How to take a screenshot?

Taking a screenshot allows you to capture an image of your computer screen. This can be useful for many reasons, such as capturing a picture of an error message to send to tech support, saving a high score from a game, creating tutorials, and more. Screenshots are easy to take on any computer or device. In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about taking screenshots on Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, Chromebook, and more.

What is a Screenshot?

A screenshot, screen capture, or screengrab is an image taken of whatever is visible on a visual output device such as a computer monitor or television screen. It captures the entire screen or just a portion of it. Screenshots are commonly used to demonstrate glitches, serve as evidence of a software bug, show a user interface design, or record information displayed on a screen for any other number of reasons including as part of articles, social media posts, text messages or books.

Why Take Screenshots?

Here are some of the most common reasons people take screenshots:

• To capture error messages or glitches in a software program to send to tech support
• To save a high score or achievement from a game
• To create tutorials, guides, or documentation showing how to use a software program
• To save a funny social media post or meme
• To capture information on a webpage to reference later without having to search for the page again
• To capture a profile picture or avatar
• To provide visuals for a presentation, report, or article
• To share information quickly and easily over email, chat, or social media
• To create marketing materials or advertisements showing a product or app interface
• To capture designs during the design process for feedback

As you can see, screenshots are useful for both recreational and productivity purposes. The ability to quickly capture and save what’s on your screen comes in handy in many different situations.

How to Take Screenshots on Windows

Taking screenshots on Windows computers is simple. Here are four easy methods:

Use the Print Screen Key

The easiest way to take a screenshot on Windows is to use the Print Screen key.

Follow these steps:

1. Make sure the window or area you want to capture is open on your screen.
2. Press the Print Screen key on your keyboard. It’s usually near the top right by the F12 and Scroll Lock keys.
3. The screenshot will be automatically saved to your clipboard.
4. Open an image editing program like Paint and paste the image to save it.

This will copy and save your entire screen. If you only want to capture a portion of the screen, try the Snipping Tool method below.

Use Snipping Tool

All Windows computers come with a built-in app called Snipping Tool for taking customized screenshots. Here’s how to use it:

1. Type “Snipping Tool” in the Windows search bar and open the app.
2. Click the “New” button to take a new snip.
3. Your screen will fade and you will be prompted to click and drag to select the area you want to capture.
4. After snipping an area, it will open in the Snipping Tool window. Click “File > Save As” to save it.

With Snipping Tool you can capture any portion of your screen, whether it’s a specific window, rectangular area, or free-form shape.

Use Game Bar

Windows 10 and 11 include a built-in Game Bar for taking screenshots and recordings during games. To use it:

1. Open the game you want to take a screenshot in.
2. Press Windows key + G to open the Game Bar.
3. Click the camera icon to take a screenshot instantly. Your screenshot will save automatically.

You can find your Game Bar screenshots in Videos>Captures in File Explorer.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts

For quick screenshots, Windows supports these keyboard shortcuts:

• Print Screen – Takes a screenshot of your entire screen and copies it to your clipboard
• ALT + Print Screen – Takes a screenshot of just the currently active window and copies it to your clipboard
• Windows key + Shift + S – Lets you take a customized screenshot by clicking and dragging, which gets copied to your clipboard

After you take a screenshot with these shortcuts, just paste the image into Paint or another program to save it as an image file.

How to Take Screenshots on Mac

Taking screenshots on a Mac is just as easy as on Windows. Here are the main ways to do it:

Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Mac computers include many built-in keyboard shortcuts for taking screenshots:

• Command + Shift + 3 – Takes a screenshot of your entire screen and saves it as a file on your desktop
• Command + Shift + 4 – Lets you click and drag to take a screenshot of a selected area and saves it as a file on your desktop
• Command + Shift + 4 then Space – Lets you click on a window to take a screenshot of just that window and saves it as a file on your desktop
• Command + Control + Shift + 3 – Takes a screenshot of your entire screen and copies it to your clipboard
• Command + Control + Shift + 4 – Lets you take a customized screenshot by clicking and dragging and copies it to your clipboard

These shortcuts allow you to quickly take screenshots without even needing to open another program.

Use Grab Utility

Macs also come with a utility called Grab that you can use to take screenshots. To use it:

1. Open Launchpad and click the Grab app icon
2. Click the camera icon in the top left corner to take a screenshot instantly
3. Or click “Timed Screen” to open a menu where you can set a timer to take a screenshot after a delay

Grab includes additional options like adding annotations, blurring parts of the image, and more.

Use Preview

You can also use the Preview app to capture screenshots on Mac. Here’s how:

1. Open the screenshot you want to take in full screen mode
2. Open the Preview app
3. Click “File > Take Screenshot”
4. Your screenshot will be automatically saved as a new image in the Preview window
5. Click “File > Export” to save the image as a file

This works for capturing full screens or specific windows that you have open.

How to Take Screenshots on iPhone and iPad

Capturing what’s on your iPhone or iPad screen is useful for creating tutorials, sharing information, and more. Here are the steps to take a screenshot on iOS devices:

Use Button Combos

There are two screenshooting button combinations you can use:

• For iPhone 8 or earlier – Press and hold the Home button + Lock button at the same time
• For iPhone X or later – Press and hold the Side button + Volume Up button at the same time

The screenshot will automatically save to your Photos app.

Use On-Screen Options

You can also take screenshots using onscreen options:

1. Open the screen you want to capture
2. Swipe up from the bottom right corner to open Control Center
3. Tap the Screen Recording icon
4. Tap “Start Capture” – your screen will flash white as it captures
5. Open the Photos app to view and share your screenshot

This method lets you capture long screenshots that scroll to capture more content.

Use AssistiveTouch

If your iPhone or iPad physical buttons are broken, you can take a screenshot with AssistiveTouch:

1. Enable AssistiveTouch in Settings > Accessibility
2. Open the screen you want to capture
3. Tap the AssistiveTouch menu button
4. Select “Device” > “More” > “Screenshot”

Your screenshot will save automatically.

How to Take Screenshots on Android Phones and Tablets

Android devices also make it easy to take screenshots for your reference or to share. Here are some ways to screenshot on Android:

Use Button Combos

Most Android devices allow you to take screenshots by pressing and holding the Power and Volume down buttons at the same time. The screenshot will automatically be saved in your Photos app.

Some devices may require you to press and hold the Power and Home buttons instead. Try both combinations to see which works.

Use Gestures

Many Android phones support gestures to trigger screenshots:

• Swipe three fingers at once horizontally or downwards across the screen
• Double tap the screen with three fingers at once
• Touch and hold three fingers on the screen, then tap the screen with a fourth finger

Try these gestures to see if any of them work on your device. The screenshot will automatically save.

Use Google Assistant

If you have Google Assistant enabled, you can say “Hey Google, take a screenshot” to have your Android device capture and save a screenshot for you hands-free.

How to Take Screenshots on Chromebook

If you use a Chromebook, there are a couple ways you can capture your screen:

Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Chromebooks support these screenshot keyboard shortcuts:

• Ctrl + Window Switcher – Takes a screenshot of your entire screen
• Ctrl + Overview – Lets you click and drag to take a screenshot of part of your screen

Your screenshots will save to your Downloads folder automatically.

Use On-Screen Tool

You can also take Chromebook screenshots using the on-screen tool:

1. Click the status area in the bottom right corner
2. Click the “Capture area” or “Capture window” icon
3. Click and drag to select the part of the screen to capture if needed, or click a window to capture just that window
4. Your screenshot will save automatically to the Downloads folder

This method lets you easily capture non-rectangular and customized screenshots.

How to Take Long Screenshots

By default, screenshots only capture what is visible on your screen at one time. If you want to capture content that requires scrolling, like a long webpage or document, you need to take a long or tall screenshot. Here are some ways to do this:

On iOS

1. Open the screen you want to capture
2. Swipe up from the bottom to open Control Center
3. Tap the Screen Record icon, then tap “Start Capture”
4. Scroll up and down on the page to capture all the content you want
5. Tap the red bar at the top to stop capturing

Your long screenshot will save to Photos.

On Android

Many Android phones have built-in long screenshot features or third party apps that can stitch together a long capture from multiple screenshots.

For example, on a Samsung device, you would:

1. Open the long page you want to capture
2. Take an initial screenshot using your device’s screenshot method
3. A toolbar will appear – click “Capture more” and scroll down
4. Tap “Capture more” again until you’ve captured the entire page
5. Tap “Save” to save the long screenshot

Check your device guide to see if it supports long screenshots natively.

Using Third Party Apps

If your device doesn’t support long screenshots, you can use a third party app like Longshot on Android or Tailor on iOS to stitch normal screenshots together into a long capture.

These apps provide an easy way to extend your screenshot capturing capabilities.

How to Edit and Annotate Screenshots

Once you’ve captured your screenshot, you may want to edit or annotate it to point out important details, blur sensitive information, crop it, add captions, insert text, and more. Here are some ways to edit screenshots:

Platform	Editing Options
Windows	Use Paint to draw, add text, crop, and more Use Snipping Tool to annotate and highlight Use third party apps like PicPick for more robust editing
Mac	Use Preview to annotate, highlight, crop, etc. Use Grab for basic annotations and tools Use third party apps like Skitch for advanced editing
iPhone/iPad	Use Markup in Photos to annotate and draw Download third party editing apps from the App Store
Android	Use Google Photos editor to annotate, crop, etc. Download third party editing apps from the Play Store

The key is finding a tool with the annotations features you need to add context to your screenshots.

How to Share and Save Screenshots

Once you take a screenshot, you’ll want to save it and likely share it with others. Here are some tips:

• Screenshots taken on phones automatically save to the camera roll or photos app for easy sharing.
• You can also share directly after taking the screenshot using the share sheet on mobile.
• On computers, save files to your Pictures folder or desktop for easy access.
• You can paste screenshots taken with Print Screen or keyboard shortcuts directly into emails or chats.
• Upload screenshots to cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox to access them anywhere.
• Use screenshot organizing tools like CleanShot X for Mac to manage all your captures in one place.

Be aware that screenshots may contain sensitive or private information. Make sure to edit out anything confidential before sharing screenshots publicly.

Conclusion

Taking screenshots is one of the most helpful basic computing skills you can learn. With just a few keys or clicks, you can capture images of your screen for various needs. Knowledge of the different ways to screenshot on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chromebooks and using third party tools helps you quickly grab screenshots when you need them.

Use this guide to master the screenshots tools and options available in the software you use most. With practice, taking screenshots will become second nature. Become a screenshot pro and add visuals to your work, play, and everyday computer use. Screenshots are the perfect way to capture and share or save visual information easily on any device.