Maybe you need to use some screenshots in a project that you’re working on. Maybe you want to share something funny with your followers or provide instructions to show how a problem can be solved. Screenshots can be useful in a number of cases. But sometimes they might contain some unnecessary or even sensitive information. That’s why you might need to crop a screenshot on Windows.
Cropping a screenshot doesn’t take much time or effort. In fact, you can do it with the help of built-in apps that are already on your Windows computer.
Which means you can use them for free and without the need to download and install anything. These pre-installed apps are pretty easy to use yet have all the necessary editing tools. You will be able to change the aspect ratio or even tilt your screenshot. They are perfect for some quick and simple cropping.
This article features detailed instructions on how to take a screenshot and how to crop a screenshot on Windows in several different ways. You will also learn about an online app for cropping, Watermarkly.
There are some similarities and differences between the built-in apps and this online image cropper. For instance, both the built-in apps and Watermarkly allow you to save your screenshot as a JPEG or a PNG file. However, you can actually use Watermarkly to crop multiple screenshots in one go, which isn’t possible in the built-in apps. What all of these methods of cropping a screenshot on Windows have in common is that they are super-easy and quick.
Are you interested? Let’s get started!
Crop Image OnlineWhat if you’re not all that familiar with Windows? So, before we move on to cropping, let’s see how you can take a screenshot on Windows. This can actually be done in a couple of different ways.
Let’s start with the simplest and quickest way to take a screenshot of the entire screen. Open the window that you need to capture, then press the Windows Key and the Print Screen key at the same time. The entire screen will dim for a moment. Now, go to the Pictures folder on your Windows computer. You’ll see that there’s a new folder called “Screenshots”. All the screenshots that you take using the Print Screen key + the Windows key shortcut will be saved to this folder.
One of the most common ways to take a screenshot is to use the Print Screen key. Simply open the necessary window and press the Print Screen key on your keyboard. What you need to do next is open an image editor. For example, it can be Paint or Paint 3D, which should already be on your Windows computer. Then use the “Paste” button in the top bar or simply use the CTRL + V shortcut to paste your screenshot. Finally, go to File > Save or Save As. Choose the export folder and save your screenshot as a file.
Finally, you can use the Snipping Tool to take a screenshot on Windows. This is how you can do this on Windows 10:
If you are on Windows 11, then the process is slightly different:
If you are a Windows 11 user, it’s possible that the PrtScn button is set to open the Snipping Tool by default. If you have a different version of Windows, you can set this setting manually. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard. Then enable Use the Print screen key to open screen capture.
The main benefit of using the Snipping Tool is that here you can actually select the exact area that you want to screenshot. In other words, if you use the Snipping Tool, you might not even need to crop your screenshot on Windows.
Crop Image OnlineNow that you know how to take a screenshot, let’s see how you can crop it with the help of the built-in apps. Cropping a screenshot is pretty easy and quick.
Paint 3D is an efficient and easy-to-use image editor that’s available for free. If you have Windows 10, it should already be pre-installed.
Please note that Paint 3D was removed from the Microsoft Store on November 4, 2024. So, if you don’t have it on your computer, you might need to try a different method of cropping.
Here’s what you need to do:
That’s it! Your screenshot is cropped now. Pretty quick and easy, right? What’s great about this method is that Paint 3D has a surprisingly versatile selection of editing tools. For instance, you can add some text to your image or doodle on it.
If you have an older version of Windows, then you probably don’t have Paint 3D. Fortunately, Paint is available on all Windows computers. Paint’s toolkit is more limited than Paint 3D’s because Paint is a rather simple and basic image editor. Nevertheless, it’s still possible to use it to crop a screenshot on Windows:
The downside of using Paint is that there are no presets with popular aspect ratios, and you won’t be able to enter the exact pixel dimensions either. Thus, you won’t be able to crop multiple screenshots to the same aspect ratio, if that’s what you need. But Paint is perfect for cropping out all the unnecessary bits of a screenshot quickly.
Finally, you can use the Photos app for cropping, which is a built-in image viewer. Follow these steps:
All done! This was also pretty easy and quick, right?
Crop Image OnlineUndoubtedly, the pre-installed apps – Paint, Paint 3D, Photos and Snipping Tool – are convenient and easy-to-use. The selection of tools that you can find in Paint 3D and Photos is actually astonishingly versatile. These apps have nearly everything you need to crop your screenshots and do some other edits to them.
However, you can also crop a screenshot with the help of Watermarkly. It’s a website that offers various apps for basic image editing, including an online image cropper that has an intuitive and user-friendly interface. Even if you are a complete beginner you will be able to crop a screenshot on Windows within just a couple of minutes. All you need to do is to upload a screenshot or several screenshots into the app, resize and reposition the cropping area, change the aspect ratio, if necessary, then export your images. That’s it!
Since Watermarkly is browser-based you can use it on any internet-connected device and on any operating system, including Windows.
This image cropper has some similarities with Windows’s built-in apps. For instance, you can crop a screenshot however you want or select a preset with a popular aspect ratio. Also, Watermarkly never changes originals, so you will download cropped copies onto your device.
Here, you will also find the Rotation slider – similarly to the Photos app – with the help of which you can tilt the image itself if you need to straighten the horizon, for instance. In the export settings you will be able to keep the original format or convert your screenshot to JPEG or WEBP.
What’s the point of using an online, third-party app, you may ask? Well, Watermarkly has some advantages over the built-in apps. Here they are:
Naturally, there are some cons to using Watermarkly. First of all, its main disadvantage is that the free version allows you to crop only up to 10 images per day. If you want to get rid of this limitation, you’ll need to purchase a license that’s valid for a year or for a lifetime. No matter which of the two options you choose, the paid version allows you to crop as many images as you want.
Watermarkly is an online app that works in browser. So, it cannot operate without the Internet connection. Some people might consider this as a disadvantage since the built-in tools can easily be used offline.
Finally, there’s another downside. Paint 3D and the Photos app offer selections of tools that you can get quite creative with. But you won’t be able to enjoy the same amount of creative freedom in Watermarkly. Now, Watermakrly’s website does offer several online tools for basic image editing. It’s not just for cropping. There’s an app that you can use to add text to your screenshot. In fact, it is possible to add a watermark in the export settings of the Crop Tool, which means that you can add some text or logo or both to your cropped screenshot without switching between apps. You can also use Watermarkly to blur objects or convert your PNG screenshots to JPG. However, you won’t be able to doodle here or add some 3D shapes like in Paint 3D. This may be a disadvantage for you.
Crop Image OnlineCropping a screenshot on Windows isn’t as hard and complicated as you thought, is it? If you need to crop a couple of screenshots quickly, then you should probably go for either of the built-in apps. But if you need to crop multiple screenshots on a daily basis, then there’s no better choice than Watermarkly.
Thanks to the instructions provided in this article, you’ll be able to give each method a try. It might actually be a good idea since that’s exactly how you’ll figure out which method is the best and the most convenient for you.