One needs a common and easy method to take a screenshot on a PC; thus, most people know how to take a screenshot on Windows computer. The most common way is to use the ‘Print Screen (Prt Sc)’ key on the keyboard. To take a full screenshot, you must press the Print Screen key and copy the image to the clipboard or paint.
But in addition to the above method, different capture ways are available. In this article, let us explore all such different ways of taking a screenshot.
Different Ways to Take a Screenshot on Windows PC:
1. Taking a Screenshot Using the ‘Print Screen’ Button:
Here the best and easiest way how to take a screenshot on windows is the ‘Print Screen (Prt Sc)’ key. You will find this key on the upper-right side of the keyboard. To capture the entire screen, you need to press this key.
Soon after pressing this key, it will take the screenshot, and you need to copy it to the clipboard. It is time to save this file, so you must paste it into applications like Microsoft Paint or Word. This is the case with Windows 10 PC.
For Windows 11 PC, pressing the ‘Print Screen’ key will save the screenshot on your PC’s screenshots folder. For instance, you will find the screenshot once you open the Pictures tab in File Explorer. If this option is not working, you will find it in the ‘One Drive.’
2. Another Screenshot Method of Using the Windows Key + Print Screen:
On Windows 10, you can save the file automatically after taking the screenshot by pressing the Windows key + Print Screen. Once you take a screenshot, you will see your screen going dim. So, the screenshot of your entire screen will move to the Screenshots folder.
In the case of Windows 11, you need to press the Windows key + Print Screen to take a screenshot. The picture will move to the Screenshots folder, which you can copy to the clipboard. So, this will allow you to paste the picture on any app like paint, MS word, or on any social media application.
3. The Best Screenshot on Windows Option of Using Alt + Print Screen:
If you are looking for how to take a screenshot on windows computer, this way will be the easiest. Here you need to press the combination of Alt + Print Screen keys to take a screenshot. In the case of Windows 10, the screenshot will get copied to the clipboard. Finally, you can paste the copied screenshot to apps like word, paint, etc.
4. How to Take a Screenshot Using the Snipping Tool:
One of the best ways of how to take a screenshot on Windows is using the Snipping tool. Furthermore, this tool will let you customize, change, or share screen captures. It is an excellent tool most people use to take screenshots and customize them. This tool has been present since Windows Vista, and you can use it for,
- Taking the full-screen shot
- Sometimes taking the rectangular part of the screen
- Even taking a free-form screenshot
Here are the steps you need to follow to take a PC screenshot.
Step 1:
Firstly, you need to open the Snipping tool application using the search bar. If you don’t find the tool using the search bar, you can use the taskbar and right-click on it. Now, you can move to Search and select ‘Show Search Box.’ Now, you will see a snip sketch tool popping up in the window.
Step 2:
Secondly, you will see a new window popping up on the screen. In that window, you will see a tab named ‘Mode’ which you need to click it. Now the mode shows various snip options on how to take a screenshot on windows. Such options are
- Free-form Snip
- Rectangular Snip
- Window Snip
- Full-Screen Snip
From the above options, you can choose the needed one.
Step 3:
Thirdly, in the same window, you will see another tab next to Mode, Delay. You can use this tab to set some delay on taking a screenshot. Furthermore, you can set delay in terms of seconds, and thus, the app takes screenshots after a certain time. In the end, this option helps you in the case of capturing tooltips and pop-up menus.
Step 4:
Finally, you can take a screenshot after selecting the required options in the tabs. Once you are ready, select the ‘New’ option. Now, you will see a difference: the screen fades out with a change of the cursor into a cross. If you choose any time delay, the screen will fade after a certain number of seconds.
- For Rectangular Snip – Click and drag to form a rectangle on the screen to take a shot.
- For Free-form Snip, you can click and drag to create your shape. Once you stop pressing the right-click, the app will take a screenshot.
- Using Windows Snip – Click on the windows to take a screenshot.
- Using Full-screen Snip – This snip option will take a full-screen screenshot of the screen at a time.
5. Taking a Screenshot Using Third-Party Apps:
Windows allow you to take a screenshot using third-party applications. Such applications allow you to take a screenshot and customize it according to your needs. Once you browse the internet, you will find many apps for taking a screenshot. Then, you can choose any one of the apps and install it on your PC.
Most applications have keyboard shortcuts to take a screenshot, such as
- Ctrl + Shift + 3 – Full-screen screenshot
- Ctrl + Shift + 4 – Current window screenshot
After taking the screenshot, you can edit it in the application itself. So, you don’t have to use ‘MS Paint’ to edit it again.
The Bottom Line:
Thus, the above article helps you in providing the different ways to take a screenshot on any windows computer. If you are not aware of various methods on how to take a screenshot on Windows, this article might help you in a great way.
Also read: What To Do When Your Computer Stops Working
