Screenshots are useful! We usually take screenshots to save something important or to help others quickly understand the point. Taking screenshots is not enough. You might wish to edit a screenshot by cropping it, resizing it, highlighting part of it, or adding text to it.

This comprehensive post will share how to edit screenshots on all devices, including Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

Let's dive in!

Why edit screenshots

In most cases, a simple screenshot is not enough. Whether you are using the screenshots for help center articles, on your website, or to share with others, there are many reasons why you want to edit the screenshot before use it.

• Save your time: If a screenshot you captured is not okay, such as including unwanted content, you can quickly edit it instead of grabbing a new screenshot.
• Protect your sensitive information: Sometimes, your screenshot might have your personal or any sensitive information. Then, you can edit the screenshot by blurring any part to protect your info.
• Make your screenshot better to understand: A plain screenshot could include too much info. Adding highlights, steps, text, and other elements can help others quickly get to the point.
• Keep standard images: Your brand might have its requirements on all the screenshots, like the fixed width/height, borderline, brand watermark, and so on. Thus, you have to edit the screenshot to meet the requirements.

How to edit a screenshot on Mac and Windows

Mac and Windows have a native screenshot tool that allows you to take a screenshot and edit it. But the built-in screenshot tool only has basic editing/annotation features.

If you need to edit the screenshots well, you are suggested to try a third-party screenshot tool. Awesome Screenshot & Recorder would be your top choice, as it is a browser extension available on both Windows and Mac.  

Awesome Screenshot & Recorder can help you capture screenshots from your Windows or Mac desktop. Once a screenshot is captured by this tool, you will have the option to resize or crop it and add highlights, text, shapes, arrows, borders, steps, and watermarks to it. Better still, it allows you to annotate any images/screenshots made by other tools.

Let's dive into how to edit a screenshot on Mac and Windows using Awesome Screenshot & Recorder.

Step 1. Download and install the Awesome Screenshot & Recorder extension to your Chrome or other browsers. Launch it once the installation is done.

Step 2. Select the "Capture" tab and click "Annotate Local & Clipboard Image".

Step 3. Choose and open an image on your Windows or Mac.

Step 4. You will see the annotation toolbar and your screenshot on the following page. You can use the tools to edit your image.

• Resize: Adjust the image's width or/and height according to your needs.
• Crop: Select the area that you want to keep in the screenshot. The unnecessary part will be cut off.
• Pen: Use the Pen tool to draw anything you want in the screenshot. You can choose the color and width of the stroke.
• Highlighter: Highlight any critical part in the screenshot with any color.
• Rectangle: Add a rectangle shape to mark any part worth attention.
• Arrow: Add an arrow to point out any important info.
• Text: Add text anywhere in the screenshot. You can set the font, font size, font color, and other effects of the text.
• Blur: Blur any sensitive info in the screenshot to get your information protected.
• Callouts: Add callouts to the screenshot to write down any notes.
• Steps: Add steps markup to the image. Perfect for making instructional screenshots.
• Stickers: Choose from various stickers to make your screenshot more vivid.
• Image: Add any picture from your local storage and put it anywhere in the screenshot.
• Watermark: Add your brand logo or any image to the screenshot as a watermark.
• Border: Add a browser border or padding to your screenshot to add a professional touch.

Step 5. Once you have done the annotation, you just click "Copy" to paste it anywhere else. Or you can also hit the blue "Done" button and then download it to your PC or share it to the cloud.

How to edit a screenshot on an Android device

Android comes with a screenshot tool for screenshot capture and editing. It allows you to crop the screenshot, add text, and more. Screenshot editing is simple on Android.

Step 1. Open your Android phone and stay on any page. Press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously to take a screenshot from that page.

Step 2. Tap on the screenshot preview in the bottom-left corner or hit the “Edit” button to go to the editing page of the screenshot.

Step 3. At the bottom of the following editing page, you can use the tools to edit the screenshot as you like. You can crop it, draw anything on it and add text or highlights.

Step 4. Once the editing is done, tap the "Save" button to save the edited screenshot to your gallery.

If Android's built-in screenshot editor is not enough, you can download third-party screenshot editing apps like ScreenMaster.

How to edit a screenshot on iPhone and iPad

Like Android, the iOS device also has a built-in screenshot tool for users to take and edit a screenshot quickly. If you want to edit a screenshot on your iPhone or iPad, follow the steps below.

Step 1. Open your iPhone or iPad. If it has Touch ID, you press the Home button and Power button together to take a screenshot; If it has Face ID, you press the Power button and Volume Up button together.

Step 2. A screenshot preview will appear in the bottom-left corner. You just tap on it to edit it further.

Step 3. In the following editing page, you can start editing. You can crop the screenshot, draw on it, add text, etc.

Step 4. Once the editing is done, you just hit the "Done" button to save it to your Photos app.

If you want to edit a screenshot or image already in the Photos app, you can open that image and tap the "Edit" icon at the top.

If you need an advanced tool to edit a screenshot, you can try downloading and using the Picsart app.

Conclusion

You know how to edit a screenshot on any of your devices now. These solutions will save you a lot of time in editing screenshots. Just have a try whenever you are available!