“Failed to open the file” Error in Snipping Tool or Snip & Sketch App

When you use the Snipping Tool to screenshot the screen or a window, the snip may be copied to the clipboard but the Snipping Tool can’t open the image. The following error appears after taking a screenshot:

Snipping Tool

Failed to open the file.

snip failed to open the file

On Windows 10, the Snip & Sketch tool may throw the same error after taking a snip:

Snip & Sketch

Failed to open the file.

Snip & Sketch failed to open the file

The above error pops up when you click on the “Snip copied to clipboard – Select here to mark up and share the image” notification (at the bottom right corner of the screen) after taking a snip using Snipping Tool/Snip & Sketch app or using the Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcut.



Note: On Windows 11, classic Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch apps are now called “Snipping Tool”. On Windows 10, as of this writing (v21H2), the “Snipping Tool” and “Snip & Sketch” are separate apps.

The above error occurs if the Data Sharing Service (DsSvc) is disabled. This service provides data brokering between applications.

[Fix] “Failed to open the file” Snip Error in Windows 10/11

To fix the “Failed to open the file” error in the Snipping Tool or Snip & Sketch app, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click Start, click Run.
  2. Type “services.msc” and click OK.
  3. Double-click “Data Sharing Service.”
  4. Set its Startup type to Manual.
  5. Start the service by clicking “Start”.
  6. Exit the Services console.

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Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a consecutive ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in the Windows Shell/Desktop Experience category, from 2003 to 2012. He loves to troubleshoot and write about Windows. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

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