Troubleshooting

Windows

"The program can't start because api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing"

  • Please download and install the correct version of Visual C++ Redistributable for VS 201532-bit | 64-bit
  • If for some reason you are unable to install VC2015, you can also download this zip file (32-bit | 64-bit), then unzip it and put all the dll files into the Snipaste folder.

The 64-bit Snipaste suffers from occasional crashes

  • The cause is still unclear, but you may try out the 32-bit Snipaste. The problem should disappear.
  • If the 32-bit version still crashes, please don't hesitate to file an issue.

"Not a valid 32-bit application" when running on Windows XP 32-bit

After restarting Snipaste, the settings are automatically reset to the defaults

  • Reason: Snipaste cannot write into config.ini under the same folder as Snipaste.exe
  • The solution is thus straightforward: make config.ini writable.
    • Do not put Snipaste into the C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86). Such directories need admin privilege for write permission.
    • Maybe there are some problems with your disk permissions (possibly caused by system upgrade). Please google it yourself because the situation varies.
    • If the problem still exists, running Snipaste as admin should do the trick.

Unable to set the hotkey to some key combinations (e.g. keys with Win)

  • Some of the key combinations with Win are occupied by the system.
  • Similarly, hotkeys that are already occupied by other programs cannot be used by Snipaste. Please disable them in other software first:
    • OneDrive may occupy PrintScreen, please uncheck: OneDrive Settings - "Save screenshots I capture to OneDrive"
    • System screenshot also occupies PrintScreen, please uncheck: System Settings - Accessibility - Keyboard - "Use the Print screen key to open screen capture"

Sometimes the global hotkeys have no response

  • This is a Windows permission issue. If Snipaste is not running with administrator privileges, but the current window is running as administrator, then the shortcuts will not work.
  • Solutions (choose one):
    • Click on the taskbar or another window that's not running as administrator, then press the shortcut.
    • Run Snipaste as administrator.
    • Check the permission levels of other programs, e.g. if Chrome is running as administrator, please restart Chrome without administrator privileges.

"Run on system startup" fails

  • Windows desktop version:
    • Do not check "Run this program as an administrator" in the Properties Dialog of Snipaste.exe.
    • If you checked 'Run on system startup' and 'As administrator' (in the Preference Dialog of Snipaste) on Win 7, and then you upgraded to Win 10 or Win 8, Snipaste may fail to start on boot. There are two solutions for this situation:
      • Open Task scheduler, find the task whose name starts with Snipaste, delete it, then check Run on system startup and As administrator again.
      • Quit Snipaste, open config.ini, change the line startup_fix=true to startup_fix=false, save it and quit, then open Snipaste and check 'Run on system startup' and As administrator again.
  • Windows Store version:
    • Open Task Manager, go to Startup, find Snipaste and check if it is disabled.
    • For some users, Snipaste will fail to run if As administrator is enabled. To fix it, please open config.ini in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\45479liulios.17062D84F7C46_p7pnf6hceqser\LocalState, delete the line as_admin=true, save the file and then restart Snipaste.

UI elements in the web browser cannot be automatically detected when snipping

  • For Google Chrome/Microsoft Edge, please open the page chrome://accessibility/, then enable Native accessibility API support and Web accessibility.
    • These flags are not permanent. They will be cleared after Chrome is closed. If you wish to enable them automatically, you can launch Chrome with the --force-renderer-accessibility flag.
    • When DPI is not 100%, the detection may not be accurate. It's the browser's problem.
  • For Firefox and IE, no extra settings are required by default.
    • If you find it ineffective in Firefox, please:
      • open about:preferences#privacy, uncheck Prevent accessibility services from accessing your browser. Or,
      • open about:config, ensure the value of accessibility.force_disabled is set to 0.

The code has syntax highlight in the code editor, but after pasted by Snipaste, the syntax highlight is lost in the image window

  • It is because the code you copied is pure text and not in HTML format.
  • If you want the text be syntax highlighted, please use code editors that support HTML copy, such as:
    • Visual Studio
      • Need Productivity Power Tools extension and enable its HTML Copy feature
    • Sublime Text 3
    • Visual Studio Code
    • IntelliJ IDEA
    • PyCharm
    • …… (If you are aware of any other well supported editors, please tell me)

The image window cannot be moved across the top border of the screen

  • System Properties - Advanced - Performance settings - Visual effects - Check Show window contents while window dragging - OK
AppExecAlias

macOS

dmg cannot be installed

  • Please try right clicking on it and choose "Open".

Unable to start the App

  • Please try right clicking on it and choose "Open".
  • Try rebooting your system.
  • Still not working? Please file an issue describing your situations and actions taken as detailed as possible (better with screenshots).

Unable to detect elements of user interface / Unable to move the cursor with W/A/S/D key

  • Please go to System Preferences - Security & Privacy - Privacy - Accessibility, remove Snipaste (if exists) and re-add Snipaste.

Only the desktop is shown when snipping starts

  • There comes a new privilege call 'Screen Recording' with macOS 10.15 Catalina. Please go to System Preferences - Security & Privacy - Privacy - Screen Recording, check Snipaste.
  • If Snipaste is already checked and the problem persists, you may need to uncheck it first, then quit Snipaste and check it again before restarting Snipaste.

The screenshot is blurry

  • Connecting/disconnecting a monitor while Snipaste is running may cause the screenshot to be blurry. Restarting Snipaste will solve this case.

UI elements in the web browser cannot be automatically detected when snipping

  • UI element detection is turned off by default. If needed, please go to Preferences - Snip - Behavior and check Auto detect UI elements`, then grant the necessary accessibility permissions.