How to take a screenshot in Windows

Screenshots are a useful tool for a variety of purposes, from capturing information for work or school to simply saving memories of your computer screen. Luckily, Windows makes it easy to take screenshots with several different methods available for users.

In this post, we’ll explore the available ways of taking a screenshot in Windows.

1. Print Screen (PrtScn) Key

The most classic way of capturing an image of your screen in Windows is by using the Print Screen key on your keyboard. This key is usually labeled “PrtScn” or “Print Screen”. When you press the key, the system captures an image of the entire screen and stores it in the clipboard.

To access the screenshot, you can open an image editing program like Microsoft Paint, paste the image (either by pressing Ctrl+V or by right-clicking and selecting “Paste”), and then save the file.

Note that the Print Screen key captures an image of the entire screen, including any open windows and desktop icons. If you only want to capture a portion of the screen, you can use other methods like the Snipping Tool.

2. Windows Key + Print Screen (Win+PrtScn) Keys

Windows 8 and later versions also offer a quick way to capture a full-screen screenshot. Simply press the Windows Key + Print Screen keys simultaneously and the system will automatically save a PNG image file of your entire screen in the “Screenshots” folder in your “Pictures” directory.

You don’t need to paste the image into an editing program or save it manually, as Windows automatically takes care of the task for you.

3. Alt + Print Screen (Alt+PrtScn) Keys

If you want to take a screenshot of a specific window instead of the entire screen, you can use the Alt + Print Screen keys.

• click the window you want to capture to make it the active window
• press Alt + Print Screen simultaneously.

This captures the image of the active window and stores it in the clipboard, so you can paste it into an image editing program and save the file.

4. Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool is a built-in Windows tool that allows you to capture screenshots using a variety of methods. You can take full-screen shots, rectangular snips, and snips of a selected window.

To access the Snipping Tool, simply type “Snipping Tool” in the search bar on your Windows taskbar and select the app from the results that appear.

Once you open the Snipping Tool, select the type of snip you want to take and drag the cursor over the desired area. The tool will grab a screenshot of the selected area and open it in a new window, where you can edit and save the file.

5. Windows Key + Shift + S

Windows 10 introduced an additional method for taking screenshots using the Windows Key + Shift + S respectively. This method allows you to take screenshots of a specific portion of the screen and saves the capture directly to the clipboard.

On invoking the shortcut, the screen will darken and a small toolbar with four options will appear at the top. From there, you can select the type of capture you want to take which includes Freeform Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip, or Fullscreen Snip.

Once you have the selection area selected, the contents will be copied to the clipboard. You can paste it directly into an image editing tool or save the image to your preferred location.

In conclusion, while there are many ways to take screenshots in Windows, these five methods are some of the most common and useful. Whether you prefer quick shortcuts or more specialized tools, Windows offers plenty of options for capturing and sharing images of your screen.