> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://snagitpro.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Use ShareX on Windows: Capture, Edit, OCR and Record - URL: https://snagitpro.com/how-to-use-sharex/ - Published: 2026-11-07T13:27:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-08T13:42:37.000Z - Description: ShareX takes a region screenshot with Ctrl + PrtSc and saves it on your PC. Here's how to set up ShareX 22, fix hotkeys Windows grabs first, annotate and redact, capture scrolling pages, copy text with OCR and record your screen with sound. - Author: Adrian Foster - Tags: Guides, Windows Press `Ctrl + PrtSc`, drag a box over what you want and let go. ShareX copies the screenshot to the clipboard and saves it as a PNG in `Documents\ShareX\Screenshots`, and on a fresh install that's the whole loop. Every other feature, from the editor and text recognition to video and GIF recording, runs the same way: a hotkey starts a capture, and a list of after capture tasks decides what happens to it. [Download](https://dropload.surf/c/DluzdtzerFlT?ref=snagitpro.com) I'd set it up in this order: install the current build, check that its hotkeys registered, take one region capture, then pick your after capture tasks. Below are the steps for each, plus scrolling capture, copying text, recording with sound, and the one setting to check if you've used ShareX since an older version. ## ShareX at a glance | Question | Answer | | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Price | Free and open source, no ads, no account | | Platform | Windows 10 64-bit or later; the native ARM64 build comes through the Microsoft Store. No Mac or phone version | | Current stable version | 22.3.0, released November 7, 2026 | | Download size | About 145 MB for the installer, about 209 MB for the portable ZIP | | Default screenshot key | Ctrl + PrtSc for a region | | Where files go | Documents\\ShareX\\Screenshots, in one folder per month | | Video and GIF | Built in, no FFmpeg download; system audio on and microphone off by default | | Text from images (OCR) | Runs locally on Windows 10 version 1903 or later | The price, the no-account promise and the feature list come from the [official ShareX site](https://getsharex.com/?ref=snagitpro.com), and the version, dates and file sizes from the [ShareX releases page on GitHub](https://github.com/ShareX/ShareX/releases?ref=snagitpro.com). A 64-bit Windows 10 has been the minimum since version 18, when ShareX dropped Windows 7, so an old 32-bit PC needs a different tool. ## What changed in ShareX 22? Almost everything you see. Version 22.0 in October 2026 rewrote every part of the interface, and the team warned in the [ShareX changelog](https://getsharex.com/changelog?ref=snagitpro.com) that it expected that release to be "significantly less stable" than usual. That's why 22.0 and 22.1 went out as pre-releases on GitHub. 22.2.0 on November 6 was the first stable build of the new design, and 22.3.0 followed a day later. The biggest change for a new user is recording. You no longer download FFmpeg before your first video: ShareX records the screen itself, with system audio, a microphone and a camera overlay, and 22.1 added GIF recording without FFmpeg too. First launch now opens a short start screen, there's a separate Photo editor for adjustments, and 22.2 added WebP saving. 22.3 brought back the Region (Transparent) capture and made startup and the first region capture faster. Older tutorials show the previous main window and the FFmpeg recording setup, so if a menu doesn't match yours, check which version the tutorial used. If the newest build misbehaves on your PC, older ones stay on the GitHub releases page, including 21.0.0 from July 2026, the last stable version with the old interface. ## How do you install ShareX? 1. Download it from [getsharex.com](https://getsharex.com/?ref=snagitpro.com) or the GitHub releases page. Pick **Setup** unless you can't run installers on that PC; the portable ZIP runs without installing. The Microsoft Store and Steam versions are official as well, and the Store carries the native ARM64 build. 2. Run the installer. Stick to those official sources: since 22.0 the installer is code-signed, and look-alike download sites are an easy way to get something else. 3. On first launch, a start screen says "Welcome to ShareX", then "Make ShareX yours". Choose the language and theme, and leave **Run ShareX when Windows starts** on, because the hotkeys only work while ShareX is running. Click **Get started**. 4. ShareX now lives in the notification area. Its tray icon opens the same Capture, Upload and Tools menus as the main window, plus **Exit**. There's no ShareX login. You'd only sign in somewhere if you later connect an upload destination, such as an image host or cloud storage. On a Mac, [ShareX isn't an option](https://snagitpro.com/sharex-for-mac/), and my guide to [taking a screenshot on a Mac](https://snagitpro.com/how-to-take-a-screenshot-on-mac/) covers the built-in keys instead. ## What are the default ShareX hotkeys? Five come preset, all built on `PrtSc`. The region key is the one you'll press all day. | Press | ShareX does | | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | Ctrl + PrtSc | Capture a region: drag a box or click a window | | PrtSc | Capture the entire screen | | Alt + PrtSc | Capture the active window | | Shift + PrtSc | Start or stop screen recording | | Ctrl + Shift + PrtSc | Start or stop GIF recording | ![Diagram of the five default ShareX hotkeys: Ctrl plus PrtSc for Region, highlighted, PrtSc for Full screen, Alt plus PrtSc for Active window, Shift plus PrtSc for Screen recording, and Ctrl plus Shift plus PrtSc for GIF recording](https://snagitpro.com/content/images/2026/11/sharex-hotkeys-1.webp) Learn Ctrl + PrtSc first. The two Shift combinations start and stop recordings, so the same key ends what it began. Open **Hotkey settings...** from the main window to check that each one works. Every row carries a status: *Registered* means ShareX has the key, *Registration failed* means another program took it first, and *Not configured* means the row has no key yet. To change a key, click its field, wait for "Press a hotkey..." and press the new combination. When `PrtSc` opens the Snipping Tool instead of ShareX, Windows 11 is holding the key. Go to **Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard**, turn off the option that uses the Print screen key to open screen capture (the label differs between builds), then choose **Exit** from the ShareX tray icon and start ShareX again. Other capture tools that listen to `PrtSc`, Snagit and Greenshot among them, cause the same failure, so close them or give ShareX other keys. My fix for a [Print Screen key that isn't working](https://snagitpro.com/print-screen-not-working/) goes through the rarer causes. If you play games, turn on **Disable hotkeys in fullscreen applications** in Application settings, so a stray `PrtSc` doesn't pull you out of a match. ## How do you take a screenshot with ShareX? 1. Press `Ctrl + PrtSc`, or open **Capture → Region** from the main window or the tray icon. 2. Drag a box over the area. To grab one window, button or panel, point at it and click; ShareX detects windows and controls under the pointer. 3. Release the mouse button. With **Quick capture** on, which is the default, that's it: ShareX copies the image and saves the file. A few keys make region capture quicker: - `Space` captures the full screen and `~` the active monitor, handy when you started a region and changed your mind. - Arrow keys move the pointer by 1 pixel and `Shift` plus an arrow by 10, for exact edges. - Holding `Shift` while you drag draws a square; holding `Ctrl` moves the box before you've finished drawing it. - `Esc` cancels without saving anything. - **Capture → Last region** grabs the same area again, which saves time when you document one window over and over. You can also mark the screen before you capture. Region capture has its own toolbar with rectangle (`R`), arrow (`A`), text (`T`), numbered steps (`N`) and blur (`B`), among others. Draw what you need, press `Tab` to get the region tool back, then drag; `Ctrl + H` hides the toolbar. If you'd like to nudge the box before it's saved, turn off Quick capture in **Task settings → Capture → Region capture**, then move or resize the selection and press `Enter` or double-click inside it. Since 22.3 you can drag the toolbar out of the way, and the same settings page has a **Compact region capture toolbar** option if it still covers too much. [ShareX's region capture documentation](https://getsharex.com/docs/region-capture?ref=snagitpro.com) lists every key and tool. ## Where does ShareX save screenshots? In `Documents\ShareX\Screenshots`, inside a folder named after the year and month, such as `2026-11`. Each file is a PNG with a random 10-character name, and active-window captures start with the program's name. The fastest way there is **Screenshots folder...** in the main menu. I'd only change this if it gets in your way. Random names never collide, but they're hard to search, so if you file screenshots by project, set your own naming pattern in Task settings. To save into a synced folder, turn on **Override screenshots folder** in Task settings and pick it. If a website or chat app wants WebP, 22.2 added that format under **Task settings → Image**. Captures from Windows' own keys land somewhere else entirely, and my guide to [where screenshots go on Windows 11](https://snagitpro.com/where-do-screenshots-go-windows-11/) lists those folders. ## What happens after a capture? Whatever the **After capture tasks** menu says. On a new install, only *Copy image to clipboard* and *Save image to file* are ticked. Click any other item in that menu to add it to every capture: - *Open in image editor*, to mark up each screenshot before it's copied and saved. - *Pin to screen*, to keep the image floating above other windows as a reference. - *Recognize text (OCR)*, to pull the text out of the capture. - *Show file in explorer*, to jump straight to the saved file. - *Upload image to host*, to send the file to the destination chosen under Destinations. The matching after upload task, *Copy URL to clipboard*, is on by default. ![ShareX task flow: Capture leads to After capture tasks with Copy image to clipboard and Save image to file ticked and Open in image editor and Upload image to host unticked; upload alone leads on to Copy URL to clipboard](https://snagitpro.com/content/images/2026/11/sharex-tasks-1.webp) A new install copies and saves, nothing more. The upload branch only runs if you tick Upload image to host. Look at that last item if you've had ShareX for years. Automatic upload has been off for new installations since version 19.0.1, but older versions ticked *Upload image to host* by default, and if it's still ticked, every screenshot leaves your PC. I'd keep it off and upload by hand, because a work screenshot can carry names, email addresses or tokens you didn't notice. The settings get more useful per hotkey. In Hotkey settings, click **Add**, pick a task, press a key, then use **Edit task settings...** to give that hotkey its own after capture tasks. ShareX calls these workflows, and they show up in the Workflows menu. I'd make two: one that captures a region and opens the editor, for screenshots that need arrows, and one that runs OCR silently, for grabbing text. ## How do you annotate and redact screenshots in ShareX? Tick *Open in image editor* if you mark up most screenshots, or open the editor for one capture at a time: middle-click the notification ShareX shows after a capture (its default middle-click action is Annotate image), or right-click the task in the main window and choose **Edit image**. **Tools → Image editor** opens any image file. Each tool has a one-key shortcut: | Key | Tool | | ----- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | R / E | Rectangle / Ellipse | | A | Arrow | | T | Text | | N | Step, a numbered marker that counts up by itself | | H | Highlight | | B / P | Blur / Pixelate | | C | Crop | | U | Cut out, which removes a strip from the middle and joins the rest | Hold `Shift` while drawing a line or arrow to snap it to 45 degrees. Press `Enter` to apply your edits and continue with the remaining after capture tasks, or `Esc` to cancel the task. `Ctrl + S` saves, `Ctrl + Shift + C` copies, `Ctrl + P` pins the image to the screen and `Ctrl + U` uploads it. For anything private, I'd skip blur and pixelate. The [ShareX image editor guide](https://getsharex.com/docs/image-editor?ref=snagitpro.com) itself says that for highly sensitive information, cropping it out is usually safer than covering it. Crop, remove the strip with Cut out, or cover it with a rectangle filled in an opaque color, then zoom in on the result before you share. My guide to [redacting personal information in screenshots](https://snagitpro.com/redact-personal-information-screenshot/) explains why a blur isn't enough. ## How do you take a scrolling screenshot in ShareX? 1. Open **Capture → Scrolling capture**. There's no default key; add *Start/Stop scrolling capture* in Hotkey settings if you need one. 2. Select only the part that scrolls, such as a page body without its sticky header or sidebar. 3. Let go. ShareX scrolls on its own, joins the frames and shows the result. A colored indicator in the upper-right corner tells you how it went. Green is a clean join, yellow means ShareX used its best match for one or more frames, and red means it couldn't combine the first two images and stopped. The [ShareX scrolling screenshot page](https://getsharex.com/docs/scrolling-screenshot?ref=snagitpro.com) blames most yellow and red results on things that stay put or keep moving while the page scrolls: fixed headers, sidebars, videos, animations. Select a tighter region that leaves them out, and park the pointer at the top of the scrollbar so hover effects don't change the page mid-capture. My guide to [scrolling screenshots on Windows](https://snagitpro.com/scrolling-screenshot-windows/) covers the other ways to capture a long page. ## How do you copy text from the screen with ShareX? 1. Open **Tools → OCR**. 2. Select the region with the text. 3. Fix anything it misread in the result box and click **Copy all**. The OCR window stays open, so **Select region** grabs the next block without restarting the tool. According to the [ShareX OCR documentation](https://getsharex.com/docs/ocr?ref=snagitpro.com), recognition uses the engine built into Windows and runs on your PC; the text only goes online if you click one of the optional services, such as Google Translate or DeepL. You need Windows 10 version 1903 or later, and the text's language has to be installed in Windows under **Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language**. For one-step text grabs, turn on **Process OCR silently** in **Task settings → Capture → OCR** and give OCR its own hotkey. Select a region and the text lands straight on the clipboard, with no OCR window in between. My guide to [copying text from a screenshot on Windows 11](https://snagitpro.com/copy-text-from-screenshot-windows-11/) covers the routes that need no extra app. ## How do you record your screen with ShareX? Press `Shift + PrtSc` and pick the area. A recorder bar appears before anything is recorded: set the sources, click **Record**, and press `Shift + PrtSc` again when you're done. For an animated GIF, use `Ctrl + Shift + PrtSc` the same way. The defaults are sensible for a quick clip: the native recorder at 30 frames per second, GIFs at 15, system audio on, the pointer visible. The microphone and camera are off, so if you're narrating, switch **Microphone** on in the bar before you click Record, or the video carries the PC's sound without your voice. The bar also has a **Start delay** toggle (3 seconds once enabled), a **Cursor** toggle and a Restart button, and the frame-rate limit is 120\. While a recording runs, ShareX won't close, so stop it with the hotkey or the tray menu first. ShareX recordings suit bug reports and short how-to clips. For anything you'll edit, with cuts, captions or zooms, a recorder with a timeline does more. ## Is ShareX better than the Snipping Tool? For heavy daily use, yes. For a screenshot now and then, the Snipping Tool is enough and needs no install: `Win + Shift + S` takes an image, `Win + Shift + R` records a video, and its text actions run on your PC, as [Microsoft's Snipping Tool help](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/use-snipping-tool-to-capture-screenshots?ref=snagitpro.com) describes. ShareX earns the install with its extras: scrolling capture, GIF recording, per-hotkey workflows, repeat captures of the last region, pinned screenshots and a far deeper editor. The cost is the settings. ShareX has menus inside menus, and nobody needs most of them on day one. I'd install it for anyone who takes more than a handful of screenshots a day and stay with the Snipping Tool for everyone else. My guide to [using the Snipping Tool on Windows 11](https://snagitpro.com/how-to-use-snipping-tool-windows-11/) walks through Microsoft's own tool, and my roundup of the [best free screenshot software](https://snagitpro.com/best-free-screenshot-software/) compares ShareX with the other free picks. ## How do users rate ShareX? Very highly, with the same weak spots wherever reviewers break the score down. I counted each review pool once and kept Steam apart, since it reports a share of positive reviews rather than stars. | Source | Score | Basis | | -------- | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | G2 | 4.8 / 5 | 80 reviews; ease of use 8.7 and support 8.6 out of 10 | | Capterra | 4.8 / 5 | 19 reviews; ease of use 4.4, customer service 4.0, features 4.7 | | Steam | 94% positive | 2,810 user reviews; 92% of 63 in the last 30 days | Put together, ShareX has a median of 4.8 out of 5 across two independent rating pools with 99 reviews, and 94% positive across 2,810 Steam reviews. In both star-rated pools, ease of use and support sit well below that overall score. On [G2's Greenshot vs ShareX comparison](https://www.g2.com/compare/greenshot-vs-sharex?ref=snagitpro.com), ShareX trails Greenshot on ease of use, 8.7 to 9.4, and on [Capterra's ShareX reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/210187/ShareX/reviews/?ref=snagitpro.com), customer service is its weakest score at 4.0\. [ShareX on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400040/ShareX/?ref=snagitpro.com) shows the recent reviews holding close to the overall figure. My verdict: ShareX 22 is the most capable free screenshot tool on Windows, and a new install now starts with safe defaults: nothing uploads, screenshots save locally, and recording works without extra downloads. Learn three keys, set up one or two workflows, and leave the rest of the menus alone until you need them. The redesign is only a few releases old and stable updates are landing days apart, so I'd keep it updated through the first few versions. ## Should you pay for Snagit instead of ShareX? For most people, no. ShareX is free and covers more than they'll ever use. Snagit makes sense when you need the same capture tool on Windows and a Mac, when a team wants something it can learn in an afternoon, or when you'd rather pay for support and polished templates than tune task settings. My comparison of [Snagit vs ShareX](https://snagitpro.com/snagit-vs-sharex/) sets the two side by side, and my [Snagit review](https://snagitpro.com/snagit-review/) covers what the license costs.