Windows 10 preview: New build brings these updated Snip & Sketch features

The Snip & Sketch snipping tool is getting treated to several new features in a new Windows 10 build from the 20H1 branch going out to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. 

Microsoft released Windows 10 preview build 18950 on Wednesday and confirmed there will indeed be a 'Cloud download' option for restoring Windows and that Windows 10 users can expect new Snip & Sketch features. 

Snip and Sketch ships with version 1809 or later and lets users take customized screen captures, or 'snips', after pressing WIN+Shift+S. Users can then sketch on or annotate the snips. 

SEE: 20 pro tips to make Windows 10 work the way you want (free PDF)    

The three new improvements to Snip & Sketch include a single window mode, zoom capabilities, and improvements to help users discover the WIN+Shift+S shortcut. 

The single window mode is designed to keep things tidy when users retake snips multiple times to get the best screenshot. 

Pressing the 'New' button" on the bottom-left corner will now open new snips in the current app window to avoid having to close loads of unwanted snips in multiple windows. However, there is a on-off toggle for opening snips in separate windows. 

Now after taking a snip, users can zoom in on screenshots to help out when annotating them. Zoom can be achieved by Ctrl+Plus, Ctrl+Minus, and Ctrl+ the mouse wheel. 

The canvas space in Snip & Sketch now also helps users who've not tried WIN+Shift+S to learn how to start a snip without needing to open the Snip & Sketch app first.     

The new features are being tested with a portion of Insiders in the Fast ring before Microsoft offers it more broadly. 

Microsoft also appears to be proceeding with the new 'Cloud download' restore option that leaked earlier this week. In the new boot user interface from Windows 10 will ask users 'How would you like to reinstall Windows?', offering two options: 'Cloud download' or 'Reset locally'.  

Microsoft is also bringing fixes to the Japanese IME, the package required for inputting Japanese characters on Windows. There are improvements for predication candidate window key navigation and the discoverability of key assignment settings. 

Windows 10 20H1 is set to arrive in the spring of 2020, following the release of Windows 19H2 (1909), which Microsoft started testing in July and will be available this fall. 

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