One feature Google Chrome has lacked that some alternative browsers include is a screenshot tool. Browser screenshot tools enable users to capture snapshots from webpages. Chrome might not have a full-fledged snapping utility just yet, but Google has added experimental screenshot features to its flagship browser in 2022.

Chrome’s two experimen gtal screenshot tools enable users to capture and then edit snapshots within the browser. Even though they’re not regular features just yet, they still work pretty well. This is how you can enable and utilize those experimental screenshot features in Google Chrome.

How to Enable Google Chrome’s Screenshot Tool

Chrome’s experimental screen-capturing utility is one with which you can capture selected rectangular areas of pages. It saves your captured screenshots to the Windows clipboard. So, make sure you’ve got clipboard history enabled in Windows 11 or 10 before activating this experimental feature. This is how you can enable the screenshot tool in Google Chrome.

  1. Click Chrome’s + New tab button.
  2. Then click inside Chrome’s website address box to input chrome://flags/.
  3. Press Enter to open the Experiments tab within the snapshot directly below.
    The Experiments tab
  4. Enter the keyword screenshot within the search box at the top of Chrome’s Experiments tab.
  5. Select Enabled on Desktop Screenshots' drop-down menu.
  6. Click the blue Relaunch option that appears.
    Desktop Screenshot
  7. Open a webpage from which to capture a screenshot. Click the Share this page button on the right side of Chrome’s address bar. Then select the new Screenshot option on that menu shown directly below.
The Screenshot option

Your open webpage will darken after you’ve selected that option. Move the cursor to a position on the page to capture a screenshot from, and click and hold the left mouse button. Then drag the rectangle across the area of the webpage you want in the screenshot, and release the left button.

A screen capture area

A screenshot copied box will appear in Chrome that shows a portion of the image you’ve just captured. You can click the Download button there to save the picture. Alternatively, open an image editor like MS Paint and press Ctrl + V to paste it.

How to Enable Google Chrome’s Screenshot Editor

Some Chrome users might like to edit their captured webpage screenshots. You can apply some basic editing to your snapshots by turning on Chrome’s experimental image editor. That editing feature includes options for adding some shapes, emoticons, arrows, and lines to your captured output.

You can enable the editor feature much the same as the screenshot tool in Google Chrome. To do so, open the chrome://flags/ page and type screenshot in the search box there as covered in steps one to four above. Then select the Enabled option for the Desktop Screenshots Edit Mode flag, and restart the browser.

The Desktop Screenshot Edit Mode flag

Click Share this page and select the Screenshot option to capture another snapshot. After taking the screenshot, you’ll notice the Screenshot coped box now includes an Edit option. Click that Edit button to bring up the editor.

The Edit button

To add some pointers to your screenshot, click the Arrow button. Choose a color, and drag the bar’s slider to adjust line thickness. Then hold the left mouse button and drag the cursor over the image to add an arrow.

The Arrow option

You can add squares and circles to the screenshots much the same. Click the Rectangle or Ellipse buttons and choose a color for their outlines. Drag the cursor over the image to add the shapes.

If you want to add some words to an image, click the Text (T) button. You can drag the bar’s slider to increase or decrease the font size. Choose a color, select a font style option, and click on the image to add a text box. Then you can enter some text within the box.

A text box

The editor’s Brush option enables users to add some free-form painting to their snapshots. Click Brush on the editor’s toolbar to adjust the paintbrush thickness and select a color. Then add some paint by holding the left mouse button and moving the cursor over image areas.

Get Snapping in Google Chrome!

It’s about time Google added some kind of screenshot utility to Chrome. Google Chrome’s experimental screenshot and edit mode tools might well make the transition to standard features in the foreseeable future. For now, you can get snapping in Google’s flagship browser by enabling the Desktop Screenshots flag.