Changing something that has been the same for 28 years will always cause controversy since Windows users dislike it when Microsoft modifies widely used and recognized features of its operating system.
However, it appears that the Redmond company intends to turn the Print Screen button into a key that activates the Windows 11 Snipping Tool.
Since version 95 of the Windows operating system, the Print Screen button has served the same purpose: capturing a screenshot of the active screen and copying it to the clipboard, typically so that it can be altered in another program.
Windows 11 Replacing PrtScn Button with Snipping Tool
But according to Windows Latest, Microsoft is altering the Print Screen key’s default behaviour in Windows 11.
Pressing the key will launch the Windows Snipping Tool in Windows 11 Beta preview releases 22621.1546 and 22624.1546, which is presently accessed by pressing the Windows logo Key + Shift + S.
The Windows 11 Snipping Tool, which combines functionality from Snip & Sketch and the legacy Snipping Tool, is quite helpful.
Users can capture a specific area of the screen using the rectangular mode by default, eliminating the need to crop an image after capture.
There is a full-screen mode, a window mode, and a freeform capture mode. In addition, you can time your screen grab, and Snipping Tool even has a screen recorder option.
Despite the Snipping Tool’s numerous functions, many individuals, including this author, would want to maintain the Print Screen button’s original purpose.
The ‘Use the Print Screen key to open Snipping Tool’ option can be turned off in the Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard menu if you want to undo this modification. The registry can also be edited to alter it.
Of course, not every feature from the Windows preview is included in the finished product. But given that it can be reversed in the menu options, it is highly likely that Microsoft will take this to the extreme.
To read our blog on “How To reset windows 11 to factory settings and begin again,” click here.
