What Is the Snipping Tool Shortcut?
The keyboard shortcut to open Snipping Tool is Win + Shift + S. Press it from any app or window on Windows 10 or 11 and the capture overlay opens immediately. No setup needed.
Your screen dims and a small toolbar appears at the top with four capture mode icons. Choose your mode and start selecting what to capture. The screenshot copies to your clipboard as soon as you release the mouse button, and a notification appears in the bottom-right corner to open the editor.
All Snipping Tool Keyboard Shortcuts
These shortcuts work inside the Snipping Tool app window after you open it from the Start menu or from the toolbar that appears after a capture.
Snipping Tool Capture Mode Shortcuts
After you press Win + Shift + S and the overlay appears, press one of these keys to switch capture mode without clicking.
Rectangular Snip
Click and drag to select a rectangle. The default and most used mode.
Free-form Snip
Draw any shape freehand around the area you want to capture.
Window Snip
Click any open window to capture it exactly, including the title bar.
Full-screen Snip
Captures the entire screen instantly. No selection needed.
Screenshot Shortcuts Without the App
These shortcuts take a screenshot without opening Snipping Tool. They work on all Windows versions with no setup.
How to Make Print Screen Open Snipping Tool
By default, PrtSc copies your entire screen to the clipboard. You can reassign it so pressing PrtSc opens the Snipping Tool overlay instead. This means one key instead of three.
- 1
Open Settings with Win + I
- 2
Go to Accessibility, then select Keyboard
- 3
Find 'Use the Print Screen button to open screen snipping' and turn it on
- 4
Press PrtSc: the Snipping Tool overlay now opens instead of copying to clipboard
Snipping Tool Shortcut Not Working
If Win + Shift + S does nothing, another application has claimed the shortcut. Here is how to fix it.
Clipboard manager conflict
Temporarily quit your clipboard manager (Ditto, CopyQ, Clipboard Master) and test Win + Shift + S again.
Remote desktop software
Tools like TeamViewer, AnyDesk, or Windows Remote Desktop sometimes capture Win + Shift + S. Disconnect or close the remote session and retry.
AutoHotkey or hotkey app
If you have a macro or hotkey tool running, check its assigned shortcuts and remove any that use Win + Shift + S.
Session needs refresh
Sign out of Windows and sign back in. This refreshes the keyboard shortcut registration without a full restart.
For more fixes, see the full troubleshooting guide. If you want third-party screenshot tools with different shortcut options, see the Snipping Tool alternatives. For a complete walkthrough of every screenshot method, see the how to screenshot on Windows guide.