The best way to take a display on Home windows laptops and PCs

Key Takeaways

Taking a screenshot in your Home windows pc is fast and straightforward, and there are a number of strategies accessible.
The Print Display screen key captures your entire display and copies it to the clipboard for pasting elsewhere.
The Snipping Software is again on Home windows and lets you seize a particular part of your display, with choices for annotation and sharing.

Taking a screenshot in your Windows computer, be it a desktop or laptop computer, is a fast and straightforward method to troubleshoot a picture or seize one thing you should keep in mind for future reference. There are many straightforward methods to take a screenshot on Home windows, however not all of them are clear one-stroke keyboard shortcuts, and a few require a bit of additional work.

Should you’re not sure of the place to start out in terms of capturing your Windows computer’s screen, pull up a chair and be part of us on a journey that’ll train you straightforward methods to seize screenshots.

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Varmillo keyboard showing Print Screen key

Possibility 1: Print Display screen

Take a screenshot

To take a screenshot in your Home windows laptop computer or desktop, press the Print Display screen / PrtSc / PrtScn key in your keyboard. That is often situated on the highest proper of your keyboard. To edit and save the screenshot, you will have to paste it into an app like Microsoft Paint, edit it, after which go to File -> Save As to reserve it.

Urgent this button captures a snapshot of your complete display and copies it to your clipboard, so you possibly can paste it elsewhere.

On some laptops you may discover the PrtScn button buried within the perform keys. If that’s the case, it’s possible you’ll have to press FN + PrtScn collectively to seize the display. This is applicable to the opposite strategies outlined beneath that embrace that button as nicely.

That is doubtless one of many quickest and best methods to take a screenshot, but it surely does require some additional effort to edit and save the screenshot.

Possibility 2: Home windows Key + Print Display screen

Take and save a screenshot

To take a screenshot and put it aside to your Home windows desktop or laptop computer, press the Win / Home windows Emblem + PrtSc keys in your keyboard on the identical time.

Whereas simply urgent PrintSc will copy a screenshot to your clipboard, this technique will seize your complete display and put it aside as a PNG file. You may then discover that screenshot by opening Home windows explorer, then going to the Footage folder, and in search of a folder referred to as Screenshots.

Alternatively, you possibly can go to C:Customers<username>PicturesScreenshots if that is simpler so that you can observe, simply make certain to exchange <username> together with your present username on your Home windows account.

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Possibility 3: Alt + Print Display screen

Take a screenshot of the energetic window

To make your screenshot extra particular, you possibly can press the Alt + PrintSc buttons in your keyboard on the identical time. This may then solely screenshot the window you are at present utilizing — the main target window, which is the one you most lately clicked or carried out an motion on.

Like the usual Print Display screen perform, this solely captures and copies it to your clipboard, but it surely does imply it solely will get the window you are utilizing and never every thing else in your display too. This could make enhancing and sharing simpler.

If you wish to seize the window you are utilizing and save the screenshot as a PNG file, you could have Xbox Recreation Bar put in.

Windows 11 showing Xbox Game Bar's take screen capture feature

Possibility 4: Win + Alt + Print Display screen

Take and save a screenshot of an energetic window

When you have Xbox Recreation Bar put in in your Home windows gadget, you possibly can press Win / Home windows Emblem + Alt + PrintSc to screenshot and save a particular window (the main target window). If you do not have Xbox Recreation Bar put in, you possibly can set up it via the Microsoft Store.

It’s also possible to take the screenshot by opening Xbox Recreation Bar with
Win+G
and clicking the
Take Screenshot button
designated by the
Digital camera icon
.

This works the identical as Alt + PrintSc but it surely saves the screenshot to a folder in your drive relatively than copying it. To seek out the saved screenshot, go to the Captures folder inside your Movies folder. Or go to C:Customers<username>VideosCaptures.

Take a screenshot of a particular part of your display

It’s kind of complicated, however the Home windows Snipping Software is again. The device was changed by the Snip and Sketch device, which itself was changed after Microsoft introduced again the Snipping Software, which included Snip and Sketch’s options.

To open the Snipping Software, seek for it within the Home windows Menu.

Windows 11 menu searching for Snipping Tool

While you open it, you possibly can choose the Snipping mode (Rectangle, Window, Full display, or Freeform) and set the screenshot delay.

Snipping Tool inception - screenshot shown inside snipping tool with toolbar options

While you hit New, you can begin outlining the world you need to seize within the screenshot. While you’re finished, the screenshot ought to seem in a brand new Snipping Software window.

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As soon as you have finished that, the device will open again up with the screenshot inside. You may then sketch, draw, annotate, spotlight, crop, and even carry out AI textual content choice or redaction actions (in case you’re on a brand new sufficient construct of Home windows 11) throughout the app till you are pleased with the screenshot.

Then, within the prime proper nook of the app, you possibly can both save the screenshot as a file, copy it to your clipboard, or share it through Outlook, Microsoft Groups, Skype, Mail, or OneNote.

Your screenshot ought to already be saved, although, beneath a generic title in your Screenshots folder. The direct path to the folder it is saved in is: C:Customers<username>PicturesScreenshots

Windows 11 Settings showing the enable screen capture with Print Screen setting

This can be a helpful shortcut

On Home windows 11, you possibly can have it so your Print Display screen keyboard key opens the display seize part of the Snipping Software (the half the place you choose an space of the display to screenshot).

To do that, in your Home windows Settings, go to Accessibility -> Keyboard, and allow the Use the Print display key to open display seize possibility.

Now, once you press Print Display screen, you possibly can choose an space of the display to screenshot relatively than capturing the entire thing or a particular window. The screenshot must be saved mechanically to your Screenshots folder (C:Customers<username>PicturesScreenshots), and it also needs to be copied to your clipboard.

Use Win + Shift + S to open the Snipping Software

If you wish to depart Print Display screen as it’s, an alternative choice is to press Home windows key + Shift + S on the identical time to launch the Snipping Software’s seize part.

As with the above Print Display screen substitute technique, the app itself will not open this fashion first, as a substitute you instantly get entry to start out display capturing. Then you possibly can copy or save your screenshot as regular.

Possibility 6: Energy Button + Quantity Down

Take a screenshot on a Microsoft Floor gadget

Very like with an iPhone or Android telephone, there is a fast method to take a screenshot on a Microsoft Floor gadget utilizing its bodily buttons.

To seize a screenshot on a Microsoft Floor, press Energy Button + Quantity Down on the identical time. The screenshot ought to then save to your Screenshots folder inside your Footage folder.