How to screenshot on Windows

Do you use Windows 10 or Windows 11, and do you need to quickly take a screenshot? Do you have trouble finding the Print Screen key, or it’s not working, so you’re looking for a new Print Screen shortcut? Do you want to know how to take a screenshot of the active window instead of the whole screen? On the internet, there are numerous Windows screenshot apps, both paid and free. Still, before looking for such third-party apps, make sure you’re familiar with the whole range of screenshot options already available in Windows. Without further ado, here’s how to screenshot on Windows 10 and Windows 11:

1. How to screenshot on Windows: Use the Print Screen shortcut key

The first method is also the most popular, as it’s been around for a very long time, since the earliest versions of Windows. Press the Print Screen button on your keyboard to take a screenshot on a PC running either Windows 10 or Windows 11. The button is usually located next to the F12 key. Alternatively, you can also use the CTRL + Print Screen screenshot shortcut. Windows screenshot shortcut: The Print Screen keyboard button TIP: Depending on your keyboard’s make and model, the Print Screen key may not be marked as Print Screen. Instead, it may be indicated by abbreviations such as PrtScn, Print Scrn, Prnt Scrn, Prnt Scr, Prt Scrn, Prt Scr, Prt Sc, Pr Sc, or simply PS. When using the Print Screen shortcut key, Windows 10 creates a screenshot of the whole screen and saves it to the clipboard. Next, open an image editing program like Paint and paste the picture from the clipboard. You can now save it as a file and do basic editing.

Screenshot of the whole screen, pasted in Paint from Windows 10 Using the Print Screen key for taking screenshots works the same in Windows 11. Here, too, the operating system places the screenshot in the clipboard, and then you can paste it and work with it in any image editing app you prefer, including Paint. A screenshot in Paint from Windows 11 Now that you know the most common way to screenshot in Windows operating systems, let’s check out the others, too. There’s more:

2. How to take a screenshot on a Windows PC: Use the Win + Print Screen shortcut

Do you want to take a screenshot of the whole screen and automatically save it as an image on your PC? You can do that using a simple Print Screen shortcut without having to resort to any other tools. To take a fullscreen screenshot on Windows 10 or Windows 11, simultaneously press Win + Print Screen on your keyboard. Using Windows + Print Screen to take a screenshot on Windows When you screenshot on Windows 11 or Windows 10 using this method, the operating system saves the resulting image in a folder called Screenshots, found in your user’s Pictures folder. The usual path for your Windows screenshots looks like this: The files are named Screenshot (number).png, where the number varies based on how many screenshots you have previously taken. This is what it looks like in Windows 10: Screenshots location in Windows 10 And here’s the Screenshots folder in Windows 11: Screenshots location in Windows 11 Both in Windows 11 and Windows 10, you can also see your screenshots using the Photos app by going to Folders > Pictures > Screenshots or Folders > OneDrive > Pictures > Screenshots, if you configured OneDrive to automatically back up your photos. Take a look at the next image to see where to find your screenshots in Windows 10’s Photos: Screenshots in Photos on Windows 10 And this is where you can access your screenshots in Windows 11’s Photos app:

Screenshots viewed in the Photos app from Windows 11 TIP: Besides creating a screenshot file, when using the Win + Print Screen shortcut, Windows operating systems also place a copy of the screenshot in the clipboard.

3. How to take a screenshot in Windows 10 or Windows 11: Press Alt + Print Screen to capture the active window

Whether you use Windows 11 or Windows 10, you can also take a screenshot of just the active window instead of your whole screen. Open the window that you want to capture and press the Alt + Print Screen keys on your keyboard. Windows screenshot shortcut for capturing the active window The operating system saves the screenshot in the clipboard. Open Paint or any other photo editing app and paste the image, so that you can edit and save it to your Windows computer or device. If you choose to work with Paint on your Windows 10 PC, you can either use the Ctrl + V shortcut or click/tap Paste in the top left corner to add the screenshot to the canvas you’re working on. Screenshot of an active window in Paint on Windows 10 The same applies to Windows 11: press Ctrl + V on your keyboard, or select Paste from the Edit menu in Paint, and the screenshot is added to the canvas. Paste a screenshot of the active window in Paint for Windows 11

4. How to screenshot on a laptop or tablet (Dell, Surface, HP, and others)

The previous methods should work perfectly well on desktop computers running Windows and on standard keyboards. However, some unique situations can occur. If you have a Dell laptop, for example, a HP convertible, or any PC with a keyboard that includes an Fn key, then the Print Screen key might do other things too, besides taking screenshots. Therefore, when you press a screenshot shortcut that includes the Print Screen button, Windows might not capture your screen. So, instead, use one of the Print Screen shortcuts:

• Fn + Print Screen - takes a screenshot of the whole screen and copies it to the clipboard. It is the equivalent of pressing the standard Print Screen key.
• Fn + Windows + Print Screen - captures a screenshot of the whole screen and saves it as a file on the hard drive without using any other tools. Windows stores the screenshot in the Screenshots subfolder of your Pictures folder. It is the same as pressing Windows + Print Screen on a standard keyboard.
• Fn + Alt + Print Screen - takes a screenshot of the active window. It is the equivalent of pressing Alt + Print Screen on a standard keyboard.

Screenshot shortcut keys for keyboards with an Fn key On some keyboards, the Print Screen button might not perform two or more actions. However, it will not work until you press the Fn lock key. The Fn key works on such keyboards as a lock for keys like the function and multimedia keys. For example, in the previous screenshot, you can see that my Right Shift key also acts as the Print Screen key. If you have such a keyboard, press the Fn key to unlock the additional special functions of keys, and then use one of the screenshot shortcuts I described in this guide’s first chapters. They should work now. Fn (Function) key on a keyboard On some Microsoft Surface tablets, you need to use different screenshot shortcuts because some Type Cover models don’t include a Print Screen button. Instead, Microsoft offers the following Surface-specific shortcuts for Windows 11 and Windows 10:

• Fn + Spacebar - this shortcut saves an image of your current screen to the clipboard, so that you can paste it into any application. It is the equivalent of pressing the standard Print Screen key.
• Fn + Alt + Spacebar - this shortcut saves a screenshot of the active window to the clipboard so that you can paste it into any app. It is the equivalent of pressing the Alt + Print Screen keyboard shortcut.

Keyboard screenshot shortcut keys on a Surface Type Cover (1)

5. How to take a screenshot on Windows using the Windows + Shift + S keyboard shortcut

Windows 10 and Windows 11 also let you capture screenshots using the Windows + Shift + S shortcut. However, depending on which operating system you have on your computer, this keyboard shortcut triggers a different app. In Windows 10, you get Snip & Sketch, while in Windows 11, it opens the Snipping Tool. Here’s what happens in both cases:

5.1. How to screenshot in Windows 10 with the Win + Shift + S shortcut

If you use Windows 10, pressing Windows + Shift + S on your keyboard allows you to take a screenshot using Snip & Sketch. If you’d like to learn in detail how it works, check out this guide: How to use Snip & Sketch to take screenshots in Windows 10. Still, in case you don’t have the time for that, here’s a short breakdown: Press Win + Shift + S on your keyboard. The Windows + Shift + S screenshot shortcut Four options appear at the top of the screen: rectangular, free-form, window, and fullscreen. You must choose the one you prefer. Screenshotting in Windows 10 with Snip & Sketch Then, you take the screenshot by dragging the cursor on the screen to select the area you want, just like I did in the next image, using a rectangular shape. Selecting the area to screenshot Once you’ve selected what to screenshot, the Snip & Sketch app saves the snip (screenshot) in the clipboard. You also get a notification in the bottom-right area of the screen. If you want, you can click or tap this notification to launch the Snip & Sketch app and do some editing on the screenshot. Snip saved to clipboard This is what the Snip & Sketch app looks like when loading a screenshot you’ve taken using it. A screenshot in Snip & Sketch NOTE: While the old Snip & Sketch app is the default option in Windows 10, it’s no longer present in Windows 11, as Microsoft decided to replace it with another app called Snipping Tool.

5.2. How to screenshot in Windows 11 with the Win + Shift + S shortcut

The Snipping Tool is a great desktop app for taking screenshots. It can create all kinds of screenshots, and you can also use it to do some light editing. If you want to know all the ins and outs of using this app to screenshot, read this guide we dedicated to it: How to use the Snipping Tool in Windows 11. If you don’t have the patience to read that right now, here are the basics you should know: Although you can choose to manually launch the Snipping Tool and only then use it to screenshot, the fastest way to work with it is to simultaneously press Windows + Shift + S on your keyboard. Using the Windows + Shift + S screenshot shortcut When you screenshot with the Snipping Tool, Windows dims your screen, and you can press the left mouse button and drag the cursor to mark the area to capture. Then, release the mouse button. If you have a touchscreen, draw the area you want to screenshot using your finger (or pen). Screenshot of a region in Windows 11 Windows 11 then saves the screenshot in its clipboard, and lets you know about it in a notification displayed in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Screenshot copied to clipboard and saved Clicking or tapping the notification shown earlier makes Windows 11 load the screenshot in the Snipping Tool app, where you can quickly edit it as you like. A screenshot in Windows 11's Snipping Tool

6. How to take a screenshot on a Microsoft Surface tablet (or other tablets)

On some Windows tablets, including Microsoft Surface models, it can be hard to guess how to take a screenshot. If you use your tablet without a keyboard attached, then the Print Screen key is also unavailable. The best solution to screenshot on Windows, in this case, is to use the hardware buttons available on your tablet. You can usually take full-screen screenshots on Windows tablets by simultaneously pressing the Power button and either the Volume Up or Volume Down button. You can then find that screenshot in your Pictures folder, in the Screenshots subfolder. Screenshot shortcut on a Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition Image source: Microsoft If you have a pen for your tablet, like a Surface Pen connected to your Surface Pro or a ThinkPad Pen Pro paired to your Lenovo ThinkPad X1, you may also be able to capture screenshots with it. In most cases, you can do so by double-pressing the top button. This action will take a screenshot and open it in a built-in application like Snip & Sketch or Snipping Tool, where you can edit and save it. Double-click the top button of a Surface Pen to take a screenshot Image source: Microsoft

7. How to screenshot on Windows using the Windows + Alt + Print Screen shortcut (Xbox Game Bar)

In either Windows 11 or Windows 10, you can also use the Xbox Game Bar to take screenshots of the active window. Although it’s a feature designed to use while playing games, you can also benefit from it when you’re not gaming. To capture the active window, which can be a game or not, press the Windows + Alt + Print Screen keys. Screenshot shortcut keys: Win + Alt + Print Screen When you do that, Windows automatically creates and saves a screenshot on your PC in the Captures subfolder found in your default Videos user folder. The screenshot’s file name includes the name of the game or app where you took it, as well as its date and time. Screenshots taken with Xbox Game Bar have unique names NOTE: Instead of using the Windows + Alt + Print Screen shortcut, you can also bring up the Xbox Game Bar by pressing Windows + G and then clicking or tapping the Take screenshot button highlighted below. The Take screenshot button from Windows 11's Xbox Game Bar

What’s your favorite method of taking screenshots in Windows?

As you can see, there are many ways to shoot a screenshot in Windows. Most of them are about capturing the whole screen, while some of them also allow you to take a screenshot of just a window. Unless you have complex needs, you can use the built-in tools from Windows 10 and Windows 11 without installing third-party apps. Before closing this tutorial, tell me: How do you screenshot on Windows? Do you use the old-school method of pressing the Print Screen shortcut key and then pasting things into Paint? Or have you switched to other, more productive methods like pressing Windows + Print Screen? Comment below and let me know.