It's really easy to take a screenshot on your Android phone. This quickly becomes painful when you need to transfer them to your Windows PC. Luckily, the Snipping Tool in Windows 11 notifies you whenever you take a screenshot on your Android phone. After that, you can open that Android screenshot and other photos in the Snipping Tool to edit and annotate them. Here's how to enable the Snipping Tool to show recent Android screenshots and photos on your Windows 11 computer.
Enable Snipping Tool setting to show recent Android screenshots
Previously, you could use Phone Link to transfer images from your Android phone to a Windows 11 PC. However, the latest Windows 11 build will let the Snipping Tool show the latest Android screenshots directly on your computer. This feature started Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23619 And will be part of the public release builds of Windows 11.
There are some prerequisites before using this feature.
- install and Set up phone link On your Windows PC.
- Update the phone link and the link from the Windows app on Windows PC and Android phone if you've already set it up.
- Update Windows and Android OS to the latest version.
After everything is set up and updated, you'll need to enable a setting from Windows 11.
1. On a Windows PC, press windows+i keyboard shortcut to open Adjustment Application.
2. Go bluetooth and devices Select More in the left sidebar mobile devices From the right pane.
3. Turn on the toggle next to Allow this PC to access your mobile devices Option.
4. pat down Add device button if you link your Android phone for the first time. If you've already added one, you'll see Manage Device Option. Click on that button.
5. A pop-up will open. For the first time, you will get Add device Option. otherwise you will get Manage Device Option. Click on it and scan the generated QR code using your phone's camera to connect it to PC. Then, follow the on-screen instructions.
6. When your device is listed, enable the toggle next to Paired Phone Active, Then, click the drop-down menu next to that toggle and enable it. Get new photo notifications Option.
Use Snipping Tool to Edit Android Screenshots on Windows 11
The best part of the Snipping Tool feature is that it automatically fetches screenshots and photos from your Android phone. You don't have to transfer those photos between Android and Windows or copy-paste anything. Take a screenshot on your Android phone and you will see a notification in the bottom-right corner of the Windows 11 PC screen.
Note that if you have enabled DND in Action Center on Windows you will not get any notification for mobile screenshots. In that case, press the Windows+N keyboard shortcut to open the Notification panel. You will get a screenshot notification there.
The Android phone name is also listed which is useful in case you have multiple devices paired. Clicking on the notification will open the screenshot in the Snipping Tool.
It is ready to be edited and annotated. There is another benefit to this seamless integration. The screenshot is also added to the Windows Clipboard. This means you can copy-paste it into chat apps, photo editing apps or file transfer apps.
tip: click on edit in paint button on the top-right corner to edit the screenshot in the Paint app without copy-pasting.
Smooth photo transfer for editing
Samsung and Microsoft are working on adding such intuitive features to make Android work smoother with Windows 11. This is good news for users who rely on their Windows PCs and Android smartphones to transfer, edit, and share screenshots and photos. Did you see anything unwanted in those pictures? Here's a quick and easy way to remove objects from images in Windows Photos.
