Below is the user manual for Screen Cap’n. Screen Cap’n gives you a fast, focused toolset for capturing, marking up, protecting, and sharing screenshots without slowing down your workflow. Use the tools below to select exactly what you need, add clear visual annotations, reuse common capture sizes, and copy or save the final image in a few quick actions.
Use the quick access shortcut to open Screen Cap’n instantly.
Default shortcut:
Ctrl + Shift + A
You can change this from the Screen Cap’n tray menu.
Screen Cap’n will not let you save shortcuts that are reserved by Windows, such as Alt + Tab, Alt + F4, or Windows-key shortcuts. If another app is already using your chosen shortcut, Screen Cap’n will ask you to pick a different one.
When Screen Cap’n opens, it helps you choose what to capture.
You can:
Screen Cap’n can suggest:
At the top of the selected region, you may see two controls:
Use the lock icon to reuse the same region in future screenshots.
This is useful when capturing the same part of a video, presentation, dashboard, or app repeatedly.
Use the ratio icon to cycle through preset capture sizes:
These are useful for social media posts, mobile screenshots, videos, thumbnails, and other fixed-format captures.
When using a preset ratio, you can resize the selected region with the mouse wheel:
Shift + mouse wheel: resize by 2%Ctrl + mouse wheel: resize by 0.5%Enter: confirm the selected regionEsc: cancel if nothing is selectedAnnotations stay editable until you copy or save the screenshot.
You can click an object to select it, move it, resize it, or adjust its points.
Esc: deselect the active objectEsc again: cancel the screenshotDelete: delete the selected objectCtrl + Z: undoCtrl + S: save as PNG and closeUse Rectangle to draw a box around something important.
Click and drag to draw the rectangle.
After creating it, you can move it or resize it from the handles.
Use Oval to circle or emphasize something.
Click and drag to draw the oval.
After creating it, you can move it or resize it from the handles.
Use Line to point across or underline part of the screenshot.
Click and drag from the start point to the end point.
After creating it, you can move the line or adjust either endpoint.
Use Arrow to point directly at something.
Click and drag from the tail of the arrow to the tip.
After creating it, you can move the arrow or adjust either endpoint.
The arrowhead automatically scales with the line width.
Use Pen to draw freely on the screenshot.
Click and drag to draw a freehand stroke.
Use Free Pen for normal drawing.
Use Pen Arrow when you want the freehand stroke to end with an arrow tip.
Use Highlighter to call attention to an area without fully covering it.
Line highlight is the default.
Use Line Highlight to drag a translucent highlight stroke.
Use Area Highlight to drag a translucent rounded rectangle.
Hold Shift while drawing a line highlight to keep it perfectly horizontal or vertical.
Use Text to add notes, labels, or short explanations.
Click once to add inline text.
Click and drag to create a text box.
Click existing text to edit it again.
No Background keeps the text clean and simple.
Solid Background adds a colored background behind the text.
For inline text, each line gets its own rounded background.
For a text box, the whole box gets the background.
If your text wraps beyond the text box height, the box grows automatically to fit it.
Shift + Enter: add a line breakEnter: finish editingEsc: stop editingBackspace: delete previous characterDelete: delete next characterUse Tag to add a speech-bubble callout with a pointer.
Click and drag to place the tag.
Click inside the white tag area to type or edit text.
Drag the tag corners to resize the bubble.
Drag the pointer handle to aim the pointer somewhere else.
The tag text stays black for readability.
Shift + Enter: add a line breakEnter: finish editingEsc: stop editingUse Step Number to create step-by-step instructions.
Place a standalone number when you want a numbered marker.
Turn on numbering when you want new annotations to receive step numbers automatically.
Use Restart Numbering to begin again at 1.
Use Continue Numbering to keep going from the next available number.
Use Mosaic to hide sensitive information.
Use Area Mosaic to cover a rectangular area.
Use Brush Mosaic to paint over specific parts.
Mosaic affects the original screenshot content, not the annotations you add afterward.
Use Watermark to protect or brand your screenshot.
Type your watermark text to repeat it across the capture.
Turn on Date to include the current date under the watermark text.
Add an image or logo if you want a visual watermark.
Use Clear Watermark to remove the watermark.
The watermark preview is designed to match the final saved or copied screenshot.
Enter: confirm the watermark and copy the captureReverts the last action.
Shortcut:
Ctrl + Z
Copies the final screenshot to the clipboard and closes Screen Cap’n.
Shortcut:
Enter
Saves the final screenshot as a PNG and closes Screen Cap’n.
Shortcut:
Ctrl + S
Closes Screen Cap’n without copying or saving.
Shortcut:
Esc
Right-click or click the Screen Cap’n tray icon to open the tray menu.
From the tray menu, you can:
When automatic saving is turned on, Screen Cap’n saves screenshots to your selected folder.
Default folder:
…\Pictures\Screen Cap'n