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Windows Snipping Tool

Windows Vista, and above, operating system is equipped with an application called the Snipping Tool.  The Snipping Tool can be used to capture any part of the visible screen and save the capture as an image file or copy and paste the capture into a document or email to share with others.  The Snipping Tool was used to capture many of the images used in our ThinkPad training materials.

To use the Snipping Tool:

1. Make sure that the portion of the computer screen is visible.
2. For Windows Vista or Windows 7, Click the Start Button and start the tool  by:
   1. Search text box to search for “Snipping Tool”, or,
   2. Locate the Snipping Tool in the All Programs list
3. For Windows 8, use the keyboard combination of “Windows Key + Q” and search your apps for Snipping Tool.
4. When the Snipping Tool starts, the screen will “grey out” and allow you to draw a selection box around the area of the screen that you wish to capture.
5. When you release the mouse button, the captured portion of the screen is copied into the Snipping Tool window.
6. You can save the captured screen to an image file, or copy and paste the image into your document or email.