Goodbye Snipping Tool Hello Screen Sketch

Martin Brinkmann
Jul 1, 2018
Updated • Nov 18, 2019
Windows, Windows 10
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37

Windows 10 users who run a beta version of the upcoming next feature update of Windows 10, Windows 10 version 1809, get a deprecation notification when they open the Snipping Tool on the system.

The Snipping Tool is a screen capturing utility that users may use to take fullscreen, window, rectangular, or free form screenshots. It is built-in which means that it is available right away as one the many tools that Windows ships with.

The message reads: Just a heads up ... Snipping Tool will be removed in a future update. Try improved features and snip like usual with Screen Sketch.

Update: Microsoft renamed the tool again to Snip & Sketch.

snipping tool gone

Microsoft provides additional information about the deprecation of the Snipping Tool on the Windows Experience blog:

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.

Microsoft announced the move to a new "modern" snipping experience in May 2018. The company turned Screen Sketch, which it introduced in Windows Ink Workspace, into a standalone application and plans to make it the new snipping experience on Windows 10 going forward.

screen sketch

All of this is a work in progress at this point in time. Screen Sketch supports most features of the Snipping Tool but some are missing right now. There is no option to delay a capture or capture a window directly. While you can use the rectangular capture mode to capture windows, using a native function for that is faster and often more thorough.

The pen selection options lack functionality as well right now. While you get the same number of pens, Screen Sketch lacks pen customization options which the Snipping Tool supports.

Screen Sketch pushes the screenshot to the Clipboard automatically from where it can be shared or saved. You can save it to the local system, obviously as well.

Microsoft did add a number of new options to start a new screen capture and retained existing ones. You may still use Windows-Shift-S to start a new screen capture process; new options include clicking on the pen tail button if a digital pen with button is used, enabling an option to map the feature to the Print-key on the keyboard, and activating screen snip from Action Center.

keyboard print key snipping

You need to do the following to map the Print-key on the computer keyboard to screen snipping:

  1. Use the keyboard shortcut Windows-I to open the Settings application.
  2. Either type "print screen" and select the only result that comes up, or go to Ease of Access > Keyboard.
  3. Toggle "Use the PrtScn button to open screen snipping" so that it reads on.

The new mapping is active right away. Whenever you press the Print-key on the keyboard, Sketch Screen's capture toolbar will come up.

Microsoft released several screen capturing tools in the past couple of years. The company released Snip Editor as part of a Microsoft Garage project in 2015. The program was compatible with Windows 7 and newer versions of Windows and brings part of the Snipping tool to non-Windows 10 versions of Windows.

Microsoft retired the program in 2018 and asks users to use Windows Ink Workspace instead (which is only available on Windows 10).

Windows users have access to a large number of excellent third-party screenshot programs and video capture programs that offer better functionality that the built-in options usually.

Closing Words

While Microsoft did announce the deprecation of the Snipping Tool, it did not announce a date or release version of Windows 10. The Snipping Tool will remain available in Windows 10 version 1809 released later this year but whether it will remain available in next year's Windows 10 releases remains to be seen.

Now You: Do you use a screen capture tool?

Summary
Goodbye Snipping Tool Hello Screen Sketch
Article Name
Goodbye Snipping Tool Hello Screen Sketch
Description
Microsoft revealed in 2018 plans to deprecate the Snipping Tool, a built-in screen capturing utility of the Windows 10 operating system.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Dan Donx said on January 15, 2023 at 10:29 am
    Reply

    What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?

    Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.

    If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.

  2. Dexter said on January 15, 2023 at 11:14 am
    Reply

    5. Rufus
    6. Ventoy

    PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.

    1. cdr said on January 15, 2023 at 3:32 pm
      Reply

      I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.

  3. sv said on January 15, 2023 at 6:40 pm
    Reply

    bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.

    ps…. time travelling?
    written. Jan 15, 2023
    Updated • Jan 13, 2023

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on January 16, 2023 at 5:49 am
      Reply

      This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.

  4. Anonymous said on January 16, 2023 at 8:24 am
    Reply

    Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.

  5. basingstoke said on January 16, 2023 at 11:18 am
    Reply

    I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:

    1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)

    2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)

    3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””

    4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows

    5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss

    Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:

    6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now

    Have I missed any group off this list?

    1. Heinz Strunk said on September 19, 2023 at 3:57 pm
      Reply

      You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.

      Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.

  6. ilev said on August 24, 2023 at 7:34 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update

    1. EP said on August 24, 2023 at 9:21 pm
      Reply

      only from windows update though
      KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site

  7. Anonymous said on August 24, 2023 at 11:05 pm
    Reply

    1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.

    2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.

    3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.

    This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
    Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.

    Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.

  8. john said on August 24, 2023 at 11:17 pm
    Reply

    Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.

    1. John G. said on August 25, 2023 at 12:08 pm
      Reply

      Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.

  9. EP said on August 25, 2023 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215

  10. EP said on August 29, 2023 at 7:32 pm
    Reply

    check out the following recent articles:

    Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
    https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/

    BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/

  11. Leonard Britvolli said on August 30, 2023 at 10:33 pm
    Reply

    While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.

  12. sembrador said on September 5, 2023 at 9:32 pm
    Reply

    My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.

  13. EP said on September 6, 2023 at 11:55 am
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):

    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277

  14. Raphael Benzo said on September 24, 2023 at 9:52 pm
    Reply

    I try to disable the Diagnostics Tracking Service (Connected Devices Platform User Services) but it wont let me disable it, any help will be greatly appreciated.
    Tank you for your help

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