Do you want to remove unwanted parts from your image? You can do so by cropping the image. Thankfully, you can crop an image without any third-party app as your Windows 10 or 11 computer offers different ways to crop a picture. Whether you want to crop a screenshot or an existing picture stored on your computer, you can do both. Let’s check different ways to crop a screenshot or image on Windows 11 or 10 computers.
Table of Contents
1. Using Paint
Your beloved and the oldest photo editing app i.e., Paint, which comes pre-installed on a Windows computer lets you easily crop an image. So if you enjoy using MS Paint over other apps, you can use it to crop a screenshot or image on your Windows 11 or 10 computer as shown in the following steps:
1. Take a screenshot on your computer and paste it into the Paint app. Or, if you want to crop an existing image, right-click on the image on your computer and select Open with. Choose Paint from the menu.
2. Click on the Select icon in the Image tool section.
3. Now, hold the left mouse button and drag the mouse to select the area that you want to crop. A dotted rectangle will appear around your selection.
4. Click on the Crop icon in the Image tool section to crop the image or screenshot.
Pro Tip: By default, rectangular selection mode is selected in Paint. Click on the small down arrow under the Select icon to choose Freeform selection, which lets you manually select the desired area by freehand drawing.
5. Click on File > Save as and choose the preferred file format to download the cropped image on your Windows computer.
Pro Tip: How to Take a Scrolling Screenshot in Windows 11
2. Using Paint 3D
You can also use the advanced version of Paint i.e., Paint 3D to crop a picture or screenshot on a Windows 10 or 11 computer. Follow these steps:
1. Open the image or screenshot in Paint 3D by right-clicking on the image and selecting Open with > Paint 3D.
2. Click on the Crop button at the top.
3. The selection box will appear around the image. Drag the selection box inside using any one of the white circles to select the area that you want to crop.
4. Or, click on the Crop icon on the right side to choose a pre-defined frame like 4:3, or 1:1, to crop your photos. You can even manually set the picture size in the Width and Height boxes. Then, click on Done.
5. Finally, click on the Menu button at the top and select Save as to save the cropped image.
Pro Tip: Learn how to edit photos using Paint 3D.
3. Using Microsoft Photos App
If you prefer the Microsoft Photos app over Paint apps, you can crop an image or screenshot in it as well. The Photos app also offers other photo-editing tools like filters, effects, flip, rotate, etc. You can even straighten your image or crop according to specific aspect ratios like 3:4, 9:16, etc., in the Photos app.
1. Open the folder having the image that you want to crop. Right-click on the picture and select Open with > Photos to open the picture in the Microsoft Photos app. Or, Launch the Photos app and open the photo or screenshot that you want to crop.
2. Click on the Edit image icon (Pencil) to open the image in the Photos editor. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl + E keyboard shortcut to open the image editor.
3. The Crop tool will be selected automatically. Drag the black bars or singular bars inside to select the area that you want to keep.
4. You can also straighten your image while cropping using the slider at the bottom. Or, click on the Free button to select a pre-defined aspect ratio to crop your image.
5. Once satisfied with your selection, click on the Save as copy button at the top to download the cropped image.
Pro Tip: Learn how to edit videos using the Photos app on a Windows computer.
4. Using the Snipping Tool
Windows computers come with a screenshot-taking tool known as the Snipping tool. You can use the same to crop a screenshot or any existing image on your Windows PC as shown in the following steps:
1. Right-click on an image on your computer and select Open with > Snipping tool.
2. When the image loads in the Snipping tool, click on the Crop icon present in the top bar.
3. Adjust the area that you want to keep using the white handles on the image. Use the small bars to select from one side or use angle bars on the corners to select from two sides.
4. Once the desired area has been selected, click on the Checkmark icon at the top to crop the image.
5. Click the Save as button in the top bar to save the cropped picture as a new image on your computer.
5. Crop Screenshot While Taking It
Typically, when you take a screenshot on your Windows computer, it’s a full-screen screenshot. But if you want to capture only one window or a specific area that otherwise would require you to crop the screenshot later, you can do so with the help of the Snipping tool as shown below:
1. Use Windows + Shift + S keyboard shortcut to open the Snipping tool screenshot mode.
2. The snipping modes will appear at the top of the screen. By default, the Rectangle selection mode is selected. You also get Freeform, Window, and Full-screen modes. Go with the Rectangle mode or select Freeform or Window based on your need.
3. With the preferred mode selected, hold the left mouse button and drag the mouse to select the area on the screen that you want to capture.
4. The screenshot will be captured and you will get a notification. If the notification says, Screenshot copied to clipboard and saved, go to the Pictures > Screenshots folder on your computer to find the cropped screenshot. Alternatively, click on the same notification to open the screenshot in the Snipping tool. Then, click on the Save as button to download the cropped screenshot to your PC.
Pro Tip: Learn how to sync the clipboard between Windows and Android.
6. Crop Screenshot Using the Print Screen Button
If Windows + Shift + S seems like too many buttons for taking a screenshot, you can use the Print screen button (or Prt scn) to open the Snipping tool and take a screenshot of the preferred area.
1. Go to Windows Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.
2. Enable the toggle next to Use the print screen button to open screen snipping.
3. Restart your computer to apply the changes.
4. Press the Prt sc button to open the Snipping tool.
5. Select the desired snipping tool and take a screenshot of the area so that you don’t need to crop it later.
7. Using Third-Party Apps
If the above methods do not help you crop your image as per your requirements, you can use the following third-party apps to crop a picture.
View Cropped Image
After you have cropped your screenshot or image on Windows, you can view it in the Photos app. Alternatively, check out the best photo viewer apps for Windows. Also, learn how to put two photos side by side on Windows.
