Windows makes it easy to capture and save a picture of anything on your screen. Using keyboard shortcuts or the built-in Snipping Tool, you can quickly take a screenshot of your whole screen, a portion of your screen, or a specific window. Here are all the ways to take a screenshot on a Windows 10 or 11 PC and how to save your image on your computer.
How to Take a Screenshot Using Keyboard Shortcuts
To quickly take a screenshot of your whole screen, you can press the Print Screen (or PrtSc) button on your keyboard. To automatically save your screenshot to the Pictures folder on your computer, press the Windows + Print Screen buttons at the same time.
- To copy an image of your whole screen, press the Print Screen key. This button (which can also be labeled “PrtSc” or “Print Scr” on some keyboards) is located on the top row of most keyboards. More specifically, it is usually located just after the “F12” key.
This method will only copy your screenshot. If you want to save your screenshot to your computer, you’ll need to open another application (like Microsoft Word, Paint, or a blank email). Then, you’ll need to paste the image by either right-clicking and selecting “paste” or by pressing the Ctrl + V keys on your keyboard.
Note: If you’re using a laptop, you might also need to press the “Function” key (usually labeled as Fn) at the same time as the Print Screen button.
- To save an image of your whole screen, press the Windows + Print Screen keys. You’ll know that you have taken a screenshot when you see your screen flash.
This method will automatically copy your screenshot and save an image to your computer. You can then find your saved image by opening File Explorer and going to ThisPC > Pictures > Screenshots.
- To copy a screenshot of your current window, press the Alt + PrtScn keys. This method will only save a copy of the window you currently have selected. For example, if you are surfing the web, you can press Alt + PrtScn to take a screenshot of the whole browser window you are using.
To save your screenshot, you will have to open another application and paste the image there using the Ctrl + V keys.
- To copy a screenshot of a specific area, press the Windows + Shift + S keys. When you press these keys at the same time, you will see your screen go dark, and your mouse pointer will turn into a cross.
In order to take a screenshot with this method, use your mouse to click and drag a box around the portion of the screen that you want to capture. Once you have the image that you want inside the box, just release the mouse button to copy the screenshot to your clipboard.
