Chrome is getting a powerful screenshot and sharing tool

(Image credit: Shutterstock - slyellow)

A picture is worth a thousand words as the old adage goes, and it’s an idea that is borne out by the fact that people tend to share photos of things rather than describing them. It's not without good reason that image-based social media platforms like Instagram are so popular, after all.

Getting in on the visual action, Google is working to add a new screenshot and sharing option to Chrome. Screengrabbing is an incredibly useful option in any app, but when it comes to a web browser, there are numerous benefits to sharing information in this way.

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People often feel the need to take a screenshot of a website. This may be to save having to type out or copy/paste a section of text, to save an image for use in a project, to annotate the grab at a later time, and numerous other reasons. On social media and in chats, such screengrabs often servce as a great “look at this!” tool.

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While there is nothing to stop you from using a dedicated screengrabbing tool – or even just hitting Print Screen and pasting into an image editor – a post on the Chromium Gerrit reveals that Google has a neater solution planned. A screengrabber that is integrated into Chrome is in the works, meaning that Chrome will ultimately be gaining its own miniature version of Windows’ Snipping Tool, and bring it in line with Microsoft Edge.

The change is planned as part of a drive to “centralize and deduplicate the various sharing options that are currently scattered across various menus”. If you find something great online that you’d like to share with someone, you can share a screenshot directly from Chrome to highlight precisely what you’re referring to – a better option than sending a link and having to describe where the recipient needs to navigate.

As well as making it possible to grab an image of the visible portion of a site, the tool is also likely to include the option to gran just a selection of the page, as well as taking scrolling screenshots.

At the moment it's impossible to tell when this new feature could make an appearance in Chrome. It could be something that is just around the corner, or it could be just cresting the horizon. While the Chromium Gerrit is an interesting glimpse into the future, it is a crystal ball that often gives no timescale.

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Via MSPoweruser

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Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

You can find her on Twitter and Mastodon.