If you’re anything like me, you probably spend a good chunk of time using Print Screen or Alt+PrtSc in conjunction with MSPaint or Photoshop. Microsoft has included a cool, little utility in Windows Vista that will make your life so much easier.

I found Snipping Tool (catchy name, huh?) in Windows Vista Ultimate yesterday. It may well be in other SKUs as well, but I have no easy way to check. Go to the Start menu and type in snippingtool. You’ll be rewarded with the following window:

Snipping Tool

From here, you can do free-form selections, rectangular selections, hwnd-based window selections and full screen selections. This certainly won’t replace the commercial screen capture utilities out there, but it’s a nice addition to Windows.

Free Form Snip