Take Screenshots in Windows 10
Edited by Jay
Taking screenshots, whether on a mobile device, desktop, or laptop computer is an integral part of the digital experience. There are endless reasons for users to capture what is displayed on their screen at any given time. You may want to snag that perfect still image from a game or movie, or perhaps you need to document something you're doing, such as coding or video editing. Sometimes a screenshot is required to help diagnose application or system issues. There is no end to the possibilities, the point is, if you use a computer, you need to know how to take screenshots properly.
In the Following VisiHow tutorial, we're going to show a variety of methods on how to take a screenshot on Windows 10. For this article, we used a Clevo laptop running Windows 10 Professional.
Take a Screenshot using PtrSc key
- 1This will copy everything on the screen or screens (multi-display setup) to the clipboard.To take a screenshot of your entire desktop, press the "PrtSc" key.
- 2Using the Start Menu search function, type "Paint" (without the quotes), then click it when the results return.With your entire screen copied, you need to paste it using an image editing program such as Paint, Gimp or Photoshop.
- 3Now you can make edits, as well as save it in the format and location of your choice.Once your image editing application is open (Paint in our example), press "Ctrl + V" to paste the screenshot.
Take a Screenshot using the Windows key + PtrSc (auto-save)
- 1To take a screenshot of your entire desktop while also saving it, press "PrtSc + Windows" key.
- 2To open the screenshot, first launch Windows Explorer (My Computer).
- 3With Windows Explorer open, click "This PC", then click "Pictures".
- 4Once inside the Pictures directory, click "Screenshots".
- 5Here inside the Screenshots folder is where all your auto-save captures will end up when you use the PrtSc + Windows key shortcut.
Take a Screenshot of the Current Window using Alt + PrtSc
- 1You can also take a screenshot of the window in focus.
Take a Screenshot using the Snipping Tool
Windows' built-in Snipping Tool allows users to take screenshots of specific areas of the screen, as well as perform basic editing on-the-fly.
- 1Using Windows' Start menu search function, type "snipping tool" (without the quotations), then click it at the top when the results populate.
- 2With the Snipping Tool open, click the "New" button to take a screenshot of a specific area.
- 3The area you choose will have a red border around it.Using the cursor, select the area you want to capture by holding down the left mouse button.
- 4Now you can use tools such as; Pen, Highlighter, and the Eraser to make edits to your image.Once you've grabbed an area of your screen, the image will appear inside the Snipping Tool Window.
- 5By default, the Snipping Tool is set to "Rectangular Snip".To change how the Snipping Tool selects an area of the screen, expand the options for the "Mode" button.
- 6To change how long the Snipping takes to load your image into the app's window, expand the options for the "Delay" button.
Taking Screenshots with LightShot (a free application)
There are several free and paid applications available for taking screenshots. However, due to being free, as well as its ease-of-use, we used LightShot for this tutorial. The app also allows users to upload their screenshot and provides a shareable link.
- 1To get started with LightShot, visit this link, then click the green "Download for Windows" button.Once the installer is downloaded, run it set the program up on your system.
- 2Right-click the LightShot icon in the notification area, then click "Options".There are a few settings worth checking out before using LightShot.
- 3On the General tab you can choose to; Automatically copy link after uploading, Show notifications about copying and saving, Keep the selected area position, capture a cursor on a screenshot, and change the language.
- 4On the Hotkeys tab you can set your PrtSc key to initiate LightShot, Instant save the entire desktop/screen buy pressing PrtSc + Shift, and to Instant upload by pressing Ctrl + PrtSc.
- 5On the Formats tab you can select the file type you want your screenshots to be saved as (jpeg, png, gif, etc.).
- 6Once initiated, your screen will dim slightly, and a selection box will appear. With your cursor, surround the area of the screen you wish to capture while holding down the left mouse button.Using LightShot is similar to Windows' Snipping Tool.Once the area is selected, you'll see the size of the screenshot on the top left. Two menus will appear along the bottom and the right-side edge of the selected area. These options allow you to; Save, Upload, Share, Copy, Close, and Edit your screenshot.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
