More features coming to Paint and Snipping Tool, confirms Microsoft

In recent years, Microsoft has made significant upgrades to the native apps, including AI integration. And now it is bringing new features to Paint and Snipping Tool in the latest update!

According to Microsoft’s official blog post, Snipping Tool, starting with version 11.2404.37.0, gets support for emojis and the automatic QR code scanning functionality.

To add an emoji to your screenshot, simply go to the Shapes toolbar > select the emoji icon > and choose one from the list. The chosen emoji appears at the center of the screenshot, and you can now resize it or readjust the position.

Next comes the QR code detection in the Snipping Tool. From now on, the tool will automatically detect available QR codes in the screenshot when you switch to the Text Actions section in the toolbar.

For all those unhappy with Microsoft’s decision to remove the ruler from Snipping Tool, we have good news! The ruler tool is back and can be accessed from the See more menu (ellipsis) near the top right or through the dedicated keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + R.

Lastly, Microsoft now allows you to modify the opacity of outline colours and shape fill using a new slider within the menu.

In Paint, the only change introduced in version 11.2404.42.0 is the renaming of Cocreator to Image Creator. Introduced last year, Cocreator is an AI-powered feature that lets you generate captivating artwork using text-based prompts.

Access to these Paint and Snipping Tool features is currently exclusive to Windows 11 Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels, although a few of them might miss out. If Microsoft receives positive feedback, these should soon be rolled out in the stable Windows 11 builds.

I am excited about the ruler coming back to Snipping Tool. Let us know what excites you the most about this update, in the comments section.