7 Quick Ways to Edit a Screenshot on Any Device

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Simple ways to edit your screen captures
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If you've taken a screenshot on your computer, phone, or tablet, you may need to make some final edits before sharing it with others. Fortunately, it's easy to crop, resize, and annotate screenshots on any device. This wikiHow article teaches you how to capture and edit a screenshot on an Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Windows PC.

Method 1
Method 1 of 7:

Using the Windows Snipping Tool

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  1. You can usually open the search bar by clicking the circle or magnifying glass to the right of the Start menu.
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  3. It’s at the top-left corner of the window. The screen will appear slightly faded and mouse cursor will change to a selection tool.
  4. When you release the cursor, the image will be captured and open in the Snipping Tool.
  5. It’s at the top of the tool. You can use this to write simple notes or circle areas of interest.
    • To select a color, click the small arrow next to the icon, then choose a color.
  6. You can then click and drag the tool to highlight text.
  7. With the eraser tool selected, click a pen or highlighter marked to remove it.
  8. It’s at the top-left corner of the tool.
  10. This saves your edited screenshot.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 7:

Using Microsoft Paint (Windows)

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  1. This key will copy the contents of your screen to your clipboard.
    • If your keyboard doesn’t have this key, you can use the one on the on-screen keyboard. Here’s how:
      • Click the circle or magnifying glass to the right of the Start menu to open the search bar.
      • Type on screen keyboard , and then click On-Screen Keyboard in the search results.
      • Click the PrtScn key.
  2. The Windows Run tool will launch Microsoft Paint upon pressing “OK”.
    • You can also paste by right-clicking the paint area and selecting "Paste".
  4. This button is located in the “Image” section of the toolbar and will open a menu to with different rotation options, such as vertical, horizontal, or 90 degree rotation.
  5. This button is located in the "Image" section of the toolbar and will open a window to set a new window size. Enter a new size value (e.g. 200% size) and press “OK”.
    • You can select to adjust the size by pixel or percentage. Use pixel adjustments if you need a more precise change.
    • Changing the size to be larger than the original will result in a loss of picture quality.
  6. Click the "Select" option from “Image” section of the toolbar. Click and drag to select the area of the screenshot you want to use then click the "Crop" button on the right of the “Select” tool.
  7. This button is located in the tools section on the toolbar. Click and drag to select a text area and type to enter your desired text. [1]
  8. Both options can be selected from the “Shapes” section. Brushes can be used for freehand marking and shapes will make markings in the shape selected.
    • You can change the color of the shapes and markers by selecting a color palette from the “Color” section.
  9. You will be prompted to name the screenshot and browse for a save location. Clicking “Save” will confirm your changes.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 7:

Using Mac Preview

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  1. A screenshot will be taken of your current screen and saved to your desktop.
    • If you’d like to capture a single window, press ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + 4 , press the space bar, then click the window you want to capture. [2]
    • To take a screenshot of a certain part of the screen, press ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + 4 , and then click and drag the mouse to select the desired part of the screen.
  2. It’s the new image file that contains date and time you took the screenshot.
    • If your images open with a different app, press ⌘ Command as you click the file, select Open With and choose Preview.
  3. You can click the rotate button (the rectangle with a curved arrow near the top of Preview) to rotate the image 90 degrees.
  4. Click the Tools menu at the top of the screen, and then select Adjust Size . This allows you to change the height, width, and resolution as needed.
  5. If you want to save just part of the screenshot, click the selection tool (the dotted box near the top-left corner), and then click and drag the area you want to keep. Once selected, click the Tools menu at the top of the screen, and then Crop to cut out everything but the selected area.
  6. If you want to get crafty, click the Tools menu and select Adjust Color . You can use the sliders to adjust the exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, saturation, temperature, tint, and sharpness.
    • Your screenshot will reflect your changes as you make them, allowing you to experiment and find the right mix of settings.
    • Exposure, contrast, highlights, and shadows will affect the brightness and black/white balance of the colors.
    • Saturation, temperature, and tint will affect the intensity of the colors.
  7. [3]
    • Click the A button near the top-right corner to open the text tool, and then click anywhere on the screenshot to type.
    • Click the pen tool to draw.
    • Click the icon of a square and rectangle to insert shapes like triangles and circles.
  8. It’s at the top-left corner of the screen.
  10. Your edited screenshot is now saved.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 7:

Using Google Photos for Android

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  1. After 1-2 seconds the screen will flash indicated a screenshot was taken.
    • The key combination may vary depending on your phone or tablet. On some Android models, you’ll have to hold the Home and Power buttons.
    • If you’re using Android 9.0 or later, you can also take a screenshot by holding down the power button until a menu appears, and then tapping Screenshot . [4]
    • If you only need to crop or draw on your screenshot, you may be able to do this immediately after you take the screenshot on Android. Simply click the pencil icon on the preview of the screenshot to draw on it or the crop symbol to change the size of the screenshot before you save it.
  2. It’s the white icon with a multicolored flower inside (labeled Photos or Google Photos). [5]
    • If you don’t have Google Photos on your Android, you can download it now from the Play Store.
  4. It’s the second icon at the bottom (the three lines with sliders) of Google Photos.
  5. If you’d like to apply one of Google Photos’ preset color/lighting filters, select an option from the row at the bottom of the screen. Swipe left across the examples and tap the one you want to use.
    • Crop: The screenshot is surrounded by a border with white dots at each corner. Drag the dots until only the part of the image you want to keep is surrounded. The crop will happen automatically (though you can drag the dots back outward to undo your changes.
    • Rotate: Tap the curved arrow icon at the bottom-right corner until the image appears as you like.
  7. If you’d like to edit the colors and lighting effects, continue with this method.
  8. It’s at the bottom of the screen (the one with sliders and knobs). This opens the lighting and color options.
  9. Use the sliders to adjust the lighting and color of the screenshot if desired.
    • Slide the “Light” slider left to make the image darker, or right to increase its brightness.
    • Slide the “Color” slider left to decrease the intensity of the colors, or right to make the colors very saturated.
  10. If you didn’t make any changes (or don’t want to save them), tap the X at the top-left corner, and tap Discard if prompted.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 7:

Using a Samsung Galaxy

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  1. After 1-2 seconds the screen will flash indicating a screenshot was taken. The image will be saved to your gallery.
    • The key combination may vary depending on your phone or tablet. On some Android models, you’ll have to hold the Home and Power buttons.
    • If you use Google Photos on your Galaxy, see this method instead.
    • If you only need to crop or draw on your screenshot, you may be able to do this immediately after you take the screenshot on Android. Simply click the pencil icon on the preview of the screenshot to draw on it or the crop symbol to change the size of the screenshot before you save it.
  2. The icon usually has a yellow flower, and you’ll find it in the app drawer.
    • If you see a preview of the screenshot right after you take it, you can tap it to open it in the editor without having to open the Gallery.
  3. Several options will appear along the bottom of the screen.
    • The remaining settings will vary depending on your version of the Gallery app, as well as which model of Galaxy you own.
  4. The option you see will look different depending on your version.
    • If you already see some editing tools at the bottom of the screen, you won’t need to complete this step.
  5. Tap the crop icon (a square with two longer lines at two of its corners) at the bottom of the screen, or the Adjustment option. Drag the box to surround only the part of the screenshot you want to keep, and then tap SAVE or the check mark. [6]
  6. To do this, tap the ⁝ menu at the top-right corner, then select Rotate Left or Rotate Right as needed.
  7. The remaining options vary by model, but you’ll usually find options to choose a filter (usually under Effect ), adjust colors (often called Tone ), and draw on the image using a tool called Drawing .
  8. This saves the changes to your screenshot.
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Method 6
Method 6 of 7:

Using the iPhone or iPad Screenshot Markup Tool

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  1. If you haven't already done so, press the side and volume up buttons at the same time (if your device has Face ID), or press the Home and power buttons (if your device has Touch ID) to capture a screenshot . The screen will flash briefly and a preview of the screenshot will appear at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. It’s the small image at the bottom-left corner. This opens the screenshot in the Markup tool, which displays several editing icons at the bottom.
    • The preview will only stay at the bottom-left corner for a few seconds before disappearing. If it disappears before you tap it, follow these steps to open it in the Markup tool:
      • Open the Photos app.
      • Tap the screenshot.
      • Tap Edit at the top-right corner.
      • Tap the three dots icon.
      • Tap Markup (the icon of a marker at the bottom).
  3. Drag the blue lines to surround only the part of the screenshot you want to save, if desired.
  4. Here’s how:
    • Tap one of the drawing tools (the marker, highlighter, and pencil icons at the bottom-left corner) to select it.
    • Tap the tool again to choose a line width and weight.
    • Tap the filled-in circle to select a color.
    • Use your finger to draw on or highlight certain areas.
    • Tap the drawing tool you select at the bottom-left corner to return to the tools list.
    • If you made a mistake in your drawing, tap the pencil eraser tool at the bottom and then tap the error to delete it.
  5. If you don’t see the “T” at the bottom of the screen, tap the + at the bottom-right corner to expand more options, and then tap Text .
    • Tap the filled-in circle to choose a text color.
    • Tap aA icon to choose a font face, size, and alignment.
  6. Tap the + at the bottom-right corner, then tap the square, circle, chat bubble, or arrow to add these shapes to the screenshot.
    • Use the filled-in circle at the bottom to select a color.
  7. If you need to sign the screenshot, here’s how you can do that:
    • Tap the + at the bottom-right corner
    • Tap Signature .
    • Use your finger to sign your name at the bottom (or select your signature if you’ve already created one).
    • Tap Done at the top.
      • If your signature doesn’t appear, tap Signature again, then tap your signature to place it.
    • Drag your signature to the desired position.
  8. If you’d like to increase the size of one area of the screenshot, tap the + and select Magnifier . You can then use your fingers to position or change the size of the enlarged area.
  9. It’s at the top of the screen. A menu will expand at the bottom.
  10. This saves the screenshot to the Photos app.
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Method 7
Method 7 of 7:

Using the iPhone or iPad Photos App

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  1. If you haven't already done so, press the side and volume up buttons at the same time (if your device has Face ID), or press the Home and power buttons (if your device has Touch ID) to capture a screenshot . The screen will flash briefly and a preview of the screenshot will appear at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. Your screenshot is saved to this location by default.
  4. This button is located in the upper right corner of the screenshot and will bring up a variety of editing tools.
  5. 5
    Tap the marker icon to add text, lines, highlighting, and drawing. If you want to annotate, redact, or bring attention to part of your screenshot, tap this icon at the top to access the Markup tools .
    • Use the pen and pencil tools to draw. You can tap the colored circle to select a color.
    • Use the highlighter tool to highlight certain areas in a different color.
    • Tap + to access more tools, including the option to add your signature, type text or a description, add shapes, and even magnify areas of the screenshot.
    • When you're finished, tap Done to return to the standard editing tools.
  6. This button is in the upper right corner of the screen and will automatically make color and lightning adjustments to the screenshot.
  7. This button appears in the bottom toolbar and will bring up 3 menus: “Light”, “Color”, and “B&W”.
    • Each category will have a submenu with a number of options that can be adjusted with a slider.
  8. This icon is represented by 3 overlapping circles and is located on the bottom toolbar.
    • Filters like Mono, Tonal, and Noir will add a black and white stylized filter.
    • Filters like Fade or Instant will give the screenshot a washed out, retro look.
  9. This icon is located on the right of the bottom toolbar.
    • Tap and drag the corners of the picture space to crop the picture.
    • Adjust the slider to manually rotate the photo or press the “Rotate” icon (square with a curved arrow) to automatically rotate 90 degrees.
    • Reverse pinch the photo to zoom.
  10. This button appears in the lower right corner after changes have been made.
    • You can undo your changes by tapping “Cancel” in the lower left corner and selecting “Discard Changes”.
    • You can undo changes after saving by selecting “Revert” which appears in place of the “Done” button.
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Common Questions: Customizing Screenshots

How do I crop a screenshot?

On Windows, use the Snipping Tool to take a custom snapshot of your screen (rather than the entire screen). [7] On Mac, pull up your screenshot using "Preview" and use Shift+Command+5 to create a smaller selection box. [8]

How can you edit text in a screenshot?

Edit your screenshot with a specialized editing app, like SnagIt (Windows/Mac). SnagIt offers a free trial to new users and provides comprehensive screenshot-editing tools, including the ability to edit text within a screenshot.

How do I turn a screenshot into an editable document?

Open up your screenshot on your device, and choose to print or export it as a PDF. [9] Using Adobe Acrobat Pro, use the Edit PDF tool to make your screenshot-turned-PDF into an editable document. [10]

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References

  1. ↑ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/getting-started-with-paint
  2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201361
  3. ↑ https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-8881
  4. ↑ https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/android-9-0-pie-makes-way-easier-take-screenshots-heres-0183322/
  5. ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/9075928?hl=en
  6. ↑ https://www.att.com/devicehowto/tutorial.html#!/stepbystep/id/stepbystep_KM1273256?make=Samsung&model=SamsungG965U&gsi=Jwt3wOE
  7. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/open-snipping-tool-and-take-a-screenshot-a35ac9ff-4a58-24c9-3253-f12bac9f9d44
  8. ↑ https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250489540?sortBy=best
  9. ↑ https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/hub/save-screenshot-as-a-pdf.html
  1. ↑ https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/resources/how-to-make-a-pdf-editable.html

About This Article

Article Summary X

1. Take the screenshot.
2. Open Google Photos.
3. Tap the screenshot.
4. Tap the edit button.
5. Use filters and tools.
6. Tap Done .

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