Screenshots ClipboardHow to annotate a screenshot so people get it at a glance
On Windows, take the shot with Win+Shift+S and use the Pen, Highlighter or Shapes in Snipping Tool. On a Mac, take it with Cmd+Shift+4, click the thumbnail in the corner, and use Markup to add arrows, shapes and text.
By Manish Kalyan, who makes Screenshots Clipboard. .
How do I annotate a screenshot on Windows?
Snipping Tool, which comes with Windows, has the basics.
- Press Win+Shift+S and drag over what you want.
- If the editor doesn’t open by itself, click the preview that pops up after the snip.
- Draw with the Pen or the Highlighter. On Windows 11 you can add Shapes too.
- Press Ctrl+C to copy the marked-up shot, or Ctrl+S to save it.
How do I annotate a screenshot on a Mac?
Markup is built into macOS and opens from the screenshot itself.
- Press Cmd+Shift+4 and drag over what you want.
- Click the thumbnail that appears in the corner of the screen.
- Click Markup, then add an arrow, a shape or a text box.
- Click Done to save it.
Where should arrows and numbers go?
Use as few marks as you can, each one pointing at one thing.
- Numbers for steps, with the same numbers in your text.
- One box around an area instead of several arrows.
- One strong colour for every mark, so the marks don’t fight the screen.
- End an arrow next to the button, not on top of it.
- Highlight a line of text instead of underlining it.
How do I hide private details in a screenshot?
Cover them with a solid shape, not a highlighter, because people can still read through a highlight. Better still, switch to sample data before you take the shot.
- Names, email addresses and phone numbers.
- Card, account and order numbers.
- Links that carry IDs or sign-in codes.
- Other tabs, bookmarks and notifications on your screen.
Should I mark up the screenshot or the document?
Mark up the screenshot when it travels on its own, like in a chat or a ticket. Mark up in the document when you’ll keep editing the text around it.
Where Screenshots Clipboard helps
Screenshots Clipboard is a Chrome extension with an editor built in: add arrows, text boxes, numbers, shapes, a pen and highlights, crop a shot, or put two shots side by side. Mark up many shots one after another, then save each as a copy, or over the original, which you can restore any time. Editing is free. Plus is $2.99 a month or $19 a year.
Questions
Do my marks stay when I paste the screenshot?
Yes, once you copy or save the marked-up version. The marks become part of the picture.
What colour should annotations be?
One bright colour that doesn’t appear in the screenshot, used for every mark. Readers soon learn that colour means “look here”.
Over to you
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