How to take a screenshot
Screenshot is a capture of your computer’s or mobile device’s screen, which can be obtained by using standard tools or a special program/app.
Sometimes a screenshot (or screenshots) is required by support team to better understand the problem, and not everyone knows how to take screenshots, especially of a separate window or a specific screen area on their devices. If you recognize yourself as one of these users, don’t worry. This article will help you as it describes a range of ways to take screenshots on different platforms.
How to take a screenshot
Here you will find all the necessary hotkeys you should know in order to take screenshots on your computer or mobile device.
Android
Taking a screenshot on an Android device can be done in various ways — depending on the device model and its manufacturer.
Generally, you should use the following button combination for Android:
- Press and hold both the Volume Down and the Power buttons for 1–2 seconds
Android will capture the entire screen and save it as a photo. So, you can find the screenshot in a Screenshots folder in your Gallery.
But, as it has been already said, there can be differences depending on a particular device. Let’s look at other possible combinations:
- Hold down at once Home and Power buttons for 1–2 seconds;
- Hold down at once the Back and the Home buttons
On Android 8 and later there is also a possibility to take a screenshot by placing your hand vertically along the left or right edge of your phone and swiping in from that edge with your hand touching the screen.
If this method doesn’t work, check Settings → Advanced features → Motions and gestures → enable Palm swipe to capture.
Besides, you can always use any special apps for taking screenshots on your devices, for example — Screenshot Easy, Screenshot Ultimate, Screenshot Snap, etc.
iOS
Any iOS device (barring ancient ones) lets you take a screenshot using standard tools.
To take a screenshot on an iOS device, use the following combination:
- Press the Sleep/Wake (side) button and the Home button at the same time, then quickly release them
and this one for iPhone X or later:
- Press the Sleep/Wake button and the Volume Up button at the same time, then quickly release them
iOS will capture the entire screen and save it as a photo. You can find it in a standard Photo app.
Windows
- To take a screenshot on a Windows device, press the PrtScn button
On some devices, you first have to press and hold Fn before pressing PrtScn.
PrtScn (Print Screen) can be differently abbreviated on various keyboards — PrntScrn, PrtScn, PrtScr or PrtSc.
Windows will capture the entire screen and copy it to the clipboard.
To take a screenshot of an active window, use the following combination:
- Hold down Alt and press PrtScn (or Fn + Alt + PrtScn on some laptops)
To take a screenshot of a specific area, you should use the following combination:
- Hold down Win (the Windows button) and Shift and press S
After you take a screenshot, it will be saved in the clipboard. Usually, you will then be able to paste it into a document using the standard button combination Ctrl + V. Alternatively, if you need to save the screenshot into a file, you should open the standard Paint program (or any other app that can work with images). Paste your screenshot there using the same button combination or by clicking the Paste button (usually in the top left corner of the screen) and then save it.
Windows 8 and 10 let you take a screenshot very quickly with a Win + PrtScn combination. As soon as you press these buttons, the screenshot will be automatically saved as a file to your Pictures → Screenshots Folder.
There is also a dedicated program for taking screenshots called Snipping Tool that you can find via Start menu among standard programs of your computer. Snipping Tool lets you capture of any area of your desktop or the entire screen. After taking a screenshot using this program you can edit the picture and then save it.
Besides, you can also try using different apps for taking screenshots on your computer, like PicPick, Nimbus Screenshot, Screenshot Captor, Snipaste, Monosnap, etc.
macOS
To take a screenshot on a Mac device, use the following button combination:
- Press and hold together ⌘ Cmd + Shift + 3
Mac will capture the entire screen and save it as a file on the desktop.
To take a screenshot of an active window, use the following combination:
- Press and hold together ⌘ Cmd + Shift + 4 + Space bar. The pointer will change to a camera icon. Click the window to capture it. Press the Esc button to cancel taking a screenshot
To take a screenshot of a specific area, you should use the following combination:
- Press and hold together ⌘ Cmd + Shift + 4. Drag the crosshair to select the needed area. Release your mouse or trackpad to take a screenshot, press the Esc button to cancel it.
To take a screenshot of the Touch Bar (MacBook Pro) use the following combination:
- Hold down ⌘ Cmd + Shift + 6
Your Mac captures the entire Touch Bar and saves it as a file on the desktop.
To copy a screenshot to the clipboard instead of saving it, hold down Ctrl together with any of the combinations above. Then you can paste the screenshot (from the clipboard) into a document or an image you are currently editing by using Cmd + V combination.
You can also take screenshots by using Preview and choosing Take screenshot (of the selected area, window, or the entire screen). With Preview you can save your screenshots in JPG, TIFF, PDF, and other file formats.