In this blog, we’ll cover the complete procedure of taking a screenshot on a Windows PC
How to take a screenshot on a Windows PC is not a difficult task anymore. Screenshots are definitely a handy feature and one that we use on a daily basis. Just think about how many screenshots you have stored on your mobile devices and PCs together. Must be a huge number, right?
From keeping a record of your payments and bookings, capturing some random image you loved to sharing a shot of a work email with your colleague, you can do it all effortlessly with the screenshots feature. With a few clicks and drags, everything you want to capture from your screen is stored on your device and can be accessed by you anytime.
Screenshots are convenient and functional. So, to make sure that you are making the best out of this feature, from our experts at Graphy, here is a complete guide on how to take a screenshot on a Windows PC.
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Follow this through and you will be versed in all the screenshot shortcuts and can conveniently use the one which seems the easiest.
Different ways to take a screenshot on Windows PC
- Snipping tool
Capture your entire screen or a part of it with the versatile snipping tool. There are two easy ways to access the snipping tool on your Windows PC:
Using the search bar
- You can write “snipping tool” into your search bar and click on the application that pops up and access it from there.
- Once you access the snipping tool, this screen will appear and from the drop-down menus, you can choose the mode of your liking and even set a screenshot timer.
Note: When it comes to mode, there are four options, namely:
Rectangle mode: You can box an area that you want to take a screenshot of.
Window mode: This option will capture one window of your choice.
Full-screen mode: It will capture your entire screen including all open tabs and toolbar.
Free-form mode: You can draw and capture any area of your choice.
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Take screenshots immediately: No delay option
- If you select the “full-screen mode”, set the timer to “no delay” and click on “new”, a screenshot will be immediately captured.
- In the other modes including window, rectangle, and free-form one, you can click and drag and select the portion/window of your choice. Then set the timer to “no delay”, click on “new” and your screenshot will be captured.
- Once the screenshot is captured, a tab will appear, from here you can edit, save, copy or share your screenshot.
Set a timer to your screenshot
- As mentioned before, you can schedule your screenshots. For that instead of “no delay” select a time duration i.e., 3 secs, 5 secs, 10 secs from the drop-down menu.
- With the timer too, the procedure is the same. Select the “mode”, set a timer, click on “new” and within the duration you set a screenshot menu will appear at the top center of your screen. As per the mode you selected, the screenshot will be captured. The same tab will appear, and from there you can access your captured screenshot in whichever way you like.
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If you are watching an animation or a video and want the screenshot to be taken at a particular moment, this delayed screenshot option comes in handy. You can set the timer anywhere between 0-10 seconds.
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Windows logo key+Shift+S
- When you use the keyboard shortcut Windows logo key+Shift+S, a screenshot menu or 5 button toolbar will appear at the top-center of your screen.
- From there you can select the mode of your choice like before and the screenshot will be captured and copied to your clipboard. You can simply paste it anywhere and share it.
- The screenshot will also appear as a thumbnail at the bottom-right corner of your screen. You can click on it to mark up, edit, save or share your screenshot.
So, that sums up how to take a screenshot on a Windows PC using the snipping tool.
Where to find your captured screenshots?
The screenshots taken using the snipping tool are saved to your “pictures” by default. But you can rename the file and save it to the folder of your choice.
- Keyboard shortcuts
Apart from the snipping tool, there are several keyboard shortcuts that allow you to take a screenshot on a Windows PC.
These shortcuts primarily use the “Windows icon key” located at the bottom-left of your keyboard and the “Print Screen button” (PrtSc) located at the top-right corner of your keyboard.
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Note: In laptops, you have to use the Function key (Fn) located at the bottom-left of your keyboard along with the PrtSc button to capture screenshots. So, in case the below-mentioned keyboard shortcuts are not working on your PC or Laptop, you can simply add Fn to them all and capture your screenshots.
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Let’s have a look at the shortcuts.
- Print Screen (PrtScn)
If you wish to capture the entire screen and all your open tabs and toolbar in one single screenshot, you can simply use the PrtSc button.
Note that when you use this option, your screenshot will not be saved to your desktop but copied to your clipboard and you can then paste it anywhere you like.
- Win + Alt + Print Screen
If you wish to take a screenshot on your Windows PC of just the active window you can use the keyboard shortcut: Win + Alt + Print Screen. Basically, you have to press down the Window, ALt, and PrtSc buttons simultaneously.
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When you use this command, your screenshot will be saved to Videos>Captures by default. You can directly access your screenshots from there.
- Win + Shift + S
We have already discussed this method in detail. It allows you to take screenshots using the snipping tool that we discussed before. Using this you can capture a rectangular Snip, Freeform Snip, Window Snip, or Fullscreen Snip as per your choice.
- Win + G
This keyboard shortcut opens your Xbox Game Bar. In the top-left corner, a camera icon will appear, you can click on it to capture a screenshot. When you use this command, your screenshot will be saved to Videos>Captures by default. This is one of the easiest ways to take a screenshot on a Windows PC.
- Win + Print Screen
The Window icon key+PrtSc option works exactly like the Prtscn one we discussed before. You have to press down the window and PrtSc button simultaneously.
The only difference is that this keyboard shortcut doesn’t copy your screenshot to the clipboard but directly saves your screenshot to Pictures>Screenshots or OneDrive>Pictures>Screenshots on your PC.
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- Alt + Print Screen
In case you wish to take a screenshot on a Windows PC of a selected window you can use the Alt+PrtSc shortcut. What you need to do is select the window you wish to take a screenshot of, press down the Alt and PrtSc buttons simultaneously and your screenshot with be captured.
Note that this option also copies your screenshot to the clipboard and does not save it by default.
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To sum it up
To sum it all up, there are not one but several ways to take a screenshot on a Windows PC, all equally easy and convenient. So, you can make your pick and choose whatever method best suits your needs.
By now you would be versed in all methods to take a screenshot on a Windows PC. All you need to do now is use these shortcuts to capture the screens/page/images of your choice.
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