Looking for an alternative to the Windows Snipping Tool? 

Maybe you’re looking for something that records video as well as takes screenshots. Or maybe you need more annotation options than what Microsoft’s solution gives you. Either way, CloudApp is for you.

In this article, we’ll cover what CloudApp’s snipping tool is and seven ways you can utilize it to quickly improve your professional and personal workflows.

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What is CloudApp’s Snipping Tool?

CloudApp is a popular alternative to the Microsoft Windows Snipping Tool. With it, Windows users can quickly and easily capture screenshots, record videos, annotate images, and more.

We’ll talk more about CloudApp use cases in the next section. But first, why would you want to use CloudApp instead of Microsoft’s Snipping Tool? 

In a word: options. 

CloudApp provides a far more extensive variety of options when it comes to content creation and manipulation.

For example, the regular Windows Snipping Tool doesn’t even record videos at all, not to mention its lack of annotation capabilities compared to CloudApp. 

Want to add emojis to your image? How about arrows? Need to blur out specific lines of text? 

Then CloudApp is the tool for you.

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What Can You Do With CloudApp’s Snipping Tool?

We mentioned a few of the things you can do with CloudApp in the section above. But let’s dig a little deeper.

Here are seven CloudApp use cases you should be aware of:

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1. Create Custom Screenshots

If it’s on your computer screen, CloudApp’s snipping tool can take a picture of it. All you have to do is download CloudApp and install the app on your device—it’s completely free. Then follow these three easy steps to create amazing screenshots in seconds:

1. Open CloudApp and select the “Camera” icon.
2. Click and drag your mouse over the portion of screen you want to capture.
3. Release your hold on the mouse to take a screenshot.

That’s all there is to it! With CloudApp, it’s easy to create custom screenshots for business and personal use, annotate them, and distribute to your designated receivers.

2. Annotate Your Screen Grabs

Once you’ve captured your screen, what do you do with the image? Whatever you want, really. But many CloudApp users take advantage of our app’s built-in annotation ability.

Take a few moments to clarify the screenshot you just created. For example, you can add arrows to point out specific elements of your image. Or you can add text boxes to explain your thoughts about something in the picture. As mentioned above, shapes and emojis can be added, too.

Using CloudApp to annotate screen grabs couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do is:

1. Select the image you want to annotate inside CloudApp.
2. Choose the “Annotation” tool from the menu of options.
3. An editing window will appear. Choose annotations from the left-hand menu.
4. Your edited image will automatically be saved to your CloudApp library.

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3. Shoot Multiple Kinds of Videos

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‍CloudApp does more than take screenshots—a key difference between our solution and the Windows Snipping Tool. With CloudApp, you can also capture multiple kinds of videos.

• Marketing Videos: Marketers love CloudApp because it allows them to create creative content (think videos for email campaigns, blog posts, social media, etc.) in less time.
• Sales Videos: Don’t tell prospects about your products, show them. Sales teams use CloudApp to demo products (especially software products) and shorten sales cycles. 
• Support Videos: Around the world, support teams use CloudApp to close support tickets up to 3x faster and boost customer satisfaction rates.
• Engineering Videos: Top engineers use CloudApp’s video functionality to quickly capture and report on software bugs so that product teams know what to work on.
• Design Videos: Professional designers like CloudApp, too, because they can record themselves, via their computer’s webcam, to easily explain design changes.

Of course, you can also create videos for personal use. With CloudApp, the limits of your screen capture abilities are only limited by your imagination.

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4. Easily Distribute Your Content

Annotated screenshots and brand-related videos won’t benefit you much if they don’t reach their target audiences. Fortunately, CloudApp makes it easy to distribute content.

For example, you can embed your CloudApp-created images and videos anywhere—your website, an email campaign, a support ticket, etc. All you have to do is select the type of code required and copy the embed code from your CloudApp “Share” page.

You can also share your images and videos via CloudApp links, which are automatically generated once you’ve used our solution to create content. Links can be shared in Slack chats, emails, text messages, and more and will lead your audience to individualized landing pages where they can view and comment on your work.

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5. Integrate With Your Favorite Tools

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We’re going to go out on a limb here and guess that you and your team use multiple tools to get your work done every day, right? That’s why CloudApp integrates with top solutions like Zendesk, Trello, G Suite, Slack, WordPress, Asana, and, yes, Microsoft Office.

These integrations enable you to drag and drop your CloudApp content directly into the apps listed above, allowing you to save time and stave off unnecessary frustration.

Don’t see your favorite apps on the CloudApp integration page? Not to worry, CloudApp also integrates with Zapier, which means you can connect our solution to thousands of others. 

In other words, CloudApp can improve your workflow, no matter what your workflow is.

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6. Boost Team-Wide Productivity

There are a lot of apps for productivity on the market. Few of them will speed up your team’s workflow like CloudApp—at least when it comes to communication.

Typing out detailed emails takes too long in our modern world. Instead, shoot a video of yourself (via your computer’s webcam) simply saying what you need to say. Or of your computer screen to illustrate specific processes and/or workflows. Or both.

Maybe video isn’t the right way to go. If that’s how you feel, take screenshots and annotate them with shapes, text, and emojis to properly communicate your thoughts in less time.

7. Minimize Miscommunications

CloudApp won’t just help you communicate faster, it will help you communicate better, so that you can minimize miscommunications between you and your team, your customers, your friends and family, or anyone else you’re speaking to.

Because videos, GIFs, and screenshots are visual, they’re easier to understand than a wall of text like you’d send in a standard email. Annotations boost clarity even more by literally spelling out your thoughts or highlighting specific elements in your images.

We’re not saying you should completely get rid of text-based communication channels like email. But when absolute clarity is a must, CloudApp is the right tool for the job.

Get Started With CloudApp’s Snipping Tool

CloudApp is the perfect Windows Snipping Tool alternative because it’s easy to use and actually does more than Microsoft’s solution. You can take and annotate screenshots with CloudApp, sure. But you can also create videos and distribute them with ease.

The best part is, CloudApp is free!‍

Sign up for your free CloudApp account today to start using our screenshot, screen recording, GIF creation, and image annotation features immediately. If you decide you want access to premium features like custom branding, CTAs, and analytics, upgrade to one of our premium plans, which start at just $9.95 a month/user.‍

Yes, I want to get started with CloudApp for free!

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