Using Clink
Screenshots
Capture part of your screen, mark it up and save it.
Clink takes screenshots of any area of your screen and saves them as PNG files. You can draw on them in a built-in editor. Screenshots are always saved on your PC. Nothing is uploaded unless you ask.
Take a screenshot
Press PrintScreen. The screen freezes. Drag a rectangle over the part you want, on any monitor. A magnifier follows the pointer.
| Do this | To |
|---|---|
| Enter or Space with nothing selected | Capture the whole monitor under the pointer |
| Esc | Cancel |
| Right-click | Clear the selection you are making. With none, cancel the capture. |
| Arrow keys | Move the pointer 1 pixel (hold Shift for 10) |
| PrintScreen again | Cancel |
You can also use Take screenshot in the tray menu, or run Clink.exe --screenshot.
Default hotkeys
| Hotkey | Action |
|---|---|
| PrintScreen | Take screenshot |
| Shift PrintScreen | Edit last screenshot |
Clink adds these once, if the keys are free. Change or remove them under Hotkeys on the Capture tab. A removed hotkey doesn't come back. While Clink runs, PrintScreen takes a Clink screenshot. If you turn Screenshots off under App, the keys go back to Windows.
After capture
The After capture setting on the Screenshots tab decides what happens next.
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Save only (default) | Saves the picture at once. The notification has an Edit button. |
| Open editor | Opens the editor first. Done saves it. |
| Edit on screen | You draw on the chosen area right on the screen. Enter or Done saves it, Cancel throws it away. Esc steps back, then discards. An area across several monitors opens the editor window instead. |
Saving and the clipboard
Screenshots are PNG files in the folder set under Screenshots folder on the Screenshots tab. Left empty, that is a Screenshots folder inside your clips folder, so Videos\Clink\Screenshots by default.
Files are named Game name 2025-01-31 21-04-05.png, or "Screenshot" when no game applies. A repeated name gets (2) and so on.
Copy the image to the clipboard is on by default, so you can paste straight into Paint, Discord, Word or a browser.
A Screenshot saved notification shows the size and whether it was copied. Its buttons are Open, Edit, Upload and Folder. Upload only appears if you have signed in to Copium and cloud sharing is on, and it is hidden while automatic upload is on. Turn the notification off, or change how long it stays, on the Alerts tab.
The editor
Tools
| Tool | Key | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Select | V | Select, move and resize |
| Pen | P | Freehand pen |
| Line | L | Straight line. Shift snaps to 45 degrees. |
| Arrow | Shift A | Straight arrow |
| Freehand arrow | A | Draw a curve; the head points the way your hand went |
| Rectangle | R | Outline. Shift makes a square. |
| Text | T | Click, type, Enter to finish, Shift Enter for a new line |
| Crop | C | Choose the part to keep. Reset crop undoes it. |
Effects:
| Effect | Key | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Blur | B | Blur a rectangle |
| Pixelate | X | Pixelate an area |
| Highlight | H | Highlight a rectangle, or freehand |
| Spotlight | S | Keep a box sharp, blur and darken the rest |
| Magnify | M | The enlarged copy appears beside it |
| Erase | E | Smart erase: drag over what to remove and the background is continued into it |
Insert image (I) adds a recent screenshot, a file or the clipboard picture. It takes PNG, JPG or BMP up to 16384 pixels on a side and 100 megapixels. Ctrl V pastes the clipboard picture.
Adjust changes the whole picture, under your annotations: Brightness (-100 to 100), Contrast (-100 to 100) and Sharpness (0 to 200%). Reset puts them back.
Options for the current tool include a Width slider (1 to 40), a text Size slider, Bold, and the text backdrop choices No backdrop, Box and Outline. The editor reopens with the options you used last.
Undo, copy and save
- Undo is Ctrl Z and Redo is Ctrl Y.
- Copy (Ctrl C) puts the picture on the clipboard. Save (Ctrl S) saves it as a PNG.
- Fit (Ctrl 0) and 100% (Ctrl 1) change the zoom.
- Done (Ctrl Enter) saves, copies and closes.
- Closing with unsaved edits asks "Save your edits?" with Yes, No and Cancel.
Edit the last screenshot
Press Shift PrintScreen, use Edit last screenshot in the tray menu, or run Clink.exe --screenshot-edit-last. Clink brings the open editor forward, or reopens your last edit if it is still in memory (about 15 minutes), or opens your newest screenshot as a flat picture. If you haven't taken one, Clink says "No screenshot to edit".
Saving an edit writes a new file. The original isn't overwritten. Saving again in the same session replaces that session's edited file.
To edit any PNG, run Clink.exe --screenshot-edit followed by the file path.
Limits
- The mouse cursor isn't in screenshots.
- On an HDR monitor, bright highlights are clipped, because screenshots use a standard-range copy of the screen.
- A game in exclusive fullscreen can give a black or stale picture. Clink warns "Screenshot is black" and suggests borderless windowed mode.
- Screenshots aren't clips. They appear under Screenshots in the library, not Clips.
To upload screenshots to Copium, see Share to Copium.