Apps Record Screen with Snipping Tool app in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to use the Snipping Tool app for screen recording in Windows 11.

The Snipping Tool app (version 11.2211.35.0) for Windows 11 includes a built-in screen recorder.

You will be able to select and refine the part of your screen that you want to record before starting your screen recording session. When you are finished, you can preview your recording before saving or sharing it with others.

Snipping Tool app version 11.2212.24.0 now includes a pause recording option.

Snipping Tool app version 11.2307.44.0 introduces support for optionally recording your PC audio and voice overs using a microphone. New app settings let you configure the default audio recording settings for new screen recordings, and if you have multiple recording devices, you can select your preferred recording device before you start recording.

Microsoft is rolling out Snipping Tool (version 11.2310.49.0) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels improving HDR display support. Screenshots and screen recording on displays with HDR enabled should be able to better display colors.

Microsoft is rolling out an update for Snipping Tool (version 11.2405.24.0 and newer) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels that introduces automatic save for screen recordings. This feature works the same as automatic save for screenshots. Your recordings will automatically be saved to Screen Recordings folder (inside your Videos folder). You can choose to turn this off in Snipping Tool settings.

Microsoft is rolling out an update for Snipping Tool to Windows Insiders in the Beta, Release Preview, Canary, and Dev Channels that introduces trim. With trim, you can adjust the start and end times of your screen recordings to cut out any unnecessary video snippets from your video. To get started, record a new screen recording with Snipping Tool. Open the recording in the app and select the new Trim button at the top of the window to enter the trim feature. Use the grabbers to move and select new timepoints for the start and end times of your screen recording. Press the Apply or Cancel button to save or discard your changes. You can also re-enter trim to undo or adjust any trimmed portions.

Microsoft is rolling out an update for Snipping Tool (version 11.2507.14.0 and higher) to Windows Insiders. In this update, Microsoft is introducing window mode screen recording in Snipping Tool—an easy way to capture activity within a specific app window. To get started, toggle over to the Record option in the capture toolbar and click on the dropdown menu for Recording area to select window mode. When you select window mode, Snipping Tool will automatically size the recording region to tightly match the app window you choose, making setup quick and precise. Once recording begins, however, the region remains fixed—so if the app moves or gets covered by another window, the recording won’t follow it. This gives you a simple, focused way to record what’s happening in a defined space on your screen, without needing to crop or adjust later.

References:

Recordings from the Snipping Tool get saved as a .mp4 file to the C:\Users\<username>\Videos\Screen Recordings folder by default for the current user.

Recordings from the Snipping Tool are also temporarily cached as a .mp4 file in the %LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.ScreenSketch_8wekyb3d8bbwe\TempState\Recordings folder for the current user.

Here's How:

1 Open the Snipping Tool app from the Start Menu, or press the Win + Shift + Skeys.

2 Perform an available option: (see screenshots below)

• Click/tap on the Record button in the Snipping Tool app, select Rectangle or Window in the Recording area drop menu, and click/tap on New.
• Click/tap on the Record button on the Win + Shift + S bar at the top, and select Rectangle or Window in the Recording area drop menu.

3 Perform an action below depending on if you selected Rectangle or Window in the Recording area drop menu: (see screenshots below)

• If you selected Rectangle, draw a shape to select the recording area you want, and click/tap on Start when ready to record.
• If you selected Window, click tap on a window or desktop you want to record, and click/tap on Start when ready to record.

4 Before or after you start recording, you can perform the actions below: (see screenshot below)

• Mute (off) or unmute (on) including microphone audio in the recording.
• Mute (off) or unmute (on) including system audio in the recording.

5 When finished recording, click/tap on the Stop (red square) button. (see screenshot below)

You can click/tap on the Pause button to pause recording as needed, and click/tap on Resume when ready to resume recording.



If you want to cancel the recording, you can click/tap on the Discard recording (Recycle Bin) button to go back to step 2.

6 If you would like to Trim the start and stop (end) times of your recording, then follow the steps below: (see screenshots below)

You can also re-enter trim to undo or adjust any trimmed portions.

7 You can now preview your recording before saving or sharing it with others. (see screenshots below)




That's it,
Shawn Brink