Microsoft is CHANGING what the ‘Print Screen’ key does on Windows 11

Microsoft is planning to change the default behavior of the print screen button on Windows 11, which will open Microsoft’s new Snipping Tool experience instead of taking an instant screengrab of your desktop. It’s a behavior change that may take some getting used to, and luckily, it’s something you can switch back.

In fact, this is a setting that Microsoft has had available on Windows 11 for a long while. It’s an optional accessibility feature, which can be accessed by heading to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and toggling “Use the Print screen key to open Snipping Tool.” 

Currently, this setting is off by default, but an upcoming Windows 11 update will enable this toggle for everyone, changing the default behavior of the print screen key to launch Snipping Tool instead. We think this is an improvement, as the Snipping Tool offers a wider variety of screenshot types, including window-only, full-screen, and freeform mode.  By  April 12, 2023