A Snipping Tool alternative that actually finishes the job.
The Snipping Tool captures a rectangle and stops there. ShotsGlow captures just as fast — then lets you add a designed backdrop, annotate, blur a token and even cut the background out on-device. And it frees the Print Screen key Windows 11 handed to the Snipping Tool.
Capture like the Snipping Tool — finish like a design tool
The Snipping Tool is great at one thing: grabbing a region. The moment you need that screenshot to look presentable — a backdrop, a rounded frame, an arrow, a blurred email address — you're out of the Snipping Tool and into Canva or a web app.
ShotsGlow keeps it in one place. Press a global hotkey, drag a region across any monitor, and you're already in the editor: 150+ gradient backdrops, shadows, a curved-arrow markup kit, and blur/pixelate redaction that survives a later crop. One click removes a background with on-device AI. Then export at the exact size for the App Store, X or LinkedIn.
Free the Print Screen key Windows reserved
Windows 11 quietly reserved the Print Screen key to open the Snipping Tool. ShotsGlow is the rare tool that turns that off for you — a single toggle writes the per-user registry setting (no admin prompt); sign out once and Print Screen behaves normally again. Snagit and Greenshot only deep-link you to the Settings page; ShotsGlow makes the change itself. To capture into ShotsGlow, you use your own global hotkey (default Ctrl+Shift+S).
| Snipping Tool built-in · free | ShotsGlow $9 once | |
|---|---|---|
| Capture a region or window | ✓ | ✓ |
| Frees the Print Screen key Windows reserved | ✗ | ✓ |
| Designed backdrops & polish | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arrows, shapes, text markup | Basic | ✓ |
| Blur / redact (survives crop) | Basic | ✓ |
| On-device AI background removal | ✗ | ✓ |
| 30 social & App Store sizes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | Free | $9 once |
The Snipping Tool is fine for a quick rectangle. ShotsGlow is for when the screenshot has to look designed — and it frees the Print Screen key the Snipping Tool took.
Isn't the Snipping Tool free?
Yes, and it's fine for grabbing a rectangle. ShotsGlow is for when the screenshot needs to look designed — and it frees the Print Screen key the Snipping Tool reserved (one toggle, then a sign-out).
What is the Print Screen fix?
Windows 11 reserves the Print Screen key for the Snipping Tool. ShotsGlow detects that and frees the key with one toggle — a per-user registry change, no admin prompt — so after you sign out and back in, Print Screen behaves normally again. To capture into ShotsGlow you use your own global hotkey (default Ctrl+Shift+S).
Does it work offline?
Yes. Capture, editing, redaction and AI background removal all run on your machine — nothing is uploaded.
How much does it cost?
$9 once, a lifetime license, no subscription.