How To: Where can I find the Windows 7 Screen Capturing Tool?

Question: Where can I find a free Screen capturing tool for Windows 7 or Windows 10?

Answer: Windows has always had the Print Screen button (PRT SCR) to make a screen capture of your entire desktop. The sole function of this key is to take a snapshot or picture of your computer screen and copy it to the clipboard which can pasted (CTRL+V) later into a program of choice.

In addition the ALT-PRT SCR key can be used to capture the currently selected window, not the entire screen like the normal screenshot function. This allows you to target that specific window that you have open and nothing else.

For those that are using Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10 – Microsoft has included a little utility titled “Snipping Tool”.

To access the Snipping Tool for the first time copy the following command “C:WindowsSystem32SnippingTool.exe” (without the quotes) and paste it in “Start Search” area under the Windows Start Menu. You can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+C to copy and CTRL+V to paste.

Windows 10

Loading the Snipping Tool in Windows 10 is a snap.  Simply start writing “Snipping Tool” in the search tool bar.

Use Snipping Tool to capture screen shots

You can use Snipping Tool to capture a screen shot, or snip, of any object on your screen, and then annotate, save, or share the image. Simply use a mouse or tablet pen to capture any of the following types of snips:

• Free-form Snip. Draw an irregular line, such as a circle or a triangle, around an object.
• Rectangular Snip. Draw a precise line by dragging the cursor around an object to form a rectangle.
• Window Snip. Select a window, such as a browser window or dialog box, that you want to capture.
• Full-screen Snip. Capture the entire screen when you select this type of snip.

After you capture a snip, it’s automatically copied to the mark-up window, where you can annotate, save, or share the snip.