6 Easy Ways to Capture Screenshots in Windows 11 Using Shortcut Keys

Similar to Windows 10, Windows 11 offers numerous ways to take screenshots without the need for third-party software. You can use shortcut keys like PrtScn, Snip & Sketch, Snipping Tools, or Xbox Game Bar to capture screenshots in Windows 11.

Guide to Taking Screenshots on Windows 11, Take a Screenshot on Windows 11

Compilation of Various Methods to Capture Screenshots on Windows 11

Method 1: Capture Screenshots in Windows 11 Using the PrtScn Key

Laptops and Windows PCs are equipped with a PrtScn key, allowing users to quickly capture the computer screen without using software. By combining the PrtScn key with another function key or using it separately in various ways, users can easily capture the entire Windows 11 screen or just a specific window, then store it in different locations on their computer.

Capture Windows 11 Screenshots and Save Them in the Screenshot Folder on Your Computer's Hard Drive

If you want to capture screenshots of the entire screen and save them on your computer's hard drive, simply press the Windows + PrtScn or Windows + Fn + PrtScn key combination (depending on the configuration and keyboard system of the user's device). After the screen shots are taken, they will be automatically saved in the Screenshots folder.

To access the Screenshots folder, you can open the Start menu then search for the keyword 'Screenshots', and click on the Folders tab.

Once you've opened the Screenshots folder, you'll see the captured screen shots saved and numbered sequentially according to the capture time.

Capture Windows 11 Screen Images and Copy to Clipboard

Capturing numerous screen images and saving them on your hard drive can consume a considerable amount of memory space, while also making it much more difficult to find a specific screenshot when needed.

Instead, simply press the PrtScn or Fn + PrtScn key (depending on your device) to temporarily copy the desired full-screen capture to the Clipboard. Then press Ctrl + V to paste the captured image anywhere you want, from image editing software to web chats that allow image sharing like Messenger...

When you don't need to capture the entire Windows 11 screen but only a specific window, use the ALT + PrtScn key combination. Similarly, the captured image will be copied to the Clipboard and can be used as described above.

Note: Once users have assigned the PrtScn key (or Fn + PrtScn) to open the Snip & Sketch tool (as mentioned in the later part of the article), the task of capturing screen images and copying them to Clipboard will no longer be available.

Method 2: Use Snip & Sketch tool to capture Windows 11 screen images

Snip & Sketch is a built-in application on the Windows platform, allowing users to capture computer screen images without additional software, accompanied by image editing capabilities, while also copying the captured images to Clipboard.

Step 1: Launch Snip & Sketch by pressing the Windows + Shift + S key combination.

A toolbar will appear at the top of the screen. With this toolbar, you can find various operation options with Snip & Sketch including: capture rectangular frame (Rectangular Snip), capture freeform frame (Freeform Snip), capture a window (Windows Snip), capture full screen (Fullscreen Snip), and exit Snip & Sketch button (Close Snipping).

Step 2: After capturing the computer screen, a notification window will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen, click on this notification to open the captured screen image with the Snip & Sketch software.

Step 3: Perform image editing steps using the tools built into the toolbar in the middle. Meanwhile, the function button combination on the right side of the toolbar includes functions: zoom, save image, copy to clipboard, and share. If you want to capture a new image, click on the New button in the top left corner of the toolbar.

As mentioned above, users can assign the PrtScn key (or Fn + PrtScn) to quickly open the Snip & Sketch software instead of using the Windows + Shift + S key combination.

To perform this key assignment operation, readers should follow these steps:

Step 1: Access the Start menu, then search for the keyword Settings, and click on the Settings App icon.

Step 2: On the left pane, click on Accessibility.

Step 3: Next, scroll down the menu to the Interaction section and click on the Keyboard option.

Step 4: Click on the toggle switch icon in the 'Use the Print Screen button to open screen snipping' section to switch to On mode.

Step 5: Restart your computer to apply the changes.

Now, you can launch the Snip & Sketch tool simply by pressing the PrtSrn key (or Fn + PrtScn).

Method 3: Capture Windows 11 screen using Snipping Tools

You can also easily capture Windows 11 screen with another built-in software, Snipping Tools.

Generally, Snipping Tools functions quite similarly to Snip & Sketch. However, unlike Snip & Sketch, after capturing the screen, Snipping Tools automatically opens the captured image through the Snipping Tools app. When capturing images, the screen will dim slightly except for the selected area to capture the screen. You can also find some image editing tools available in Snipping Tools.

To capture Windows 11 screen with Snipping Tools, readers can follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Start menu, search with the keyword Snipping Tools, and then click on the Snipping Tool App button.

Step 2: Similar to Snip & Sketch, you can also choose from 4 different screen capture modes in the Mode selection of Snipping Tool including: Rectangular Snip, Freeform Snip, Windows Snip, Fullscreen Snip.

Step 3: You can also customize the delay when capturing the screen with the Delay feature of Snipping Tool.

Step 4: After selecting the capture mode and delay, hold down the right mouse button (with Freeform Snip + Rectangular Snip modes) or choose the window to capture (with Windows Snip mode), then release the mouse and the captured image will automatically open in the Snipping Tool software window.

Step 5: Next, you can use several image editing tools such as: eraser, highlighter, freehand drawing, copy to Clipboard, and save the image.

Method 4: How to capture computer screen with Xbox Game Bar

Not only does the Xbox Game Bar allow screen recording on Windows 11, but it also has the ability to capture computer screen, which can be quite useful. To capture a screenshot on Windows 11 with Xbox Game Bar, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Xbox Game Bar software using the shortcut Windows + G (or you can also open this software through the Start menu)

Step 2: Click on the Capture button on the Xbox Game Bar toolbar.

Step 3: Next, click on the camera icon in the Capture menu to take a screenshot or use the shortcut Windows + ALT + PrtScn (or Windows + ALT + Fn + PrtScn depending on your device).

Step 4: The screenshot taken by Xbox Game Bar will be saved at the following location on your computer: C:\Users\User Account\Videos\Captures.

Note: Replace the 'User Account' segment in the address above with the username you are using to log in to your personal computer.

Method 5: Capture computer screen with ShareX

Step 1: Download the latest version of ShareX here.
Step 2: Simply install as usual, open the ShareX software on your computer, click Capture => select Region.

Note: If you want to capture a long Windows 11 screen, choose the Scrolling capture function...

Step 3: Now a frame appears, hover your mouse over the area to capture on the screen and press Left-click.
Step 4: Immediately the image will be saved to your computer, right-click on the image, select Open => click Folder to open the folder containing the captured screen image in the previous step.

Method 6: Capture computer screen with PicPick

Step 1: Download the latest version of PicPick here.
Step 2: Proceed with installation like any other software, open PicPick on your computer, and select Region.

Step 3: Click Left Mouse Button and drag to the area you want to capture, then release.
- Example: We want to capture the area below, not the entire screen.

Step 4: After capturing, press File => select Save As to save the screen capture image.

Step 5: Choose the image format to save the image to your computer.

With Windows 11, you can capture screenshots without the need for third-party software. All tools like Snipping Tool, Snip & Sketch, or Xbox Game Bar allow you to get the best Windows 11 screenshots.

Additionally, you can explore the top screen capture software for 2021 to choose the most suitable one if you prefer not to use the built-in tools on Windows 11.

Explore now: Best screen capture software for 2021

Moreover, readers can also find many useful tips and tricks on Windows 11 with articles posted by Mytour, such as how to screen record on Windows 11 without software for those who don't know yet.

Discover now: How to record screen on Windows 11

Windows 11 also offers many other useful features to help users work and study conveniently. Among them, the split screen feature on Windows 11 laptops has been detailedly explained by Mytour, which you can refer to for implementation.

Learn more: How to split screen on Windows 11 laptop