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Can’t Find Snipping Tool [Missing]: How To Restore It

4 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

TheWindows 10 Snipping Toolis a utility for capturingscreenshots. You can usually open it by entering ‘Snipping Tool‘ in the Cortana search box.

However, not all users can always find theSnipping Toolvia theWindows 10search box. This is how you can open theSnipping ToolifWindowsearch tool doesn’t find it for you.

What can I do if my Snipping Tool is missing?

1. Rebuild the Search Index

The Windows 10 search index is disabled on some laptops and notebooks with SSD storage. Does your laptop include SSD storage?

If so, that might be why the search tool doesn’t find theSnipping Tool. Rebuilding the search index will then be a probable resolution.

2. Open the Snipping Tool with Run

However, you don’t always have to search for theSnipping Toolto open it. There are various ways that you can open theSnipping Tool.

For example, you can open it with Run. Press the Windows key + R hotkey to open Run, entersnippingtoolin the text box and then press theOKbutton.

3. Add a Snipping Tool shortcut to the Windows 10 desktop

Alternatively, you can add a Snipping Tool shortcut to the Windows desktop. Then you can open the Snipping Tool with its desktop shortcut instead.

4. Open the Snipping Tool From its System32 Folder

5. Enable the Snipping Tool in the Group Policy Editor

Note that the Group Policy Editor inWindows 10Pro and Enterprise includes aDo not allowSnippingTool to runoption. As such, theSnippingTool doesn’t run with that option selected. This is how you can check if that option is configured to enabled inWin 10Pro and Enterprise.

What are some Snipping Tool alternatives?

Remember that there are plenty of third-party software alternatives to theSnippingTool, such as Share X, Greenshot, Lightshot and Screenshot Captor.

Some of those third-partyscreen capturetools also include more options for capturing and annotatingscreenshotsthan theSnippingTool. Thissoftware guideprovides further details for some of the bestWindows 10screen captureutilities.

Snipasteis one alternative to theSnippingTool that’s worth noting. That’s a freewarescreen capturetool which automatically captures UI elements on software windows.

Snipaste users can selectLine strip,Marker pen,Pencil,ArrowandText annotationoptions on its toolbar.

Snipaste also includes plenty of customization options and hotkeys that you can utilize the software with. You can add that program toWindows 10/8/7 by pressing the32-bitor64-bitbutton onthis webpage.

So you don’t really need theSnippingTool even if you can’t find it inWin 10.

By following this guide, you should be able to make use of the Snipping Tool in Windows 10 once more.

Know of another way to access the tool? Let us know by leaving some feedback in the section below, and we’ll be sure to update the article.

Can’t Find Snipping Tool [Missing]: How To Restore It#

What can I do if my Snipping Tool is missing?#

1. Rebuild the Search Index#

2. Open the Snipping Tool with Run#

3. Add a Snipping Tool shortcut to the Windows 10 desktop#

4. Open the Snipping Tool From its System32 Folder#

5. Enable the Snipping Tool in the Group Policy Editor#

What are some Snipping Tool alternatives?#