Windows 11’s useful Snipping Tool is reportedly going to get an exciting new feature to make your life easier.
Basic apps are not to be underestimated, especially when those are getting frankly useful and powerful new features. Windows 11’s Snipping Tool is one such basic app, but it’s about to get super powerful (and fun!) with this new feature that’s currently being tested.
Reportedly, Snipping Tool will be getting the ability to record GIFs. Right now, this feature has not been officially announced by Microsoft, but it’s been spotted in the wild by X users @phantomofearth.
First look at a new Snipping Tool feature coming soon to Windows 11: the ability to quickly create GIFs from screen recordings!
You’ll get options to export/copy the GIF, with a choice between low and high quality. This menu can also be accessed with a keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+G. pic.twitter.com/kBsvkHMDtK
— phantomofearth (@phantomofearth) May 22, 2025
Basically, the feature may allow you to record a GIF and then copy and export the file both in low quality or high quality. The CTRL+G shortcut may help you jump into GIF creation and editing. This shortcut is not to be confused with Windows+G, which opens the Game Bar.
According to the leak, you may be able to make GIFs from your screen recordings.
Windows 11’s Snipping Tool can already record videos, but it captures those as MP4 video files. On the other hand, GIFs are lightweight files that can be embedded easily or quickly shared in apps and websites. These files don’t take a bunch of space (unlike a traditional MP4 video) and are ideal for quick expressiveness.
Microsoft has given quite a lot of love to its Snipping Tool recently. Recently, a huge announcement by the tech giant with a lot of new generative-AI-powered features that will bring some great things to Snipping Tool. Like, for example, the powers to scan your screen with AI for a tightly cropped capture and the ability to use a text extractor and also a color picker straight from the Snipping Tool.
There are also a bunch of other features in testing, including support for emojis, Draw & Hold which would allow you to convert strokes into shapes, and also the ability to detect QR codes.
