Microsoft’s Snipping Tool Is Reportedly Getting Live Annotation

Microsoft has been quite generous towards Snipping Tool in the last few months. The company has pushed new updates, making the tool much more versatile and beneficial for anyone who relies on it daily.

Last week, Microsoft added a new window mode screen recording option to the Snipping tool, allowing you to record just one app instead of your entire desktop. Now, another big addition is on the way.

The upcoming feature is called Live Annotation, and it was first spotted by phantomofearth on X. Fior now, annotations in Snipping Tool only appear after you capture a screenshot, but Live Annotation changes that completely.

Once the feature is live, you’ll be able to draw or highlight directly on your screen before taking a capture. No wonder this gives you more flexibility in marking what matters most. You will be able to access Live Annotation through Snipping Tool’s flyout after pressing Win + Shift + S.

Once enabled, it allows you to highlight, underline, or draw on areas of your choice in real time. Microsoft is also testing deeper integration, with options to search the highlighted section using Bing or even ask Copilot about it. However, since this is still a work in progress, many of those tools are not functional just yet.

While Live Annotation isn’t officially available, Microsoft’s recent history with Snipping Tool suggests it may not be too far off. Over the past year, the app has gained features like GIF recording, smarter handling of tables, and the ability to refine screenshots with more precision.

For now, you’ll need to wait for Microsoft to announce a rollout, but the feature already looks promising.