Buzz
This guide will walk you through the steps to capture screenshots on a Windows computer. Devices running Windows 8 and 10 can use keyboard shortcuts to automatically capture and save full-screen images, while all other Windows versions support full-screen captures by pressing the "Print Screen" key. Additional methods, such as using the Snipping Tool for custom screenshots and capturing screenshots on tablets, are equally effective.
Steps
Capture Full Screen on Windows 8 and 10
Open the screen you want to capture. Before taking a screenshot, ensure the desired screen is clearly visible and not obstructed by other windows or programs.
Locate the "Print Screen" key on your keyboard. The ⎙ Print Screen key is typically found in the upper-right section of the main keyboard (not on the numeric keypad, if your keyboard has one) and often includes "SysReq" ("System Requirements") below it.
- The Print Screen key is usually abbreviated as "PrtSc" or something similar.
Press the ⊞ Win and ⎙ Print Screen keys simultaneously. This action captures the current screen; in most cases, you'll notice the screen briefly dim.
- Your screen may not dim if your computer lacks certain display settings. This is common with older computers upgraded to Windows 10.
- If the screenshot doesn't appear when you search, try pressing Ctrl+⊞ Win+⎙ Print Screen or Fn+⊞ Win+⎙ Print Screen.
Locate your screenshot. You'll find the screenshot in the "Screenshots" folder, saved within the "Pictures" directory on your computer. Each screenshot is named "Screenshot (number)" based on the order in which it was taken.
- For example, your first screenshot will be named "Screenshot (1)".
Capture Full Screen on Any Windows Computer
Open the screen you want to capture. Before taking a screenshot, ensure the desired screen is clearly visible and unobstructed by other windows or programs.
Press the ⎙ Print Screen key located at the top-right corner of the keyboard, to the right of the "Function" keys (such as F12) at the top of the keyboard. Pressing the Print Screen key captures the entire screen's content.
- The Print Screen key may be abbreviated as "PrtSc" or something similar.
- If your computer has an Fn key in the bottom-left corner of the keyboard, you'll need to press Fn and ⎙ Print Screen simultaneously.
Open the Paint application.Start
- On Windows 8, open Search
- On Windows 8, Paint will appear in the search results (Search).
Paste the screenshot. Once the Paint window opens, press Ctrl+V to paste the screenshot. You'll see the screenshot appear in the Paint window.
Save the screenshot. Press Ctrl+S, then name the screenshot, select a folder on the left side of the window to save it, and click Save.
- You can change the screenshot's format by clicking the dropdown in the "Save as type" field at the bottom of the window and selecting a different format (such as JPEG) from the list.
- The most common file formats are JPG and PNG. However, PNG is recommended for screenshots to maintain high quality with smaller file sizes.
Capture Screenshots of Video Games
Capture a Single Window
Click on the window you want to capture. The single-window capture feature will only capture the "active" window on the screen, meaning it must be in front of all other windows.
Hold the Alt key and press ⎙ PrtScr. The window screenshot will be copied to the clipboard. The image size will match the window's dimensions at the time of capture.
- You won't receive any confirmation that the screenshot has been taken.
Open the Paint application.Start
- On Windows 8, open Search
- On Windows 8, Paint will appear in the search results (Search).
Paste the screenshot. Once the Paint window opens, press Ctrl+V to paste the screenshot. You'll see the window screenshot displayed in the Paint application.
- You can also paste the screenshot into other software, such as Word or an email editor. Simply open the desired software and press Ctrl+V.
Save the screenshot as an image file. Click File, select Save, name the image, choose a folder on the left side of the page, and click Save.
- You can change the screenshot's format by clicking the dropdown in the "Save as type" field at the bottom of the window and selecting a different format (such as JPEG) from the list.
- The most common file formats are JPG and PNG. However, PNG is recommended for screenshots to maintain high quality with smaller file sizes.
Using the Snipping Tool
Open the Snipping Tool application.
snipping toolSnipping Tool
Select the screenshot type. The default option is usually "Rectangular Snip." Click the arrow next to the Mode button to change the screenshot style:
- Free-form Snip allows you to draw any shape on the screen using your mouse. The area inside the shape will be captured.
- Rectangular Snip lets you select a rectangular area to capture.
- Window Snip enables you to capture a specific window.
- Full-screen Snip captures the entire screen, including all displayed windows (except the Snipping Tool window).
Adjust the screenshot border. By default, all your screenshots will have a red border. You can remove or change the border by clicking the Tools tab in the top-left corner of the Snipping Tool, selecting Options from the dropdown, and unchecking the box next to "Show selection ink after snips are captured." This will remove the border from all future screenshots.
Capture a new screenshot. Click the New button to start the selection process. The screen will dim, allowing you to draw the area to capture or select a window if you chose the Window Snip mode. Release the mouse after selecting the area.
- If you selected Full-screen Snip, the screenshot will automatically appear in the tool after clicking New.
Annotate the screenshot. After capturing, a new window will display the screenshot. Use the Pen tool to draw or write notes and the Highlighter tool to emphasize text.
- The Eraser tool removes annotations but does not affect the screenshot itself.
Save the screenshot. Click the floppy disk icon to open the save dialog. Name the screenshot and change the format in the "Save as type:" field if needed. You can email the screenshot or upload it to a website.
- PNG is the default format in Windows 7 and 8. It is a lossless compression format, providing high-quality screenshots with small file sizes. This format is recommended for screenshots.
- JPG or JPEG is the default format in Windows Vista. It is a lossy compression format, which may result in slightly blurry screenshots with less accurate colors. This format is suitable for photos but not ideal for screenshots.
- The GIF format is not ideal for color images but works well for graphics or logos with solid color areas, producing sharp edges between colors.
the screenshot. By default, the screenshot is copied to the clipboard after capture. This means you can paste it into Paint or Word, similar to capturing a full-screen image. In Paint, you can perform more advanced edits compared to the annotation tools in Snipping Tool.
- To paste the screenshot, open a window that supports pasting and press Ctrl+V.
Using Snipping Tool Shortcuts
Select the page you want to capture. Open the software or screen you wish to capture, ensuring any unwanted windows or information are closed before taking the screenshot.
Press ⊞ Win+⇧ Shift+S. This will turn the screen light gray and change the cursor to a crosshair.
Select the area to capture. Click and drag the mouse from the top-left corner of the area you want to capture to the bottom-right corner.
- For example, to capture the entire screen, click and drag the cursor from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Release the mouse. This action captures the selected area as a screenshot and saves it to the clipboard, allowing you to paste it into any software that supports image pasting.
Paste the screenshot. Open any software that supports image pasting (such as Paint, Word, etc.) and press Ctrl+V. You'll see the previously selected screen area displayed here.
- You can save the screenshot by pressing Ctrl+S, naming the file, selecting a save folder, and clicking Save.
- The image can also be pasted into certain online services, such as email.
Capture Multiple Windows Simultaneously
Learn about this trick. The "PSR.exe" software pre-installed on every Windows computer allows you to record up to 100 different screens and save them into a single data file. This tool also notes where you click and the actions you perform on each screen.
Open the first page you want to capture. This will be the initial page among the series of pages you wish to screenshot.
Open the Run program. Type run and click Run at the top of the Start window.
Enter the command to open PSR. Type psr.exe into the Run window.
Click OK at the bottom of the Run window. This will open a small rectangular toolbar at the top of the screen.
Click on Start Record at the top of the toolbar.
Settings...
Click through different screenshots. Every time the screen changes (not just moving the mouse), the Steps Recorder will automatically capture a screenshot.
Click Stop Record at the top of the toolbar. This will stop recording screen changes and open the results window.
Review the screenshots. Scroll through the window to ensure you have all the screenshots you want to save.
Save the screenshots into a ZIP folder. Click Save at the top of the window, enter a name for the file, choose a save location, and click Save.
- This will save the screenshots in an HTML file. You can open the HTML file using your computer's Internet Explorer browser to view the content.
Using a Windows Tablet
Open the screen you want to capture. Before taking a screenshot, ensure the desired screen is clearly visible and unobstructed by other windows or programs.
Press and hold the Windows logo on the tablet's screen, not the Windows button on a desktop.
- If there is no Windows button on the tablet, you can press the Power button instead.
Press the Volume Down button (or Volume Up if using the Power button). The screen will briefly dim, indicating the screenshot has been captured.
- Your screenshot will be saved in the Screenshots folder, which you can access by opening File Explorer and navigating to Pictures → Screenshots.
Tips
- When using Microsoft OneNote, pressing ⊞ Win+S will display a rectangular screenshot selection. This makes the screenshot appear as an image in OneNote. This method also works on Windows XP, which does not have the Snipping Tool.
- On laptop keyboards, the ⎙ PrtScr key may require combination with another key. This means you might need to press the Fn or "Function" key to use it. This key is usually located in the bottom row of the keyboard.
- If you plan to upload screenshots to a website, ensure the file size does not exceed the specified limit.
- The Snipping Tool is not available in all versions of Windows. If your version of Windows does not include the Snipping Tool, you can use a free Snipping Tool alternative.
Warning
- Saving screenshots in certain formats (such as bitmaps) can result in large file sizes. Therefore, it is recommended to use PNG or JPEG formats for better efficiency.
- Screenshots may not capture content being played on Windows Media Player.
- Most screenshots will not display the mouse cursor.
