How to Take Screenshot on PC
Capturing a screenshot is not very difficult as far as computing tasks go, but still a very useful skill for it. Screenshots may be helpful in work, may be required for record-keeping, or technical support may also be requested to better illustrate the bug you are experiencing.
But when it comes to taking screenshots on a Windows PC, the first thing you need to know is that you have a lot of options for doing so.
These may include using the print screen key, sending screenshots to OneDrive, receiving them through the game bar, and more. Our preferred method uses the Paint program, but you can edit screenshots with almost any first or third-party tool.
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In this tutorial, we will discuss, below screenshots methods
How to take Screenshot on PC
How to take Screenshot on a laptop
How to take Screenshot on all laptops
How to take a Screenshot on an HP laptop
How to take a Screenshot on an Asus laptop
How to take Screenshot on Lenovo laptop
How to take a Screenshot on a Dell laptop
How to take Screenshot on Acer laptop
How to Take Screenshot on Windows 10 Laptop
How to Take Screenshot on Windows 8 Laptop
Now, let’s get started,
How to take a screenshot in Windows 10
Step1: Windows offers six ways to capture your desktop as an image. Three print screens are based on (PrtScn) keys, while the remaining three require Windows (Win) keys.
On the external keyboard, you will find a dedicated PrtScn key located in the upper-right corner. The Win key usually resides on the lower left side between the control (Ctrl) and optional (Alt) keys. It sports the Windows logo, so isn’t hard to miss it.
On a laptop, the print screen command can be combined with another function on one key, as shown above. In this case, you have to press the Function (Fn) key in addition to the print screen key.
Here is a breakdown of six screen capture commands:
- Print Screen (PrtScn) – captures the entire screen. If you have more than one display, this function captures everything shown in all connected displays as a single image. By default, this method does not save your image as a file, but only sends the captured image to the clipboard.
- Alt + Print Screen – Captures a single window. Before pressing these two keys (or three on a laptop), make sure to highlight the target window first, such as a document or browser. By default, this method does not save your image as a file, but only sends the captured image to the clipboard.
- Win + Print Screen – Captures the entire screen. The difference here is that Windows saves the image as a file. By default, it is sent to a C: user <username> picture> screenshot on your PC.
- Win + Shift + S – Capture screenshots using the built-in snip and sketch tool. The screen shrinks and offers four options on a small toolbar: rectangular, freeform, window snip, and full-screen snip. This tool does not save captures as an image, but only sends them to the clipboard. We expand on this later in the guide.
- Win + G – Opens the game bar. Click on the screenshot button and this tool captures the C: user <username> video> by default. To use this tool, make sure the screen capture feature of the game bar is toggled in Settings> Gaming> Game Bar.
- Win + Alt + Print Screen – Captures the entire screen. This command captures an image by C: user <username> video> by default. To use this tool, make sure the screen capture feature of the game bar is toggled in Settings> Gaming> Game Bar.
In some cases, the screen dims to indicate Flickr or that Windows has taken a screenshot. If it does not, go to File Explorer and default locations to see if Windows has saved your image.
If you are using OneDrive, you can save screenshots to the cloud so that they are accessible from every device and everywhere.
It does not save screenshots by default. Instead, you need to right-click the cloud icon next to the system clock (or in the icon menu marked with an upward-facing arrow icon), select More, and click Settings on the pop-up menu. Next, click on the Backup tab in the resulting pop-up window and check the box under the screenshot.
In this case, you can press the first three print screen commands to save an image to OneDrive. You did not see the screen flicker or dim – instead, you will receive a notification. If you want to use images on your PC then make sure to sync the screenshot folder.
Finally, if you have Dropbox, screenshots can automatically upload to the screenshot folder in your cloud storage, which may be ideal for your “showcase”.
STEP2: Open MS Paint
If you have used a method that saves your screenshot as a file locally, you can locate and view the image using the Photos application. If everything looks great, you can move it, attach it to an email, upload it to the cloud, and so on.
However, if you need to crop an image – especially those carried on a PC with a screen – you have three native tools at your disposal: Paint, Paint 3D, and Photo.
Compared to Paint and Paint 3D, Microsoft’s new photo app is somewhat limited. You can rotate and crop images, change their aspect ratios, apply filters, adjust color, remove red-eye, and more. You cannot create an image from scratch and paste it from the clipboard.
In this guide, we use the old Paint program because it is familiar and reliable. By default, you will not find it listed on the Start menu. Instead, type paint in the search area of the taskbar and click on the resulting desktop app.
Paint may also be available when you right-click an image. When a pop-up menu appears, hover your mouse pointer over the menu open with the option to view the paint on a secondary menu, as shown below.
Alternatively, you can locate the program – mspaint.exe – in the C: WindowsSystem32 directory. Right-click on the file and choose the pin to start on the pop-up menu
STEP3: Paste the screenshot
If you use a screenshot method, you will need this step that sends your capture to the clipboard.
With Paint open, click the clipboard-style paste button located in the top left corner. You can also press the keyboard’s Ctrl and V keys to paste the image onto the blank canvas of the picture, which expands accordingly.
With your screenshots properly inserted into Paint, you can crop, paint, create shapes, add text, and more. If you want to add stickers, 3D shapes, effects, and more, click Color Editing with the Paint 3D button on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 4: Save the screenshot
This method applies to all screenshot methods.
When you are finished editing the image, click the main file option in the upper-left corner. Next, choose Save As in the drop-down menu. This option expands with a selection of four file formats – PNG, JPEG, BMP, and GIF – along with other formats to save your image as a TIFF or HEIC file.
If you are not familiar with image formats, check out our guide, JPEG vs. PNG: When and Why to Use One Format over Another.
Whichever format you choose, a popup window appears. Enter a file name and choose your desired file format from the drop-down menu. If you do not want to save your screenshot to the default location, you can also choose a specific destination.
When you’re ready, click the grey save button in the bottom-right corner.
Screenshot Using The Snipping Tool
The best alternative native method is the snipping tool. This built-in screen-capture utility works quite well, but it is not the strongest or most versatile for saving snapshots. However, it is a utility that allows users to better define and capture part of their desktop display as a screenshot.
To begin, simply type the snipping tool in the search area of the taskbar and select the resulting app. As soon as you open it, you will see a notification that it is moving to a new house in future updates. It is still an available tool but Microsoft encourages you to use Snip and Sketch or the above Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcuts.
With the snipping tool open, click the Mode button to expand its menu. You’ll find four screen-capturing options: a window (free-form snip), an area box (rectangular snip), capture the current window (window snip), and capture the entire screen (full-screen snip).
Note that if you use free-form and rectangular modes, the screen turns white. Once you start defining the screenshot space, the white color within that area clears. If you are capturing a specific window, your screen saves the white color for the content in that window.
The snipping tool also includes a delay feature. It can wait between one to five seconds before taking a screenshot so that you can capture an exact moment in a video or animation. You can then press the Alt and N keys to snipe repeatedly in the same mode.
Once you capture a screenshot, the snipping tool interface expands to display your screenshot. You can edit light using a pen, highlighter, and eraser. You can also click on the Color Paint 3D button to make additional edits to the new application.
When you are editing within the snipping tool, click on the file in the top left corner, and then click the Save option listed on the drop-down menu.
Screenshot Using Snip & Sketch
Snip & Sketch is a new version of Microsoft’s snipping utility. You can access this tool from the Start menu or by typing Win + Shift + S on your keyboard.
If you use a keyboard shortcut, the screen goes dark and features a five-button toolbar at the top. You have similar functions to the old snipping tool, but it does not save your screenshot as a file. Instead, the image goes directly to your clipboard.
If you load the Snip and Sketch app instead, click New in the upper-left corner and choose Snip now in the drop-down menu. The screen deepens and a five-button toolbar appears. In this case, the screenshot is loaded within the app, allowing you to crop the image, place a marker, pencil, highlighter, and eraser.
How to take a Screenshot on MacBook
Keyboard shortcuts for taking screenshots may appear directly on your Mac, but each technology captures a different part of your mac screenshot shortcut.
If your workflow requires taking regular screenshots on your mac screenshot shortcut or Mac Pro, you’ll need to know three common keyboard shortcuts and a fourth with a MacBook with a touch bar. One of these technologies is a bit new. You can remember this from macOS Mojave, but if you haven’t done so, make sure that it has been handed over to MacOS Catalina.
Stick around, too, as we walk you through working with those screenshots as you take them. Apple gives you a reasonable number of options to easily save, delete, and open screenshots for markup, tools that I’ve come to appreciate, and use regularly.
Command-shift-3
This keyboard shortcut captures screenshots of your entire screen.
Shift-Command-4
Use this keyboard combo to turn your cursor into a crosshair, which you can drag to select a part of your screen to capture. Release the mouse button or trackpad to take the shot.
After hitting Shift-Command-4 you have several other options:
Press and release the space bar: The crosshair turns into a small camera icon, which you can move to any open window. Click on the window you want to take a screenshot of. The screenshot captured by this method has a white border around the window with a slight shadow.
Press and hold the space bar (to highlight an area, but before releasing the mouse button or trackpad): This selection locks in the size and shape of the area, but allows you to repost it on the screen. This is much easier if your initial selection area is off by a few pixels; To release a screenshot, hold down the space bar to release it before releasing the mouse button.
Hold down the Shift key (to highlight an area, but before releasing the mouse button or trackpad): save the bottom edge on each side of the selection area made with the crosshairs, allowing you to move your mouse up or down Can move to the bottom edge.
Without releasing the mouse button, release the shift key and hit it again to change the right edge of your selection area. You can toggle between moving the bottom edge and the right edge by keeping the mouse button or touchpad on and pressing the Shift key.
Shift-Command-5
A relatively new shortcut command introduced in MacOS Mojave (2018), this combination calls for a small panel at the bottom of your display with your screen capture options. Three screenshot buttons allow you to capture the entire screen, a window, or a selection of your screen.
Similarly, two video-recording buttons allow you to record your entire screen or its selection. There is an X button on the left to close the screenshot panel, but you can also just hit the escape key to exit.
There is an option button on the right. This lets you choose to save your screenshot – desktop, document, clipboard, mail, message, or preview – and set a delay of 5- or 10 seconds so that you can queue the items that your screenshot tool attaches to Otherwise may disappear.
By default, the Show Floating Thumbnail option is enabled, which inserts a few preview thumbnails into the lower-right corner of your screen, similar to the screenshot process with the iOS process. Unlike your iPhone ($ 424 in the back market), you can turn off this preview thumbnail on your Mac. Finally, you can choose to show your mouse pointer in a screenshot or video.
If the screenshot panel is in your way, you can grab its left edge and drag it to a new location on your screen.
Touch Bar Bonus for MacBook: Command-Shift-6
If you found a 16-inch MacBook Pro or another model with a touch bar, do you know that you can take a screenshot of what is currently showing on the touch bar? Just hit Command-Shift-6 to take a very wide and thin screenshot of your touch bar.
How to take a screenshot capture your MacBook Step by Step:
If you embrace floating thumbnails, you will get quick access to the markup tool to annotate your screenshot. You can swipe the floating thumbnail or simply let it slide away automatically and it will be saved at the location where you last saved the screenshot. Click on the floating thumbnail and it will open (but not preview) in the markup view preview window with all the markup tools you get in the preview.
You can right-click the floating thumbnail:
- Save screenshot to your desktop, document folder, or clipboard
- Open it in a mail, message, preview, or photo
- show in Finder
- Remove
- Open in the markup preview window described above
- Close (and save)
Mac screenshots can be slow to adopt new command-shift-5 shortcuts for a long time, but I find myself using it more for the ability to annotate screenshots without the need to open previews and those screenshots quickly Remove those I know I messed up immediately. The 5- and 10-second delay options are also useful and acclaimed additions.
How to Take Screenshot on Laptop and PC
Lenovo is a computer technology company that is slowly making its way into the mainstream, with its high-end laptops that can compete with giants such as the MacBook, Dell, Asus, and Toshiba.
In addition to computer specs, each model of laptop has this unique keyboard arrangement launched by them that makes them attractive and easy to use.
However, taking screenshots on this laptop can be a concern for others, as it has different keyboard orientations. So to help you in this matter, I will discuss the best How to take a screenshot on Lenovo as this post.
Step1 Use the print screen key
Step2: How to Take Screenshot on Lenovo Laptop Using the Default Screenshot Configuration
Step3: How to Take Screenshot on Asus Laptop Using Screen Capture Pro
It includes 10 different capture modes, with two image editors one for “quick” editing and the other for “advanced” editing. It also has a “task scheduler” function that can help users capture Lenovo screens even when they are not in front of the computer.
- Download Screen Capture Pro from the button below and then install it.
- After that, open a program or a video you want to capture from your Lenovo laptop.
- Next is to select the capture mode you want, and then choose whether to use the Quick Editor or Advanced Editor.
- To take a screenshot, just click on the camera icon.
- After that, a screenshot preview will be shown that you picked up.
- Now, if you want, you can start with image editing. In using Quick Editor, you can add basic annotations such as line, shape, highlight, and text. Also, you can make annotations using Advanced Editor but this time you can add effects that can pixelate or sharpen screenshots.
- To save the captured image on the local disk, hit the Save button. Apart from this, users can also save the captured photo on cloud storage, or share it on various social media websites.
step4: Capture Lenovo Screen with Snipping Tool
If you are looking for an alternative way how to take a screenshot on a Lenovo, then Sniping Tool would be a great program to use.
This tool is generally available on all Windows 7 and 8 operating systems. In taking screenshots you will have the option to do a “free form snip”, “rectangular snip”, “window snip” and “full-screen snip”. Apart from these, this app also has a highlighter and a pen for some screenshot marking.
- Open an application or something else that you want to capture.
- Now look at the snipping tool from the Windows search bar and open it.
- Next, choose the capture mode you want and click it.
- Next is to pull the cross-hair along the part to be pulled.
- A screenshot preview will then be displayed, from here you can add some highlights, do some lines, etc.
- To save the file, just click the save function.
On the other hand, if you want to take a screenshot on your Lenovo smartphone, it is worth doing it using an app called Phone Manager.
This application will not only help you take screenshots on your Lenovo smartphone, but it will also allow you to manage files stored on your Lenovo smartphones such as music, pictures, videos, applications, and many more. This is a great app that is worth a try.
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Final Word
Some may have problems regarding Lenovo’s screenshot methods. But once you use the methods discussed above, capturing snapshots on Lenovo can be done easily.
The first way to use the default print screen key is reliable enough but it does not have the option of editing. While the third method lacks the sharing feature and only provides a highlighter and pen for editing.
Also, using Screen Capture Pro, you can take screenshot captures with its multiple capture modes, edit the image using Quick and Advanced Editor, and you can share your image online all in one tool. Huh. So it is easy to conclude that Screen Capture Pro is the most recommended way to capture screenshots on Lenovo.
So, in this article, we have learned about the various method of screenshot methods in various laptops or PC like, how to take screenshots on Asus laptops, how to take screenshots on HP laptops, how to take screenshots on Dell laptops, etc. If you have any queries related to this article you can comment below.
Mustafa Al Mahmud is the founder and owner of Gizmo Concept, a leading technology news and review site. With over 10 years of experience in the tech industry, Mustafa started Gizmo Concept in 2017 to provide honest, in-depth analysis and insights on the latest gadgets, apps, and tech trends. A self-proclaimed “tech geek,” Mustafa first developed a passion for technology as a computer science student at the Hi-Tech Institute of Engineering & Technology. After graduation, he worked at several top tech firms leading product development teams and honing his skills as both an engineer and innovator. However, he always dreamed of having his own platform to share his perspectives on the tech world. With the launch of Gizmo Concept, Mustafa has built an engaged community of tech enthusiasts who look to the site for trusted, informed takes on everything from smartphones to smart homes. Under his leadership, Gizmo Concept has become a top destination for tech reviews, news, and expert commentary. Outside of running Gizmo Concept, Mustafa is an avid traveler who enjoys experiencing new cultures and tech scenes worldwide. He also serves as a tech advisor and angel investor for several startups. Mustafa holds a B.S. in Computer Science from HIET.