Windows has several methods for taking screenshots. Here they are listed below. It’s up to you to choose what suits you best.
Whether you have gone to Windows 11 or whether you’ve decided to stick with Windows 10 for a while, it’s easy to take a screenshot of all or part of your screen. Whether keeping track of an online order or a pretty scene in a game, Windows 10 and Windows 11 offer the same built-in tools (Snip & Sketch and Snipping) plus several hotkeys to take a snip in an instant. .
In this article, we’ll go over the different methods of taking screenshots, so you can decide what works best for you.
Snip & Sketch
The Snip & Sketch tool is easier for accessing, sharing or annotating screenshots than the old Snipping tool. And it now allows you to take a screenshot of a window on your desktop, which the application lacked when launched.
The easiest way to open Snip & Sketch is with the keyboard shortcut Windows key + Shift + S. You can also find the Snip & Sketch tool in the list of applications from the Start button as well as in the notification panel, under the Screen snip reference. Or you can search for it if you no longer have the keyboard shortcut in memory. (If you frequently take screenshots, you can pin it to the taskbar.)
Whether via the keyboard shortcut or the notification button, this will reduce the brightness of your screen and open a small menu at the top of your screen to allow you to choose the type of capture you want to make: rectangular, without any particular shape , window or full screen. Once captured, it is saved to your clipboard and momentarily appears as a notification in the lower right corner of your screen. Click it to open the snip in the Snip & Sketch app to annotate, save and/or share. (If you haven’t seen the notification, open the notification panel and you’ll see it.)
If you open Snip & Sketch from the Start menu or by searching for it, the Snip & Sketch window will open and not the small panel at the top of the screen. From there, click on the New button in the upper left corner to make a new capture and open the small panel. An additional step, but which also allows you to add a delay if necessary. Click the button with the down arrow next to the New button to add a delay between 3 and 10 seconds.
Snipping Tool
The Snipping Tool has been around since Windows Vista. Windows has been warning users for several years now that the Snipping Tool is going away, but it’s still around, including in Windows 11. The Snipping Tool no longer appears in the list of apps from the Start menu, but it’s still accessible through the search bar.
Click the New button to start the capture process. By default, it’s a rectangular snip, but you can take snips with no predefined shape, full screen, or window only.
The Snipping tool does not automatically save your captures, you will have to do it manually before closing the application, but they end up directly in your clipboard.
Screenshot
To capture the whole screen, press the Print Screen key (sometimes PrtScn). Your capture will not be saved to a file, but simply copied to the clipboard. You will need to open some editing tool (like Microsoft Pain), paste the contents of the clipboard and save the file from there.
You can also set the behavior of the PrtScn button to open the Snip & Sketch tool by going to Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard and enabling Use PrtScn button to open Screen Capture under Print Screen Shortcut .
Windows key + Print screen
To capture the entire screen and automatically save the file, tap Windows Touch + Print Screen. Your screen will briefly dim to let you know the capture is complete and the file will be in the Pictures > Screenshots folder.
Alt + Print Screen
To take a quick snapshot of the active window, use the Alt + PrtScn shortcut. This will save the active window and copy the capture to the clipboard. You will then need to open an image editing app to save it.
Game bar
You can use Game Bar to take a screenshot whether you’re playing a game or not. Hit Windows Key + G to bring up the Game Bar. From there, click the screenshot button in the bar or use the default shortcut Windows + Alt + PrtScn to take the whole screen. To set your own game bar screenshot shortcut, go to Settings > Games > Game bar. Also ensure that Game Bar is enabled for this feature by enabling Record Clips, Screenshots and Broadcasts via Game Bar.
Windows logo + Volume down key
If you have a Microsoft Surface device, you can use the “physical” buttons to take a screenshot of the entire screen, just like you would with a regular smartphone or tablet. To do this, press and hold the Windows logo touch button at the bottom of your Surface screen and press the volume down button on the side. The screen brightness will decrease briefly and the screenshot will be saved in the Pictures > Screenshots folder.