You must come across these terms few or many times whenever you want to send a snap of some important information about your project or attach some visuals in a mail or some other ways. If you are one of them and a Windows 10 user, you are at the perfect place!
In this article, I will be discussing different ways to take screenshots in Windows 10, which include capturing the whole screen or some part of it. Also, there are many options like keyboard shortcuts, built-in options, or third party platforms. Some find one option convenient, whereas it is different for others!
But don’t worry, I will be covering all of them. So, let’s get started with exploring options to take screenshots in Windows 10!
Table of Contents
1. Using Print Screen Shortcut Key (PrtScn)
This option will cover various ways you can take screenshots in Windows 10 with the Print Screen Shortcut key. Also, note that the Print Screen Key combination we are discussing is the general one; it can vary according to the device which you can check in your device manual. E.g. In some devices, Fn + PrtScn Key combination is used instead of PrtScn alone.
PrtScn Key
In case you want to open your screenshot in some editor first before saving it, this is the best option. Pressing the Print Screen key will save the screenshot only to the clipboard. So all you have to do is paste the screenshot in whichever editor you want & then save it.
Alt key + PrtScn Key
In case you want to take the snapshot of the only active window, this is the most appropriate option. After pressing Alt + PrtScn, the snap will be saved to the clipboard & you can follow the same procedure of pasting it in any editor like paint or Microsoft Word, or any other program.
Windows Logo Key + PrtScn Key
As of now, we have discussed the options that do not save the snapshot, but if you press Windows Logo Key + PrtScn Key, your screenshot will be saved & you can find it in the “Screenshots” subfolder in “Pictures” folder. The name will be Screenshot (Number) by default.
Windows Logo Key + Shift + S
This option is used if you do not want to take the screenshot of the entire screen & only part of it. On pressing the key, you will see the screen getting dimmed & the mouse cursor changed. All you have to do is select the portion of the screen you want to capture. Once you have dragged & selected it, the snapshot will be saved to the clipboard. You can open any other program, say Microsoft Word, and paste the screenshot there.
2. Using The Snipping Tool
The snipping tool is a very flexible tool by Microsoft that is used to take screenshots in Windows 10 easily & conveniently. It has many other facilities not provided by other options & we will take a look at them in this section.
Step 1: Open the Snipping Tool
You will easily find the Snipping Tool in Start Menu. On opening the snipping tool you will see many options like New, Mode, Delay, Options.
Step 2: To Capture Screenshots In Various Modes
Once you have opened the tool, you can select the various modes, including
- Free Form Snip
- Rectangular Snip
- Window Snip
- Full-screen Snip
With all these mode options, you can take the snapshot in any shape i.e. rectangular or free form. Also, like the shortcut keys, you can capture the entire screen or the active window. Select the mode in which you want your screenshot to be captured.
Step 3: To Capture Screenshots With Various Delays
The snipping tool provides you an option to capture the mouse movements or any tooltips. This is a feature that is new in Windows 10 & it was a limitation earlier in Windows 7,8 & Vistas.
All you have to do is select the number of seconds from the Delay drop-down menu. This way, before the screen freezes to take a screenshot, you will have time to place your cursor or some tooltips so that you can capture the same in your screenshot.
Step 4: Select Other Options from Options Menu
There are more options in the Options menu which you can use to select other options like hiding Instructions Text, Always copy Snips to clipboard, Include URL below the snip & so on. You can choose any of these in order to customize the screenshot.
Step 5: Take The screenshot & Save
Once you have selected all the other options, select the New Option & the screen will freeze according to the delay selected. Drag to select the portion if you have not selected the Full-Screen Mode. Then in the Snipping Tool, you will see the Screenshot.
Now in the Snipping Tool Window, there are various options that you can use before saving the Snip. You can send the same via mail or copy it to the clipboard. Also, drawing tools are available like the highlighter, pen, Eraser & Edit with paint 3D option. You can choose any of these to edit your snip before saving.
3. Using The Shortcut Keys With Game Bar
The Game Bar option is used by those who want to take a screenshot picture or record a video while playing a game with various shortcut keys, and this works as an overlay to take screenshots in Windows 10.
Camera Option/Windows Logo Key + PrtScn Key + ALT Key
Once you have opened the game you want to play:
- Press the combination of Windows Logo Key + G
- An overlay will appear i.e., Game Bar Overlay.
- Now either use the Camera Option or Windows + PrtScn + ALT key to take the screenshot.
- The screenshot will be saved automatically to the subfolder “Captures” inside folder “Videos.”
Conclusion
There are various options to take screenshots in Windows 10 that we discussed in this article. All these options can be used but according to the ease & convenience of the users. Also, it depends on what is the application of taking the screenshot.
For Instance,
- If you want to take the screenshot while playing a game, use Game Bar with shortcut keys.
- While taking a free form snapshot with mouse movements or a rectangular snapshot with tooltips, use Snipping Tool.
- For a simple snapshot & less time use the shortcut keys with Print Screen.
So, next time you are going to take screenshots in Windows 10, use all these options to explore more about your needs & convenience for capturing the screen.
