Microsoft Teases New Windows 11 Snipping Tool, Dark Mode for Word

News
By Nathaniel Mott
published

A sight for sore eyes

Microsoft Word dark mode
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft teased an updated Windows 11 Snipping Tool meant to make it easier to capture and edit screenshots of the operating system's new user interface (hat-tip to ComputerBase) as well as a long-overdue dark mode for Word on Twitter yesterday.

Windows Insider Program members should be able to experiment with the new Snipping Tool soon, Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay tweeted, but he didn't offer a specific time frame for the redesigned utility's expected debut.

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The new utility appears to combine some of the features available in Windows 10's built-in Snipping Tool and the Snip & Sketch app found in the Microsoft Store, which should make it simpler for the average Windows 11 user to take better screenshots.

Speaking of screenshots: Microsoft also teased a new dark mode coming to Microsoft Word from its official Twitter account, and the social media manager responsible for that tweet was even less verbose than Panay was in his teaser:

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Responses to that tweet varied. Some folks pointed out how to enable dark mode in certain apps using various workarounds. Others asked for Microsoft to enable dark mode in Task Manager, Device Manager, and other default Windows apps.

And of course GitHub called out its parent company's lackluster dark mode reveal by re-sharing the grandiose video it used to announce its own shift in color scheme:

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Microsoft started testing Word's new dark mode in February; now it seems it's almost ready to see the light of day. Or, well, you know what we mean. Hopefully the company doesn't wait until Windows 11's release to take pity on Word users' eyes.

Nathaniel Mott
Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Giroro
    Microsoft has already talked about how they are forcing "snip and sketch" in Windows 11. It does the same thing as snipping tool... but with a slower interface that is less readable and not as space-efficient. It is very much in the Windows 11 philosophies of "slow form over fast function", "oversized unlabled icons that are all the same color", and "Use this feature the exact way we tell you to, whether you like it or not". That is why nobody uses snip and sketch, despite the snipping tool telling everybody to use it for the last 2+ years.
    It's been preinstalled on every windows 10 machine I've used lately.

    I don't think Microsoft's B-team has fully figured out that Windows 8 isn't reviled because their "Metro" design had too much color and readability. It was because all the giant icons were a huge waste of space for a desktop environment, often made it harder to figure out what was going on, and didn't actually do much to improve the tablet experience.
    They think it makes windows easier to learn for new users, but the interface is increasingly impenetrable to anybody who hasn't spent the last decade or two memorizing the meaning of these icons. it's not streamlined, they're just replacing critical information with hieroglyphics.

    Like, how is a kid supposed to figure out how to save a file when the menu has been entirely removed and replaced with an icon of an unlabled floppy disk? They don't know what a floppy disk is.

    I don't think it's any surprise that the more Microsoft pushes this design, the more users they lose to Crome OS. If Microsoft keeps copying the competition's drawbacks without understanding Google's advantages, then why pay the Windows premium?
    Reply
  • mdd1963
    ...and you thought you might be able to live with WIn10 a while longer...!

    And then THIS wondrous carrot is dangled!!!

    :)
    Reply
  • JoBalz
    I don't think it's any surprise that the more Microsoft pushes this design, the more users they lose to Crome OS. If Microsoft keeps copying the competition's drawbacks without understanding Google's advantages, then why pay the Windows premium?
    The more I learn of the changes in Win 11, the less incentive I feel to move from Win 10 Pro. It works very well for me as it is, if I wanted a tablet interface I'd buy a tablet (and at this rate, not with Win 11).
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    Meh. Call me in 2025 when Microsoft shuts down security updates.
    Reply
  • ThatMouse
    Windows 10 has two snipping tools lol! Who cares really? These are apps. Windows has tons of apps! What does this have to do with the OS?
    Reply
  • kyzarvs
    Can't imagine it will be as easy to use as Greenshot. I must use that 15 times a day when working - one of the must-have tools.
    Reply
  • JoBalz said:
    I don't think it's any surprise that the more Microsoft pushes this design, the more users they lose to Crome OS. If Microsoft keeps copying the competition's drawbacks without understanding Google's advantages, then why pay the Windows premium?
    The more I learn of the changes in Win 11, the less incentive I feel to move from Win 10 Pro. It works very well for me as it is, if I wanted a tablet interface I'd buy a tablet (and at this rate, not with Win 11).
    Same here. I’m going to stick with windows 10 until it’s retired I have decided. Since I don’t game after that I might move to Linux
    Reply
  • Roland Of Gilead
    Have any of the posters here actually used Windows 11?
    Reply
  • voyteck
    I'm definitely not waiting for the dark mode. There are basically two factors that cause sore eyes (apart from some backlight issues in case of astigmatism) : contrast and contrast — between the screen and the wall behind and between the font and the background. I simply put two desktop lamps behind my Ultra HD display and change the font color of the style Normal to 75% black. This is as kind for my eyes as a traditional book.

    Besides, a dark mode hinders reading speed and comprehension.
    Reply
  • eye4bear
    Admin said:
    Microsoft teased a new Snipping Tool that's set to arrive with Windows 11 and Word's long-overdue dark mode on Twitter.

    Microsoft Teases New Windows 11 Snipping Tool, Dark Mode for Word : Read more
    Again MS has made me laugh out loud... like this is a major "new" thing. I have been able to use various dark themes (as well as several dozen others) in all my Linux distros for YEARS. Plus, has everyone collectively forgotten the Win blinds themeing third party program that was super popular back in 98/XP days that did this same kind of thing? This is way NOT new really. Besides, to me this is more like changing the curtains/rug than Windows itself.
    Reply