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How To Take a Screenshot on Windows
Gary Explains
Overview
This video demonstrates five built-in methods for taking screenshots on Windows without needing to install any extra software. It covers combinations using the Print Screen key with Windows, Control, and Alt keys, as well as the Snipping Tool and the Game Bar. The video also explains a setting that allows the Print Screen key alone to activate either the Snipping Tool or copy the full screen to the clipboard, offering a convenient bonus tip for easier screen capture.
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Chapters
- Pressing Windows key + Print Screen saves a full screenshot to the Pictures/Screenshots folder and also copies it to the clipboard.
- Pressing Control + Print Screen copies a full screenshot to the clipboard without saving it to disk.
- Pressing Alt + Print Screen copies only the active window to the clipboard, not the full screen.
Understanding these key combinations allows for quick capture of either the entire screen or specific windows, with options to save directly or just copy to the clipboard for immediate pasting.
Using Alt + Print Screen to capture only the active Paint program window, demonstrating it doesn't capture the entire desktop.
- The Snipping Tool can be activated by pressing Windows key + Shift + S.
- This tool offers options to capture a rectangular area, a specific window, the full screen, or a free-form shape.
- Screenshots taken with the Snipping Tool are saved to the Pictures/Screenshots folder and also placed in the clipboard.
The Snipping Tool provides flexibility in selecting exactly what part of the screen to capture, from precise shapes to entire windows, making it ideal for targeted image collection.
Drawing a free-form shape around a specific part of the screen using the Snipping Tool.
- The Game Bar, accessed by pressing Windows key + G, includes a capture feature.
- Clicking the capture button within the Game Bar takes a screenshot of the current window.
- This method saves the screenshot to the Videos/Captures folder and does NOT copy it to the clipboard.
This method is useful for capturing application windows, especially games, and offers a different default save location than other methods.
Using the Game Bar to take a screenshot of the active window, which is then found in the 'Videos/Captures' folder.
- A setting in Accessibility > Keyboard allows customization of the Print Screen key.
- When 'Use Print Screen to open screen capture' is OFF, pressing Print Screen alone behaves like Control + Print Screen (copies full screen to clipboard).
- When 'Use Print Screen to open screen capture' is ON, pressing Print Screen alone activates the Snipping Tool interface.
- This setting allows users to choose their preferred default behavior for the Print Screen key.
This setting offers a personalized shortcut, allowing the user to decide whether a single press of the Print Screen key should immediately copy the screen or open the more versatile Snipping Tool.
Switching the setting 'Use the print screen to open screen capture' from off to on, and observing that pressing Print Screen alone now brings up the Snipping Tool toolbar.
Key takeaways
- Windows offers multiple built-in screenshot tools, eliminating the need for third-party software.
- Different key combinations with the Print Screen key offer varied functionality: saving to disk, copying to clipboard, or capturing only the active window.
- The Snipping Tool (Win + Shift + S) provides flexible capture modes like free-form and rectangular selection.
- The Game Bar (Win + G) can capture the current window and saves to a different default location.
- The behavior of the Print Screen key alone can be customized to either copy the full screen or launch the Snipping Tool.
- Understanding where screenshots are saved (Pictures/Screenshots vs. Videos/Captures) is crucial for retrieval.
- Screenshots can be immediately available for editing or pasting via the clipboard.
Key terms
ScreenshotPrint Screen keyClipboardActive windowSnipping ToolWindows keyGame BarAccessibility Settings
Test your understanding
- What is the difference between pressing Windows + Print Screen and Control + Print Screen?
- How can you capture only a specific portion of your screen using built-in Windows tools?
- Where are screenshots typically saved when using the Windows key + Print Screen combination?
- Explain how to configure Windows so that pressing the Print Screen key by itself opens the Snipping Tool.
- What is the primary advantage of using the Alt + Print Screen key combination?