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ZDNET Highlights
- The Windows 11 Snipping Tool now has a visual search engine.
- You can learn more about your captured items through Bing search.
- You can also extract or translate text and solve math equations.
The Snipping Tool in Windows 11 provides an easy way to capture screenshots of text, images, and other objects visible on your screen. But sometimes you’ll want to know more about the object you captured. To this end, the tool now offers a visual search engine that uses Bing to find information on the content in your screenshots.
Also: Microsoft said my PC was ‘too old’ to run Windows 11 — yet how I upgraded in 5 minutes
Available with the latest version of the Snipping Tool, the visual search feature taps into Microsoft’s “Visual Search with Bing.” Described and tested by Windows LatestBy running this type of search on text, an image, or other content, you can discover more about it, translate visible text into another language, extract text through OCR to copy and paste it, and even solve a mathematical equation.
How to use visual search
This is how it works.
First, make sure you are running the latest version of the Snipping Tool in Windows 11. Open the Microsoft Store app, select Downloads, and then click the button to check for updates. Any Microsoft app that needs an update will get the update, including the Snipping Tool.
Next, open the content you want to capture. Maybe it’s an image in your photo library, text on a web page, or a mathematical equation you need to solve. Launch the Snipping Tool from the Start menu. On the top toolbar, click the camera icon if it is not already selected and then click New. Select the snapping area icon at the top to set the area you want to capture – rectangular, window, full screen, or freeform.
Capture the item on the screen by drawing an area with your mouse or finger. In the screen capture window, right-click the image and select “Visual Search with Bing” from the menu. You will then be taken to the Bing website with a series of search results that provide details on the content in the shot. From the website, you are able to run various tasks, especially if you have captured text or an image with text.
Click the Translate button to translate text into a different language. Click the Text button to highlight any visible text, which you can copy and paste. If you have an equation you want to solve, click the Solve button. After this Bing should give the correct response.
Also: Major new Windows 11 update redesigns the Start menu — what you need to know
If this type of visual search sounds familiar, it’s because it has been part of other tools, notably Google Lens. Built into the Google Photos app, Google Search, and other products, Lens can visually search text and images you capture through the camera or open on your device.
The Snipping Tool has proven to be a useful utility, especially as Microsoft expands its capabilities. In addition to taking a still screenshot, you are able to capture a video of your screen activity. You can also mark, edit and refine your image. Built-in OCR can extract text that is part of the image. When it is complete, you will be able to copy or save your captured image. If you aren’t already using the Snipping Tool, now is a good time to dive in.
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