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Prepare to annotate a screenshot with ShareX #
Download the current stable Windows app through ShareX's official site. Use a practice window without account details. For the original example, open a local text editor and type:
Demo settings Notifications: On Weekly summary: Off
The image will contain a rectangle around Weekly summary: Off, an arrow pointing to it, and the label Enable for a weekly digest. The sample contains no real account details.
You can adapt the same pattern to an error dialog later. Decide which part of the screen the recipient needs and leave enough surrounding context to recognize it. A region containing one setting is easier to read in a support ticket than the entire desktop.
1. Choose a local editing workflow #
Open After capture tasks and enable Open in image editor, as documented in the official image-editor guide. Review the other enabled tasks before capturing. For this example, use editing and local saving without an upload action.
The point is to see the image before it leaves the editing stage. You can choose automatic copying or saving later, once the basic result is predictable. Keep the first workflow small enough that you can identify what each enabled task does.
2. Capture the sample region #
Open Capture, then Region. Drag a rectangle around the sample heading and both settings. Release the mouse button to finish the ordinary region selection.
The region-capture documentation confirms that menu path and completion action. The captured image should open in the editor because of the task chosen in step one. If you have enabled multi-region mode, selection behaves differently: finish the chosen regions with Enter.
Don't crop so tightly that the setting label loses context. Include the small heading, but leave unrelated windows and the taskbar outside the selection.
3. Mark the setting with Rectangle #
Choose Rectangle in the image editor and draw an outline around Weekly summary: Off. Leave the text visible inside the box. The tool can use outline and fill settings; an outline is clearer for this example than an opaque block.
Look at the annotation at the image's ordinary display size. A very thin line can disappear when the picture is scaled down in a message. A thick border can cover the letters. Use enough contrast for the recipient to identify the marked area without reading a separate paragraph.
4. Point to the setting with Arrow #
Choose Arrow and draw one arrow from an empty part of the image toward the marked setting. Keep its point near the box without covering the word Off.
One arrow is enough here. If the screenshot needs several numbered actions, use the documented Step tool and match the numbers to the written instructions. For a single setting, adding more marks can make the intended action less clear.
5. Add the short label with Text #
Choose Text and enter Enable for a weekly digest. Place it in the available space beside the setting. The editor supports changing text size and color; choose a size that remains readable when the image is pasted into a narrow ticket view.
Check the label against the screen. It should explain the mark instead of repeating the visible setting name. In a real support image, avoid writing “this is broken” without showing which control or error the sentence refers to.
6. Save the annotated image as PNG #
Use Save image as…, or its documented shortcut Ctrl + Shift + S, and choose a filename such as weekly-summary-setting.png. PNG is a good choice for interface text and sharp lines. Confirm the location and file type before leaving the editor.
If the editor was opened from an after-capture task, Enter continues the configured task chain. Use that route only when the tasks are the ones you intend to run. For this first example, a directly named saved file is easy to find and inspect.
7. Reopen the file and inspect it #
Open the PNG in your usual image viewer. Confirm that the screenshot includes the heading and settings, the rectangle doesn't cover text, the arrow points at the right line, and the label is readable.
For a real screenshot, inspect the entire image before attaching it. A browser tab, username, or file path can remain in the background even when the main region looks harmless. Send the saved image only after that pass.
Known problems and fixes #
Print Screen opens Windows Snipping Tool
ShareX issue 6943 documents Windows intercepting the key. The linked discussion describes disabling Use the Print screen key to open Snipping Tool under Windows Accessibility → Keyboard. You can also avoid the conflict by using Capture → Region from ShareX, as this walkthrough does. Don't edit the registry just to complete a practice capture.
Save image is disabled in the new editor
In a May 2026 report, Save image was unavailable while Save image as… still worked. Use the latter and choose the output path explicitly. The report said manually creating the automatic screenshot folder didn't solve the disabled button, so don't keep rebuilding that folder as the first fix.
Troubleshooting table #
| Problem | What to check | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Windows opens its own snipping overlay | Print Screen key handling | Use Capture → Region or change the Windows keyboard setting |
| Editor doesn't appear | After-capture task selection | Enable Open in image editor |
| Region selection doesn't finish | Multi-region mode | Press Enter after choosing the regions |
| Save image is unavailable | Editor opened without an existing file path | Use Save image as… and choose a path |
| Text looks small in a ticket | Destination scales down the image | Capture a tighter region or enlarge the annotation text |
| Output is missing the annotations | Wrong saved file or unfinished edit | Reopen the named output and inspect it before sending |
Variations #
Capture the same region again
Use Capture → Last region when you need another picture of the same area. This keeps before-and-after images comparable. Check that the window hasn't moved and that the second image shows the intended state.
Explain a sequence
Use step markers when the image genuinely contains several actions. Keep the numbering aligned with the written instructions. If the steps happen on different screens, separate captures are often clearer than squeezing everything into one image.
Choose a simpler Windows editor
Greenshot is another free Windows choice for quick boxes and arrows. ShareX vs Greenshot explains when the smaller workflow is a better fit. Windows Snipping Tool can also cover a one-time region grab.
Completion checklist #
- The PNG contains only the region needed to explain the setting.
- The rectangle leaves the original words visible.
- The arrow points to the intended line.
- The label stays readable at the recipient's likely image size.
- The saved file reopens with the annotations intact.
- The entire image has been checked before sharing.
Next steps #
Use the ShareX listing for official downloads, compare the eight free screenshot tools, or browse ShareX alternatives if you need another operating system's capture workflow.
