How to Pin a Screenshot on Top of Other Windows in Windows 11

You're typing numbers from one window into another. Or you're following steps from a doc while you click around in an app. Every few seconds you Alt+Tab back to check what you were supposed to type.

What you really want is a little picture of the thing you need, floating on top of everything, right where you can see it.

Windows doesn't have a "pin this screenshot" button. But there are a few ways to get there. Here are three, from "works with what you've got" to "one drag and done."

Option 1: Snip it, open it, and pin the window with PowerToys

If you already use Microsoft PowerToys, this works with free tools.

1. Press Win + Shift + S and grab the area you need.
2. Click the notification so the snip opens in the Snipping Tool.
3. Press Win + Ctrl + T. That's the PowerToys Always On Top shortcut, and it keeps the active window above everything else. Press it again to turn it off.

It works, but you're pinning a whole app window, toolbar and all, not just your snip. It takes up a lot of room, and you have to do it every time.

Option 2: Use a screenshot app that pins

Some screenshot tools have pinning built in:

• ShareX (free, open source) has a Pin to screen tool. You can pin a region, the clipboard or a file, and resize it with the mouse wheel.
• Snipaste (free for personal use) is built around this idea. Press F1 to snip, then F3 to paste it as a floating window.
• PixPin pins images, text and colors to your screen like sticky notes.

These are good tools. They're also big tools, with lots of menus and settings you may never touch.

Option 3: One drag with Window Snipping

This is the reason I built Window Snipping. I wanted pinning to be the default, not an extra step.

Hold Win and drag a box around anything. That's it. Your snip pops up as a small window that stays on top of everything else.

From there:

• Drag it wherever you want it
• Press + or – to make it bigger or smaller
• Press Ctrl + T to add a note, Ctrl + F to highlight, or Ctrl + A to draw an arrow
• Press Ctrl + C to copy it, or Ctrl + S to save it
• Press Ctrl + Esc to close it

When a pinned screenshot saves you

Here's where I use it every day:

• Copying numbers between spreadsheets. Snip the column you need and keep it next to the sheet you're typing into.
• Following instructions. Snip the steps from a doc or video and keep them on top of the app you're working in.
• Comparing two things. Snip one version, pin it next to the other, and eyeball the difference.
• Scrolling long pages. Snip the header row, then scroll down. The snip stays put.
• Bringing far-apart things together. Snip two things that are far apart on screen, drag them side by side, and snip both together.

Which one should you use?

If you already have PowerToys and only need this once in a while, Option 1 is fine.

If you want a big, do-everything screenshot app, ShareX is hard to beat for free.

If you want pinning to be one drag, with OCR and markup from the keyboard, grab Window Snipping. It's $4.99 once, and you don't need AutoHotkey installed.