From there you can paste it (Ctrl-V) into an email or Word document etc. Today, pressing the Print Screen key usually saves a copy of the current screen image to the clipboard. Indeed, the Print Screen function, where hitting a dedicated key dumped the screen to a printer, predates Windows. People often forget that Windows has several ways to take screen grabs without using an app. This will make Windows more secure, more reliable, and easier to maintain for inexpert users. In the long term, Microsoft wants casual and home users to be able to do everything they need using modern Windows Store apps. If it’s not obvious, this is the same approach as the Apple iOS and Google Play app stores. They also run on ARM chips as well as Intel processors. They are touch-friendly and work well on smartphones and tablets. Apps are sandboxed so they can’t do bad things to your PC, which makes them safer to run. They are downloaded and maintained from the Windows Store, which is safer than trying to figure out which download button to click on a website, and apps don’t come with unwanted additions. Windows Runtime apps have lots of advantages. Microsoft is in the process of replacing old Win32 programs with apps written to a new programming interface called Windows Runtime, which was introduced with Windows 8 in 2012. The problem with Snipping Tool is that it’s a traditional desktop application: it dates back to the launch of Windows XP tablets in 2002, and was included in Vista in 2006. You may need to try a few to find one that meets your needs. However, there are more than 100 screen capture programs of various sorts, and there isn’t one that’s best for everyone. If it doesn’t do what you want, you can suggest improvements, while looking for a suitable alternative. The Snip & Sketch app is the intended replacement, and if you don’t have this month’s updated version of Windows, it’s available from the Windows Store. On 27 June, in a note on a preview version of the next release (1809 AKA Redstone 5), Microsoft said: “Currently, we are not planning to remove the Snipping Tool in the next update to Windows 10 and the consolidation work underway will be a feedback and data-driven decision.” So, Snipping Tool has been reprieved, at least temporarily. In fact, you will get to keep Snipping Tool alongside its replacement while Microsoft analyses the telemetry data that it uses to track mass (not individual) behaviour. Taking screen grabs is now such an important part of personal computer use that Microsoft is certain to provide a good alternative. Apparently the workaround is to use OneNote, but not for me. The next Windows 10 update will remove the Snipping Tool, and I wonder if there is an alternative free tool you would recommend.

Best free alternative to snagit