Taking a screenshot is sometimes essential or useful for recording and storing information on a computer. As a result, we’ve included the procedures for take screenshots in Windows 10 below.
In Windows 10, you can take screenshots. Most people find themselves needing to take screenshots in Windows 10 when attempting to fix an issue on their computer with the assistance of an online buddy who may require a screenshot of the error message on your computer.
Furthermore, being able to take screenshots in Windows 10 can come in useful when you need to snap a photo of your computer’s list of files/folders, want to capture an image on your computer to share with your family/friends, and a variety of other situations.
So, let’s have a look at some of the several ways to take screenshots in Windows 10. Take a picture of the entire screen. Capturing the whole screen of your computer is a breeze with Windows 10.
How to Take Screenshots in Windows 10
All you have to do is click the dedicated Print Screen button on your computer’s keyboard in conjunction with either the Windows or Function (FN) key (depending on your computer).
The Print Screen button is commonly named Print Scr, PrntScr, or PrntScrn on most keyboards, and it is placed in the far right corner of the keyboard (near the F12 key).
1. Press and hold the Windows key while pressing and holding the Print Scr key in the top-right corner of your keyboard.
Note: You may need to use FN + Print Scr or Windows + FN + Print Scr key combinations depending on your keyboard.
To find the proper keyboard shortcut, try these combinations or consult your computer’s manual.
2. The screen will darken for a second after you press the right key combination, signaling that the full screen of your computer to take screenshots in Windows 10.
3. Next, go to This PC > Pictures > Screenshots Folder to locate the screenshot of your complete screen that you just captured.
Take a screenshot of a section of the screen
Windows 10’s Creators Update included the option to capture a portion of the screen as a screenshot.
1. On your computer’s keyboard, press Windows + Shift + S.
The screen will get greyed out, and the mouse pointer will become a cross-hair pattern.
2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag your mouse over the screen to pick the area you wish to capture.
Release the Mouse Key once the area has been selected, and a screenshot of the specified region will be copied to the Clipboard.
3. Open Paint and paste the screenshot by hitting Ctrl + V or selecting Paste Icon > Paste from the Paste Icon menu.
This approach is not compatible with prior versions of Windows 10.
Copy the entire screen to the clipboard In Windows 10
Instead of saving it to the Pictures Folder, you may copy the full screen of your computer to the Clipboard.
1. On your computer’s keyboard, press the Prnt Scr key.
This will snap a screenshot of your computer’s complete screen and copy it to the Clipboard.
Note: You may need to enter FN + Prnt Scr or other key combinations on various keyboards.
2. After that, you may paste the clipboard data into Paint, Word, or any other software.
3. In Paint, select the Paste icon and then the Paste option from the little drop-down menu that appears.
4. To save the file in PNG, JPEG, or other file formats, go to File > Save As.
Take screenshots in Windows 10 of the active screen. If you have several monitors connected to your computer, the Print Scr or Win+Prnt Scr keyboard combination captures screenshots of both screens. In this instance, you can only take a screenshot of the active screen by pressing Alt+Print Scr.
In this situation, however, the screenshot will just be copied to the clipboard and will not be saved to the screenshots folder automatically. As a result, you’ll need to open an application like Paint and paste the screenshot before saving it following the techniques outlined above.
Note: To capture a screenshot of the active screen on some machines, you may need to execute Alt + Fn + Print Scr.
For the correct keyboard shortcut, consult your laptop or computer’s handbook.
Using the Snipping Tool in Windows 10 to Take Screenshots
In case you didn’t know, Windows 10 contains a built-in Snipping Tool that allows you to take screenshots in Windows 10 of the full screen as well as selective parts on your computer’s screen.
You may use the snipping tool to snap screenshots of a rectangular region, a free-form area, or the full screen. You may also use colored pens or highlighters to annotate the screenshots.
The generated screenshots or snippets may be stored to any location on your computer or forwarded to any of your contacts right away.
1. Go to Start > Windows Accessories > Snipping Tool to launch the Snipping Tool on your PC.
2. Select the New option in the Snipping Tool pop-up box.
3. When you click “New,” the screen fades and the mouse pointer transforms into a cross-hair pattern.
Holding the Mouse key and moving the pointer around the area will allow you to pick the region you wish to take screenshots in Windows 10.
4. Release the Mouse Key once the required region has been selected, and the screenshot will be copied to the Clipboard.
5. Finally, within the Snipping Tool, go to File > Save As to save the screenshot to any location on your computer (See image below).
Capture Screenshots on Windows 10 While Playing Games
If Game Mode is enabled on your computer, you may also use the Xbox app to snap screenshots while playing games on your computer. While playing video games on your computer, Windows 10’s Gaming Mode allows you to take screenshots in Windows 10 and even record gameplay footage. However, you must first enable the Game Bar and the option to snap screenshots when playing games in Windows 10’s settings.
1. Go to Settings and select Gaming from the drop-down menu.
2. On the next screen, go to the side menu and select Game Bar, then turn on the option to Record Game Clips, Screenshots, and Broadcast with Game Bar (See image below)
After that, you’ll be able to use the Xbox app on Windows 10 to snap screenshots and record gameplay clips while playing games on your PC.
3. You may open the Game Bar at any moment while playing games by pressing Windows + G keys, and you can capture screenshots while playing games by clicking on the Camera icon on the Game Bar or using Windows + Alt + Prnt Scr keys (See image below).
Note: that the keyboard shortcut will only work if the “Yes, this is a game” option has been checked (See image below).
4. After you take screenshots in Windows 10, you’ll receive a message that says “Screenshot Saved,” indicating that the screenshot has been saved to your computer.
5. Go to the This PC > Videos > Captures folder on your computer to see the saved screenshot (See image below).