Until now, third party tools were needed for taking accurate screen shots but Vista comes with a build-in accessory called Snipping Tool. The tool lets you select a certain area on your screen and copies the image intro you system clipboard. You can either save the picture directly from the Snipping Tool making no modifications to it, or you can export it a photo editing software like Photoshop.

Using Vista's Snipping Tool

To launch the Snipping tool follow the instructions bellow:

* Open the Start Menu
* Type "snip" in the search box
* Select the Snipping Tool when this appears

When you start the tool for the first time, it will assume that you would want to capture a portion of the screen right away. You can cancel this auction by clicking the Cancel button.

Whenever you are ready to take a screen shot, click on the arrow besides New:
Snipping Tool options

You now have 4 choices:

To actually take a screen shot, select one of the options above and drag the pen around the area you want to take a screen shot of. The image is now hidden in the Windows clipboard and you can import it in your favorite image editing software. Open the program, go to Edit and select Paste.

If you are taking a lot of screen shot on a regularly basis we recommend ,a more elegant and efficient tool.