How to do a print screen on a computer

Summary: Find information about how to use the print screen key in Microsoft Windows to take a screenshot in Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8/8.1.See less Find information about how to use the print screen key in Microsoft Windows to take a screenshot in Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8/8.1.

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Summary: Find information about how to use the print screen key in Microsoft Windows to take a screenshot in Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8/8.1.See less Find information about how to use the print screen key in Microsoft Windows to take a screenshot in Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8/8.1.
Article Content
Using the Print Screen Key in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 8
Article Properties
How to Take a Screenshot on iPhone or iPad
About Jason Cohen
How do I take a screenshot on my computer?
How do I manually Print Screen on my computer?
How to take screenshot on Windows?
What are 3 ways to take a screenshot on a PC?

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Article Content

Symptoms

Capturing a snapshot of your computer screen is called a screenshot or screen capture. Once captured, the screenshot is automatically copied to your computer clipboard.

You can then paste the screenshot into a document, email message, file, or image editor (Paint, for example). Alternately, you can save the screenshot as a file, and then insert it as a picture into a document, email message, another file, or image editor.

NOTE: The Print Screen key is typically located in the upper right corner of the keyboard. Some keyboard models label the Print Screen key differently, such as PrintScreen, PrntScrn, PrntScr, PrtScn, PrtScr, PrtSc, or a similar abbreviation. In this article, we use the PrntScrn abbreviation to represent any key label variations.

Other keyboards may not have a separate Print Screen key. In this case, you can perform the Print Screen function by pressing and holding down the Fn + Insert keys together.

Figure 1: Illustration of the print screen key on Dell KM5221W wireless keyboard.

Figure 2: Illustration of the print screen key on Dell Precision 5550 mobile workstation keyboard.

Cause

The Print Screen function operates slightly differently in each Windows operating system.

Resolution

Using the Print Screen Key in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 8

To capture the entire screen:

Press the Windows logo key + PrntScrn key together.
On tablets, press the Windows logo button + the volume down button together. (The screenshot is saved in the Screenshots folder in the Pictures folder.)

To capture all active windows:

To capture a single active window:

Tap or click the window that you want to capture.
Press the Alt + PrntScrn keys together.

Once you have captured the desired screen or window using the Print Screen key, you must take additional steps. Paste the captured image into an image editor such as Microsoft Paint or Photoshop to edit or save it. Open the appropriate application and use the Ctrl-V key combination to paste the image into a new image document.

For more complex screen captures, refer to the Snipping Tool in Windows.

Article Properties

Affected Product

Alienware, Inspiron, Retired Models, OptiPlex, Vostro, XPS, G Series, G Series, Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, Vostro, XPS, Retired Models, Fixed Workstations, Mobile Workstations

Need to preserve what you're seeing on your phone or computer screen? Mobile and desktop operating systems offer robust screen-capture tools. Most are built into the device, but there's a wealth of third-party options, as well as browser extensions, that get the job done. Here's how to take a screenshot on Android, Chrome OS, iOS/iPadOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows.

How to Take a Screenshot on iPhone or iPad

How to Mirror Your iPhone Screen on a Computer

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About Jason Cohen

Editor, Help & How To

As PCMag's editor of how to content, I have to cover a wide variety of topics and also make our stories accessible to everyday users. Considering my history as a technical writer, copywriter, and all-around freelancer covering baseball, comics, and more at various outlets, I am used to making myself into an expert.

How do I take a screenshot on my computer?

The simplest way to take a screenshot in Windows 10 is to use the Print Screen button. You'll find it on the upper-right side of most keyboards (or next to the Space Bar on some). Tap PrtSc once to copy an image of your entire screen to the clipboard. You can then hit Ctrl + V to paste it into your program of choice.

How do I manually Print Screen on my computer?

Depending on your hardware, you may use the Windows Logo Key + PrtScn button as a shortcut for print screen. If your device does not have the PrtScn button, you may use Fn + Windows logo key + Space Bar to take a screenshot, which can then be printed.

How to take screenshot on Windows?

Press Ctrl + PrtScn keys. The entire screen changes to gray including the open menu. Select Mode, or in earlier versions of Windows, select the arrow next to the New button. Select the kind of snip you want, and then select the area of the screen capture that you want to capture.

What are 3 ways to take a screenshot on a PC?

To take a screenshot on Windows 10 or 11, you can use the Print Screen button or Snipping Tool. You can also take a screenshot with the Game Bar by pressing the Windows Key + G. Third-party apps offer even more features, like automatically uploading screenshots to the internet.