How to use Snapper

Take a screenshot

1. Press Ctrl Shift 4, or open the capture panel and click Screenshot.
2. Drag around the part of the screen you want. To capture a whole window instead, press Space and click the window.
3. The screenshot goes to your clipboard, ready to paste. It also opens in the editor so you can mark it up. It is not saved as a file until you click Save in the editor.

Mark it up

1. In the editor, pick a tool from the toolbar: Arrow, Box, Ellipse, Line, Highlight, Text or Crop. Hover over an icon to see its name.
2. Pick a color and a line width, then drag on the picture. For Text, click where you want the words and type. Press Enter when you are done.
3. Made a mistake? Click Undo.
4. Click Copy to put the result on your clipboard, or Save to keep it as a file. To keep a separate copy with a new name, type or format, click Save As… (or press Ctrl Shift S).

Hide sensitive information

1. In the editor, pick Blur or Pixelate. Blur smudges what you draw over. Pixelate turns it into large blocks.
2. Drag over the password, email or name you want to hide.
3. Copy or save as usual. The hidden part is part of the picture, so it can't be read in the copy you share.

Record your screen

1. Press Ctrl Shift 5, or click Record in the capture panel.
2. Choose Region, Window or Full Screen. With more than one display, you then pick which one.
3. Check the sound settings, then click Start Recording. Snapper counts down from 3. Press Esc to cancel.
4. While you record, a small bar shows the time, with buttons to pause, start over or discard. The bar never appears in the video.
5. Press Ctrl Shift 5 again, or click the red stop button on the bar, to finish. The video is saved as a video file (MP4).

To change video quality or sound later, click More in the capture panel, then Settings…, then the Recording tab.

Make a GIF

1. Press Ctrl Shift 6, or click GIF in the capture panel.
2. Choose Region, Window or Full Screen, the same way as for a video. A GIF starts right away (there is no setup panel) and has no sound.
3. Press Ctrl Shift 6 again to stop. The GIF opens in the editor and plays.
4. Add arrows or text. They appear on every frame. Click Save.

Choose how smooth GIFs are in settings. Click More, then Settings…, open the Recording tab and look for GIF Quality: High (12 frames a second), Medium (6 frames a second) or Low (3 frames a second). Smoother GIFs make bigger files. A GIF stops recording at 100 MB.

Find old captures

1. Open the capture panel, click More, then History….
2. Type in the search box to find a capture.
3. Click a capture twice to open it, or select it and click Open. Screenshots and GIFs open in the editor. Videos open in your video player.
4. The other buttons are Show in Folder, Save As…, Copy and Delete.
5. Short on time? The capture panel lists your recent captures. Point at one and small icons appear to annotate it, show it in its folder, save a copy with Save As… or copy it.

Use Ephemeral Mode

When you want a capture to vanish after you paste it, turn on Ephemeral Mode.

1. Open the capture panel and click More, then Settings….
2. On the Capture tab, turn on Ephemeral Mode.
3. From now on, screenshots go to the clipboard only. Nothing is saved to disk and nothing appears in History. A recording is kept for two minutes so you can paste it, then it is deleted. Turn Ephemeral Mode off the same way.

Change shortcuts

1. Open the capture panel, click More, then Settings…. On the General tab, click Keyboard Shortcuts….
2. Click a shortcut, then press the new keys. Snapper warns you if Windows or another app already uses them. Reset to Defaults puts them all back.

Default shortcuts

Questions

Does Snapper upload anything?

No. Your captures stay on your PC unless you paste or send them somewhere yourself.

Where are my files saved?

In the Snapper folder inside your Pictures folder. To pick a different folder, click More, then Settings…. On the Capture tab, find Save Folder and click Change….

Can I try it first?

Yes. Every subscription starts with a week to try it. After that, screenshots keep working and Snapper Pro unlocks the rest.