copy text from images and quickly redact sensitive information.
Now, with the introduction of shapes, the Snipping Tool is becoming one of the best experiences to take screenshots on Windows 11.
At the time of this writing, the new feature is available in the Canary and Dev Channels, and it’s unclear when it will roll out to everyone since the company can choose to make the update available as soon as the feature is ready or as part of a system update, such as the upcoming Windows 11 Moment 5 update or version 24H2.
Microsoft is also updating the Notepad app with Copilot. However, the integration is merely an option to send selected text to the chatbot AI.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].