Monday, September 28, 2026

Using Lightshot instead of Windows' Snipping Tool

One big advantage that Lightshot has is that you can resize the screenshot before saving it.

# Disable Windows Print Screen
Settings -> Bluetooth & Devices -> Keyboard
Use the Pring Screen key to open screen capture

# Configure Lightshot to use Print Screen
Right-click the Lightshot icon in the system tray.
Select Options.
Verify that the hotkey is set to Print Screen (PrtScn)

# Make sure Lightshot starts with Windows
Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc).
Go to Startup apps.
Ensure Lightshot is Enabled.

# If it still opens Snipping Tool
Windows 11 sometimes intercepts the key even when the setting appears disabled.

Type in a admin PowerShell:
> reg query "HKCU\Control Panel\Keyboard" /v PrintScreenKeyForSnippingEnabled

The value should be:
Plain Text
0x0

If it is 1, set it to 0:
> reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\Keyboard" /v PrintScreenKeyForSnippingEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f


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