User Guide

Download SnipperSetup.exe from the download page and run the installer.

⚠ You may still see a caution prompt on a very new download or first run

Chrome, Edge, Explorer, SmartScreen, and some managed Windows setups may still show a caution prompt on a very new installer until reputation catches up.

Step 1 - In Chrome or Edge:

The download bar may show “SnipperSetup.exe is not commonly downloaded.” or a similar reputation warning.
Click the arrow (⌄) next to the filename → Keep → Keep anyway.

What you'll see in Chrome: click “Download suspicious file” to proceed.

Step 2 - When running the installer:

Windows may show “Windows protected your PC.” on a fresh build even when the installer is correctly signed.
Click More info → Run anyway.

Step 3 - If Windows Smart App Control blocks it:

On some Windows 11 machines, Smart App Control is stricter than SmartScreen and may still block a newly released installer with no Run anyway option, even after code signing.

Open Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control and check whether it is enabled on that machine.

If Smart App Control is the blocker, you will need to complete install on a machine where it is not enforced, or ask your workplace IT team to allow the signed Snipper installer. Smart App Control does not behave like SmartScreen and may not offer a per-app bypass prompt.

After installation, Snipper starts minimised to the system tray.

Free works immediately after install. No account is required.

If you bought Pro, open the upgrade prompt, toolbar entry, or Settings inside the app, paste the license key from your email, and activate.

The key is valid on up to 2 devices. Your screenshots and edits stay on your device. The app only connects when validating the license key.

Press Ctrl+W anywhere (the default hotkey). The screen freezes and dims. Draw a rectangle to capture.

Free uses the frozen overlay. Live capture mode for moving UI and video is part of Pro.

The screenshot lands in the sidebar and the unedited capture is copied to your clipboard immediately, ready to paste with Ctrl+V.

Snipper supports three capture modes, selectable from the toolbar:

• Region - draw any rectangle across one or multiple monitors
• Window - click any window to capture it cleanly (no shadows)
• Fullscreen - captures the entire virtual desktop

Select a screenshot from the sidebar to open it in the main preview.

• Text tool - click anywhere on the image to place a text label. Drag to move it.
• Blur tool - draw a rectangle over sensitive info to blur it, then drag the blur block if you need to reposition it.
• Shape tools - once a shape tool is active, each click or drag places another shape until you press Esc to release it.
• Release any active annotation tool - press Esc when you are done with blur, text, or shapes.
• Move annotations - text, blur, shapes, and arrows can all be repositioned after placement.
• Undo (Ctrl+Z) - remove the last annotation.

Annotations are baked into the image when you copy or save.

New captures are copied automatically before you edit them, so the fastest path is often just capture then paste with Ctrl+V.

From the top toolbar:

• Copy (Ctrl+C) - copies the flattened edited image to clipboard (PNG + DIB format for max app compatibility)
• Save (Ctrl+S) - opens a save dialog. Default filename matches the screenshot name (S1.png, S2.png…)
• Auto-save - enable in Settings to automatically save every capture to your Pictures\Snipper folder

Snipper screenshots can be dragged straight into other interfaces such as Figma, Discord, Slack, email clients, and Explorer.

• Drag a single screenshot from the app sidebar or Ghost Tray to drop it into another app
• Drag multiple selected screenshots together from the app sidebar when you want to move a batch
• Use Drag All in Ghost Tray to move every currently available screenshot at once
• Free keeps your latest 2 screenshots available in Ghost Tray. Pro expands that to 5

You can bring existing image files into Snipper without using the file picker.

• Drag PNG, JPG, JPEG, or BMP files into Ghost Tray to add them as new screenshots
• Drag image files into the main app view to import them into the current session
• You can also use Open File... from the app menu if you prefer a standard picker

Open Settings from the toolbar or tray icon. You can configure:

• Hotkey - change the global capture shortcut
• Save folder - set a custom default save location
• Auto-copy to clipboard - toggle on/off
• Auto-save to Pictures - toggle on/off
• Theme - light or dark mode