Both Windows and macOS offer a default app to capture screenshots and record videos. You can use the Snipping Tool in Windows and the captured screen will be saved in C:/Users/<Username>Pictures/Screenshots folder. Similarly, Screenshot app in Mac is available for this purpose which will save the images on your desktop. However, in most cases, you do not need to keep these files occupying the storage space and want to temporarily keep the captured screen in clipboard for sharing in another app.
Save Screenshot to Clipboard in Windows
Snipping Tool by default will save the captured image in clipboard and you do not need any customizations for this purpose in Windows. So, you can simply press “Control + V” keys to paste the captured image from the clipboard. This is in addition to showing a floating window for editing and saving the images in “Screenshots” folder. If you do not want to save the image, then follow the below steps:
- Type “snipping tool” in Windows Search and open the Snipping Tool app.
- Click the three horizontal dots icon showing just below the close button and select “Settings” menu.
- Turn off “Automatically copy changes” and “Ask to save edited screenshots” options to disable the floating window showing for editing the captured image.
- Turn off “Automatically save screenshots” option to avoid saving images in Screenshots folder.
Now that whenever you capture an image, it will be only available in your clipboard without any other trace of it in the system.
Save Screenshot to Clipboard in Mac
Mac will not save the screenshot in clipboard by default and you need to change the location manually.
- Press “Command + Shift + 5” to open Screenshot app.
- Click the “Options” and select “Clipboard” under “Save to” section.
- Select the mode and click “Capture” button.
- Henceforth, the captured screenshot will be automatically saved to your clipboard.
- Press “Command + V” and paste the captured image on any app.
Note that when you save screenshots in clipboard, Mac will disable the floating window even though “Show Floating Thumbnail” option is checked in “Screenshot app > Options”.
Keeping Screenshots in Clipboard
After capturing an image, you will not see any notification that the image is saved to clipboard. As mentioned, you can paste it on any app using “Control + V” shortcut in Windows and “Command + V” in Mac. Since clipboard is a temporary storage, the previous item will be deleted when you save the next time. However, Windows offers a clipboard history function to keep multiple items and retrieve them when needed. Simply press “Windows Logo + V” keys to show the clipboard history and click the item to insert anywhere you want.
Unfortunately, there are such functions in Mac. Therefore, make sure to immediately paste the captured image to avoid doing it again or losing it permanently. Otherwise, you need a third-party clipboard manager app to retain multiple items and manage them effectively.
