How To Take Screenshots On Windows 10 & 11

Taking a screenshot is the quickest and best way to save any type of potentially-expiring visual information that could be useful later on.

Screenshotting is already very popular on smartphones, but did you know you can also screenshot on PC?

Whether you’re utilizing Windows 10 or 11, this tutorial will show you how to capture a screenshot on your computer effortlessly and achieve optimal outcomes.

Let’s get into it.

1. Screenshot Using The “PrtScn” Button On Your Keyboard

One of the easiest ways to screenshot on Windows is by using the “PrtScn” button on your keyboard.

Note: Some keyboards have a different name for the “PrtScn” button. A few examples include: “PS”, “PScn”, “PrtSc”, “PrintScr”, and more.

By default, pressing this button captures your whole screen, and automatically copies the image on your clipboard. There aren’t no visual notifications for this, though, so most of the time when you use the “PrtScn” button, you may think that nothing happened.

However, when you launch a picture editor like Paint or Photoshop, and paste the picture in the workspace using the Ctrl + V shortcut, you’ll notice that what you caught is now available for you to modify.

Here’s how the entire process looks like, step-by-step:

1. Ensure what you want to screenshot is currently open on your screen.
2. Press the PrtScn button on your keyboard.
3. Open Paint, or any other image editor you have available on your computer.
4. Press CTRL + V on your keyboard to paste the captured image in the editor.
5. Crop, add text, numbers, or any effects to the image before saving it. (OPTIONAL)
6. Use the editor’s Save As command to store the image anywhere on your computer.

You now have a screenshot!

Although this is the easiest way to screenshot, it’s not the most practical one as it captures your whole screen, or if you have multiple screens connected to your computer, it captures the content shown on all of them.

For more precise work, you may want to use something that directly allows you to specify which area of the screen you wish to capture.

2. Screenshot Using The Snipping Tool

As mentioned above, the print screen Windows method explained in the previous section is not always the best option when you wish to capture a small area of the content shown on your screen.

This is why we’ll show you how to use the Snipping Tool, a lightweight, built-in program that allows you to take a screenshot on Windows in just a few clicks.

To use the Windows Snipping Tool, follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows + S on your keyboard to open the Windows Search Box.
2. Type in Snipping Tool and click on the first result.
   
3. Once the Snipping Tool is open, click on New and select the area of your screen you wish to make an image of.
   
4. Save the screenshot using the Save Snip function that you can access by clicking the floppy disk icon, as shown in the image below.
   

Now you’ve successfully saved a screenshot of a specific area on your screen!

You can make this process even easier by assigning the PrtScn button on your keyboard to automatically open the Snipping Tool window so that you don’t have to manually look it up through the Windows Search Box.

Here’s how to make the PrtScn button open Snipping Tool:

1. Press Windows + S on your keyboard to open the Windows search box.
2. Type in Ease of Access Settings and click on the first result.
   
3. Scroll down the left-side menu until you see the Keyboard section, then click on it.
4. In the keyboard section, scroll down until you see the “Use the PrtScn button to open screen snipping” option, then toggle it on, as shown in the image below.
   
   

Now, every time you press the PrtScn button on your keyboard, you’ll have the Snipping Tool open on your screen and ready for work.

Note: If you already have another app using the PrtScn button, you’ll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

3. Screenshot Using A Third-Party Tool

Lastly, if you often use screenshots, you can choose to use external tools designed to make the process easier and faster, ultimately saving lots of time for creating new screenshots.

There are a few options available out there for free, but our recommendation is LightShot, as it’s really simple and straightforward to use.

It also comes packed with some fantastic additions that the built-in Windows snipping tools don’t have, such as the option to instantly upload your screenshot for much easier sharing, and more.

Another excellent option is Greenshot, a tool recommended by many users.  

Conclusion

Now you know how to take screenshot on Windows 10, so feel free to use this knowledge for your everyday needs.

The matter of how to perform a screenshot on windows should no longer be a enigma to computer users, as there are numerous options available, including both built-in and third-party tools.