How to Take a Screenshot on a Windows PC
Taking a screenshot on a Windows PC is a useful ability, making it much easier to save an image of the contents of the screen rather than trying to write down or remember them. It’s also helpful for those who need to share what’s on their screen with someone else. Fortunately, it’s easy to do, and the instructions below will provide a step-by-step guide on how to take a screenshot on a Windows PC.
Steps on How to Take a Screenshot on a Windows PC
1. Open the region of the screen you want to capture, such as a window, full desktop, or active window that you would like to take a screenshot of. Make sure that the desired region is visible on your screen, so it can be captured.
2. Press the PrtScn (Print Screen) button. This is usually located on the upper-right side of the keyboard, just above the Backspace key and next to the F12 key. You can also press the Fn key and PrtScn key at the same time on some laptops in order to take a screenshot.
3. Find the screenshot. A screenshot of the entire screen will have been taken and saved to your computer’s clipboard. It can be found in the Pictures folder, under the Screenshots subfolder. If you want to save it in a different folder, open the Pictures folder and drag the screenshot to the desired folder.
If you would like to make further changes to the screenshot before saving it, you can open Windows Paint and paste the screenshot into a new document. From there, you can copy, paste, crop, or add annotations or other images to the screenshot as needed. You can then save the document as an image file.
4. Take a screenshot of just one window. You can capture a picture of only the active window by pressing Alt and PrtScn at the same time. This will take a picture of only the selected window and copy it to your computer’s clipboard without affecting the rest of the screen. You can then open the screenshot in an image editing program, such as Windows Paint, to save it in an image file.
5. Capture a screenshot using the Snipping Tool. With the Snipping Tool, you can capture screenshots, and add annotations, lines, and shapes. To open the Snipping Tool, type “Snipping Tool” into the Windows search box and select the program from the search results. Click on the “New” button to start a new screenshot capture. Select the “Rectangular Snip” option to capture a rectangular portion of the screen. Before capturing the screenshot, you can also select “Window Snip” to capture a specific window.
Your mouse cursor will become a cross-hair and you will be able to draw a rectangular region to capture. After you have selected the region, the screenshot will open in the Snipping Tool window. From there, you can save or edit your screenshot as desired.
6. Capture a screenshot using the Game Bar. If you are using Windows 10, you can use the Game Bar to take screenshots. To open the Game Bar, press the Windows key + G key. This will open the Game Bar with a number of game recording and streaming options, including a screenshot option.
Click on the camera icon to take a screenshot of your entire monitor or the window currently in focus. A notification will appear on the screen to confirm that the screenshot has been taken and saved. The screenshot will be saved to your computer’s Videos folder, under the Captures subfolder.
Conclusion
Taking a screenshot on a Windows PC is a useful ability, making it much easier to save an image of the contents of the screen rather than trying to write down or remember them. Following the steps above, you should now know how to take a screenshot on a Windows PC, as well as save and edit it for further use.
