How to Take a Screenshot on Windows 10 pc

This tutorial explains different methods How to take a screenshot on Windows 10 and other versions. Select a suitable method to screenshot on Windows:

How To Take Screenshot On Windows 10

Method 1: Using Scribe Tool

Scribe is a new, popular tool for anyone taking screenshots for step-by-step instructions or guides. It is compatible with Windows or Mac and offers a free Chrome extension.

It captures your screen while you do a process, then turns your clicks and keystrokes into a visual guide, complete with marked-up screenshots and written instructions. You can then edit the guide and share it with anyone.

Price: Free Chrome extension with unlimited users and guides created. The Pro version is $29/month per user and offers screenshot editing and desktop recording.

Method 2: Using PrtScn Key

The first and the simplest method to take a screenshot is by using the Print Screen key (PrtScn).

Let us look at the steps below:

#1) Keep the image/screen which needs to be captured open and press the PrtScn key. This key is available on the top right corner of the keyboard.

#2) Users can use this option to copy the entire screen and use tools like MS Paint or MS Word to paste it and make desired changes after pasting the copied content. These tools offer a variety of features to enhance the quality of the screenshot. Users can use Windows shortcuts like Ctrl+ V to paste the content on these tools.

Using PrtScn can have some alterations when used along with other keys. Following are some other keys which can be used with PrtScn:

• Alt key+ PrtScn: Alt key (located on the bottom left, next to the Windows key) when pressed along with PrtScn helps the user to copy the window which is active on the screen. Users can follow Step #2 mentioned above and use these tools to paste the copied content and make desired changes.
• Windows+ PrtScn: A combination of these keys captures the entire screen and saves the capture as an image in the folder named Pictures> Screenshots. We can access the folder named Screenshots under the Pictures library.

This is explained in the image below:

Method 3: Using The Snipping Tool

Windows 10 also comes with yet another interesting feature called the “Snipping Tool” which allows the user to take a screenshot of a part of the current window. Let us see how this tool works.

#1) Click on the search icon and type Snipping Tool. Alternatively, one can also find the Snipping tool under Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories.

#2) Once the Snipping tool is open, click on New.

#3) Click on the drop-down under Mode and select Rectangular Snip or Free from Snip.

• Rectangular snip allows the user to drag and select a rectangular portion of the screen that needs to be captured.
• Free from snip allows the user with the flexibility to draw free form around the content by dragging the cursor.

#4) Once the screenshot is taken, users can easily save the file at any location of their choice. This drop-down has two other options apart from Rectangular and Free from snip. These options are–Window Snip and Full-Screen Snip. Window snip allows the user to select a window on the screen. It could be a dialogue box as shown in the screenshot above.

Full-screen snip, as the name suggests, allows the user to capture the entire screen.

Screenshots captured as a snip are copied to the Snipping tool window. Users have an option to make changes and can also save the file.

The snipping tool also has another interesting feature called Delay. This feature is available in Windows 10 and it allows the user to capture screenshots after a delay of seconds as chosen.

Method 4: Using Game Bar

Another extremely popular way to take a screenshot in Windows 10 is through the Game bar. Let us look at the steps followed for this method.

#1) Click on the Windows key and G together. This will open the Game bar. The settings for the Game box can be customized by clicking on Settings> Windows Settings> Game Bar

#2) Click on Yes, it is a game on the dialogue box that pops up.

#3) Click the camera button to take a screenshot. A quick path to the location of the screenshot is also displayed on the screen. Windows shortcut to the camera is Windows key +Alt + PrtScn.

#4) These screenshots are saved as PNG format in the location C:\Users\( Username)\ Videos \Captures

Method 5: Using Snip and Sketch Method

#1) Windows key+ Shift key +S – This method helps to first soften the screen, and the cursor allows the user to select the desired area of the screen that needs to be captured. Once the user selects the desired area by dragging the cursor along with the left key of the mouse and then paste it on one of the above-mentioned image editing tools.

#2) Alternatively, you can also first open the Snip & Sketch application in Windows and then take the snip.

Type snip & sketch in the Windows search bar and open the app.

You will see the snip & sketch app opened. Click on ‘Snip now’ to capture the screenshot.

This will take you to the snip mode as seen below. You can take rectangular snip, free form snip, windows snip, or full screen snip.

Method 6: Taking Screenshot On Microsoft Surface Device

#1) There are a few Surface devices where screenshots of the entire screen can be taken by pressing buttons. This process is almost the same process as taking screenshots on a phone or a tablet. We need to use the following keys together-

The touch button at the bottom of the screen, which bears the logo of Windows and the volume down button on the side of the device. The screen lightens a little and then the screenshot is captured in the folder Pictures and is saved under Screenshots.

#2) Some Surface devices which are touch screen enabled use Surface Pen to take screenshots of the entire screen. It is a simple process of clicking twice on the button at the back of the Surface Pen which opens Snip and Sketch and screenshots captured by edited.

Method 7: Using External Tools

We have looked at how to screenshot on Windows 10 using some inbuilt ways and features in Windows 10 for taking a screenshot. While unarguably, these tools provide a plethora of benefits and ease, they also have some limitations. In order to overcome these limitations, some users prefer to use third-party tools and software.

This software is not free but allows the user to explore numerous features.