Windows 11 gives you several different ways to take a screenshot and save it locally. Here is how to take a screenshot in simple steps.
When you see something useful or interesting on the screen, one of the ways to save it is by taking a screenshot. For example, when I’m writing a Windows how-to guide, I take a lot of screenshots. It makes it easy for readers to see what and how to do something written in the article.
In addition to that, the screenshots are also helpful in several other scenarios like capturing important or favorite game moments, saving important information on the screen, sharing something on the screen quickly and easily, etc. To put it in simple words, the ability to take a screenshot in Windows is pretty helpful and time-saving at times.
Considering how useful and important taking a screenshot is, Windows has multiple ways to do it. Each method is unique and good in its own way. Depending on the use case, you choose the method of your choice. The good thing is that you can take a screenshot on Windows with keyboard shortcuts.
So, let me show you four methods to take a screenshot in the Windows operating system without further delay.
Note: The methods shown below work in Windows 10 and 11.
Table of contents:
- Full-screen screenshot
- Full-screen screenshot and save
- Screenshot of the active window
- Screenshot a specific portion/area
Take a full-screen screenshot
Taking a full-screen screenshot is one of the easiest things to do. All you have to do is press a single key, and the screenshot is taken and copied to the clipboard. Here’s how to take a full-screen screenshot in Windows 11 and 10.
First, make sure what you want to screen capture is on the screen. Next, press the “Print Screen” or “Prnt Src” key to take the full-screen screenshot.
As soon as you press the key, Windows takes the screenshot of the entire screen and copies it to the clipboard.
Since the screenshot is in the clipboard, you need to paste into an image editing program and save it from there. One of the easiest ways to do this is using the Paint app.
Search and open “Paint” in the Start menu. Press the “Ctrl + V” shortcut to paste the screenshot. After that, press the “Ctrl + S” shortcut, and choose a location and name to save the screenshot file.
Of course, you can use any image editing program you want if you don’t like or have the Paint app.
Take a full-screen screenshot and save it
If you want the screenshot to be saved automatically to a file, you can do that with another screenshot. Here’s how.
First, make sure you are on the screen you want to capture. Next, press the “Start key + Print Screen” shortcut to take a screenshot and save it as an image file.
In your user account, you will find the saved screenshot file in the “Pictures > Screenshots” folder. In the File Explorer, go to the “C:\Users\<Username>\Pictures\Screenshots” directory.
Take a screenshot of the active window
Sometimes you don’t want to screen capture everything on the screen. Instead, you might want to take a screenshot of the active window. You don’t have to manually edit the image to crop out everything but the active window. The good thing is, it is pretty easy to do. Let me show you how.
First, make sure the window you want to screen capture is in focus. Next, press the “Alt + Print Screen” shortcut to screenshot the active window.
Like with the first method, the screenshot is copied to the clipboard. Use the “Paint” app to paste and save the screenshot.
Take a screenshot of a specific portion/area
Rather than taking a full-screen or active window screenshot, there might be times when you need to screenshot a specific area on the screen. In that case, we can use the snipping tool to take a screenshot.
To take a screenshot of a specific area on the screen, press the “Start key + Shift + S” keyboard shortcut. This action will launch the snipping tool. Select the “Rectangle snip” option and use your mouse pointer to choose the screen area.
The screenshot is immediately copied to the clipboard. Use the Paint or Snipping Tool app to paste and save the screenshot.
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That is all. It is that simple to task a screenshot in Windows 11 and 10.
I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.
