I use this Windows 11 app every day, and I can't wait to use its upcoming feature

Windows Insiders can test out some powerful new features for Snipping Tool and Notepad. Updates to both apps are rolling out to the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11.

The Snipping Tool gains a Draw & Hold feature that allows you to create clean lines and shapes when marking up an image. Holding your cursor or pen for a moment after drawing a line or shape will activate the feature.

Draw & Hold will then convert your stroke into a well-formed line or shape. The result is a cleaner-looking markup that would typically require another program, such as Paint or a photo editor.

I love the Snipping Tool and use it frequently. The Draw & Hold feature will save me quite a bit of time since it means I won't have to open another app to add arrows or shapes to my images.

Snipping Tool already lets you add lines, arrows, and shapes but the new Draw & Hold feature lets you do so by drawing with a pen or mouse.

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Microsoft is also testing an improved protocol launch experience for Snipping Tool that gives greater control to developers.

Notepad's update adds AI-powered summaries to the app. After selecting text and right-clicking, you'll see a "Summarize" option in the Copilot menu.

The feature uses Copilot to create a condensed version of your text.

Summarize requires a Microsoft 365 account. You will also need AI credits to use Summarize in Notepad.

You can disable AI features in Notepad, including the Summarize tool.

Below is the full change log from Microsoft for the updates to Snipping Tool and Notepad.

Snipping Tool version 11.2502.18.0

Draw & Hold

In this update, we are making improvements to the inking markup experience by introducing draw & hold, which helps you draw neat lines and shapes with ease. To get started, open Snipping Tool and capture a screenshot of any content on your screen. If the image does not automatically open in the app, click on the toast notification to “Mark up and share” your image. Select the pen tool and draw a line, arrow, rectangle, or oval over the image – before letting go of the shape, hold your cursor or pen still for a moment to convert your stroke into a well-formed shape. Resize, move, or adjust your shape as needed before clicking away to let the ink dry.

Protocol Launch

For developers, Snipping Tool now supports a new and improved protocol launch experience! App callers can now customize which Snipping Tool capture features are shown when invoked from their experience. The protocol is designed to offer improved flexibility, security, and ease of use, aligning closely with familiar HTTP-based interactions. This shift can make use of the protocol more intuitive for developers, and it expands support for better integration with web technologies. To learn more and get started, check out the Launch Snipping Tool developer documentation page.

Notepad version 11.2501.29.0

With this update, we are introducing the ability to summarize content in Notepad with the help of generative AI. We are also adding recent files to the File menu, a highly-requested feature, allowing you to quickly reopen recently closed documents.

Summarize

To get started, select the text you want to summarize, then right-click and choose Summarize, select Summarize from the Copilot menu, or use the Ctrl + M keyboard shortcut. Notepad will generate a summary of the selected text, providing a quick way to condense content. You can experiment with different summary lengths to refine the output.

If you prefer, you can disable AI features in app settings.

To use Summarize, you need to sign in with your Microsoft personal account. Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Copilot Pro subscribers will be able to use AI credits to use Summarize in Notepad.

Recent Files

With recent files, you can now reopen your recently closed files directly within Notepad. To access Recent Files, open Notepad and go to the File menu, where you will find a list of your recently used documents. Click on any file to instantly reopen and continue editing.

You can also clear the Recent list at any time or turn off the Recent Files feature in app settings if you prefer not to keep a history of recently closed files.