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Feature · Free on Windows

Stop losing work to a crash

Automatic recovery keeps a crash-safe copy of your in-progress annotations and finished recordings, so a crash or a closed window does not cost you the capture.

Download Maxisnap Free How to turn it on

Automatic recovery is a safety net for the two moments Maxisnap can lose work: an annotation you have not saved yet, and a video you just finished recording. When it is on, Maxisnap writes a working copy of that in-progress annotation and that completed recording to a separate recovery folder, so if the app closes, the machine reboots, or a window is dismissed by accident, the capture is still there when you come back. It is on by default, it lives in its own folder away from your saved screenshots, you decide how long recovered copies are kept, and you can switch it off entirely.

Coverage

What automatic recovery protects

Recovery targets the work that is easiest to lose, not every file on disk. An annotation you are still editing — arrows placed, a region blurred, text added, but not yet saved or uploaded — is held safely so an interruption does not erase the markup. A finished recording is protected the same way: once a screen recording completes, its file is written to the recovery folder before anything else can go wrong, which matters most for a long capture you would hate to redo. Screenshots you have already saved are on disk and do not need recovery; this feature is about the gap between capturing something and saving it.

In-progress annotations

The markup you have added in the editor is held safely before you save, so a crash mid-edit does not send you back to the start.

Completed recordings

A finished screen recording is written to the recovery folder, so a long capture survives an app close or a reboot.

Setup

How to set up automatic recovery

Automatic recovery is a single switch in Settings, on by default. Open Settings to confirm it is on and choose two things: the folder where recovered copies are written, and how long they are kept before Maxisnap cleans them up. A separate folder keeps recovery copies from cluttering the location where you save finished screenshots, and a retention window keeps that folder from growing without limit. After that it runs quietly in the background; you only notice it when you need it.

  1. 01

    Check it is on in Settings

    Automatic recovery is on by default. Leave it on, or switch it off if you would rather no copies are kept.

  2. 02

    Pick a recovery folder

    Choose where recovered copies are written. Keeping it separate from your saved-screenshots folder makes recovered files easy to find and easy to ignore when you do not need them.

  3. 03

    Set a retention window

    Decide how long recovered copies are kept. A short window suits a tidy machine; a longer one gives you more time to notice something went missing.

By design

Why the switch is yours

Automatic recovery writes extra copies of your captures to disk, so the switch stays yours. Some people want every unsaved annotation held for a month; others keep sensitive captures and would rather nothing lingers in a second folder. Turning it off is one switch, the folder and the retention window are yours to set, and recovery copies are never uploaded. It is the same privacy-first stance as the rest of Maxisnap: capture contents stay on your machine unless you choose to share them.

Frequently asked

Auto-save & recovery FAQ

Does Windows automatically save screenshots?

In Windows 11, Microsoft's Snipping Tool guide, read in October 2026, says screenshots are copied to your clipboard and, if automatic saving is on, saved in Pictures > Screenshots. Maxisnap’s automatic recovery covers annotations and recordings by keeping a crash-safe copy until you save the file yourself.

Can I recover a screenshot I lost when Maxisnap closed?

If automatic recovery was on (it is on by default), yes — check the recovery folder shown in Settings for the in-progress annotation or finished recording. If you had switched it off, there is nothing to recover.

Where are recovered files kept?

In a separate recovery folder you choose, kept apart from where you save finished screenshots. You also set a retention window, so recovered copies are cleaned up automatically after the time you pick.

Does recovery upload anything?

No. Recovered copies are written to a local folder on your own machine. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you separately choose to upload a screenshot.

Arm the safety net, free

A 109 MB Windows installer with capture, annotation, recording, and optional crash-safe recovery.

Download Free for Windows See all features

Related: scrolling capture · contextual filenames · where screenshots save · screen recording