Microsoft: Snipping tool should be able to extract and insert tables

Microsoft has released a new version of the snipping tool for creating screenshots in the Windows Insider channels. Participants in the Canary and Dev channels will receive the updated version, which includes the new "Copy as table" function.

Microsoft's developers have hidden the announcement of the new Snipping Tool version in the announcement of a Windows preview version. The new function allows users to copy tables from screenshots into text form. According to a screenshot from Microsoft, the data can then be easily pasted into a table processor and processed further.

Snipping Tool: Improving the text functions

Microsoft explains that this is an enhancement to the existing text functions of the Snipping Tool. This includes the existing features of copying text from an image or blacking out sensitive information. "Customers can use 'Copy as table' to easily copy structured table data into an email, document or spreadsheet," explain Microsoft's programmers.

Interested parties can simply try out the function by taking a screenshot with a table and then selecting "Text actions" and then "Copy as table" –. They can then simply copy the data into any app. However, the developers point out that the current implementation of the function works best if the screenshot only contains a table. The snipping tool contains the new "copy-as-table" function from version 11.2409.22.0.

In May, Microsoft's developers had already significantly expanded the Windows snipping tool. A visual search function finds similar images using Microsoft's Bing search engine. Since then, emojis can also be added to screenshots. The snipping tool can now also read QR codes. Detailed improvements include the adjustable opacity of added shapes and colors.

(dmk)