If you’ve upgraded your OS to Windows 11, you may have noticed that the window corners for your dialog boxes are now rounded. While this gives the interface a more modern look, it can create issues if you create content that requires screenshots of these boxes, as we do here at ASCENT.
With a square dialog box, it’s easy to capture the window without capturing any of the background – you simply drag your selection box from corner to corner. With the rounded corners, you can no longer capture a dialog box cleanly – either the corners are cut off, or you get parts of the background captured at the same time. Maybe not a big deal, but I personally prefer to use screenshots that are free from any extra ‘noise’ or background, as it provides a more professional look.
So, what can you do? As of the writing of this blog, there isn’t an option to revert to sharp corners in Windows, though there appear to be some options that could be used as a workaround (changing the registry, using high contrast settings, using third-party tools – I’ll let you Google these yourself!). If you’re not looking to use one of these options, you may need to work with the rounded corners as is. Here are some tips:
-
If possible, move the dialog box onto a white/blank background (or other appropriate background for your project) before taking your screenshot.
-
Leave a bit of space around the dialog box to maintain the rounded corners instead of cutting them off. Try to ensure the space is even around the perimeter of the box.
-
If you maximize the dialog box, the corners will square off to fit the screen. This may only be a solution in some cases though, as maximizing the dialog box may make it unproportionate or too big to fit in your document legibly.
-
Use an image editor to crop out the background while maintaining the rounded corners. Snagit provides an easy way to do this (see below!) – explore your own image editing software to see if it does as well.
How to Round Corners in Snagit
-
Start by capturing your dialog box using Snagit’s capture tool. Be sure to capture the dialog box right at the edges, without cutting off the corners (or capture it with space around the box and crop it in Snagit Editor).
-
In Snagit Editor, hover your cursor over the image until the yellow diamond appears. Click on the diamond and move it to adjust the radius to round the corners of the screenshot.
This will round all four corners equally, which is why you need to ensure your crop is the same on all four sides.
I hope you find these tips helpful!
About the Author
Follow on Linkedin More Content by Breanne MacDonald
