It’s a basic task, but you might be surprised at how many options you have for capturing and saving images from your screen in Windows 10.
Nearly every computer user needs to take a screenshot at some point. It’s astonishing how long it has taken to perfect this simple act of making an image of whatever you see on your computer screen. Microsoft Windows has had screen-printing capabilities since the first PCs in the 1980s (their text-based option differed from today’s raster screenshots). Windows 10 introduced new ways to take screenshots, like using the Snip & Sketch utility. Taking screenshots in Windows 11 is even smarter with its version of the Snipping Tool.
Here, though, we're concerned with how to take a screenshot in Microsoft Windows 10. Below, I walk you through several ways to capture the Windows 10 PC screen so that you can make an informed decision on which method works best for you.
1. Press Windows Key-Shift-S and Use Snip & Sketch
This first method is a simple Windows shortcut to take a screenshot using Snip & Sketch but without having to launch it. Press Windows Key-Shift-S, and you have a choice of capturing the full screen, a rectangular selection, a freehand selection, or an individual program window.
An alternative way to invoke Snip & Sketch is via the Action Center's Screen Snip button (image below).
A third way is to go into Windows’ Settings and choose Ease of Access > Keyboard > Use the PrtScn Button to Open Screen Snipping. Note that you have to restart Windows before it will work.
After snapping a screen with this method, you momentarily see a small notification that says Snip Saved to Clipboard. Tap this notification to open the Snip & Sketch window (first image above). Here, you can crop the image and mark it up with a pen, pencil, highlighter, and eraser. Then you can save the image to a folder of your choice or share it using the standard Windows Share menu to send it to Instagram, Messenger, Mail, or any other app that accepts the file type. It also lets you send it to a nearby PC with Nearby Sharing enabled.
2. Use the Print Screen Key With the Clipboard
The longtime classic method of taking screenshots in Windows is to use the Print Screen key—also sometimes spelled PrtSc, PrtScn, or PrntScrn. Pressing Print Screen copies the entire screen image to the Clipboard; adding Alt to make Alt-Print Screen copies only the active window.
Once the image is on your Clipboard, you need to put it into an application that can handle images, such as Microsoft Paint, Paint 3D, or even Photoshop (unless you take advantage of the next tip). Open a new document in your app of choice and paste the image using Ctrl-V.
Using Print Screen is especially useful for taking screenshots of apps that change appearance when you press a keyboard combination. Often a menu will collapse as soon as you tap a shift key.