This article shows you how to take a snapshot of everything displayed on a Windows or Mac computer screen. Windows keyboards usually have a "Stamp" key that allows you to take a screenshot of the entire screen. Mac keyboards do not have such a key, but still offer the ability to take a screenshot.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Windows systems
Step 1. Locate the "Print" key on your keyboard
It is usually located in the upper right of the latter, to the right of the F12 function key. The "Stamp" key is usually combined with the "R Sist" function (acronym for "System Request").
- Depending on the type of keyboard in use, the "Print" key may be characterized by different terms: "prt sc", "prt scr", "print scr", etc.
- If the label "Stamp" of the key in question is in the second line with respect to another wording, it means that in order to use this function you must hold down the Fn key while pressing the "Stamp" button. The Fn function key is normally located at the bottom left of the keyboard.
Step 2. Locate the ⊞ Win key
It features the Windows logo and is located at the bottom left of the keyboard. By holding down the key in question, while pressing the "Stamp" button on the keyboard, a screenshot of the entire screen will be captured.
If you are using a Windows 8 or earlier system, you will not be able to take a screenshot using the ⊞ Win key
Step 3. Access the content you wish to have a screenshot of
This can be a web page, an e-mail message, or a document. Remember that everything currently visible on the screen will be included in the resulting image, except for the mouse pointer.
Step 4. Press and hold the ⊞ Win key
Be careful not to inadvertently release it, but hold it firmly until you've captured the screenshot.
- If you also need to use the Fn function key to properly capture the screenshot, hold it down as well.
- If you are using a Windows 8 system or an older version of the Microsoft operating system, you can skip this step.
Step 5. Press the Print button
The screen brightness should change for a while and then return to normal. At this point you can release the "Windows" key and also the "Fn" key if you had to use the latter as well.
- If the screen brightness hasn't changed, try using the Fn function key as well if you haven't already. On the contrary, if you have already used it, try to repeat the procedure without using it.
- Sometimes the Windows operating system does not recognize the key combination to take a screenshot on the first try, in which case you will simply have to try again several times.
Step 6. View your screenshots
After taking one or more screenshots, the Windows operating system will have created a folder called "Screenshots" in the "Pictures" directory. To access this folder open the menu Start clicking the icon
choose the option File Explorer characterized by the icon
and select the item Images visible in the left sidebar of the "File Explorer" window.
If you are using Windows 8 or earlier, you will not be able to have this feature. In that case you will have to save the screenshot manually by accessing the menu Start (or by using the function Research Windows 8), type in the keyword paint, open the program of the same name by clicking on the icon Paint appeared in the search results list and press the key combination Ctrl + V. The scanned image will be pasted into the window Paint. To save the screenshot, access the menu File of the program and choose the option Save. At this point, assign a name to the image, select the destination folder and press the button Save.
Method 2 of 2: Mac
Step 1. Locate the ⌘ Command keys And ⇧ Shift.
Both are located in the lower left part of the Mac keyboard. In order to take a screenshot of a Mac, you need to hold down these two keys simultaneously while pressing a third.
Step 2. Access the content you wish to have a screenshot of
Open the web page, image, or document you need to capture an image of.
Step 3. Take a screenshot of the entire screen
Hold down the ⌘ Command and ⇧ Shift keys while pressing the 3 key. You can now release any buttons you are pressing. You should hear the classic shutter sound of a camera snapping, and the file icon of the screenshot you just captured should appear right on your desktop.
Step 4. Take a screenshot of a specific area of the screen
Press the key combination ⌘ Command + ⇧ Shift + 4 to turn the mouse pointer into a selection cross. At this point, press the mouse button and drag the cursor to delimit the area you want to take the screenshot, then release the button on the pointing device.
If you press the spacebar on your keyboard while in mouse selection mode, the keyboard cursor will turn into a camera. At this point select one of the open windows to capture the screenshot of the chosen window
Step 5. Save the resulting image to the system clipboard instead of to a file
In this case you will have to use the key combination Control + ⌘ Command + ⇧ Shift. By doing this you will have the possibility to paste the screenshot into another program, for example an image editor.
Step 6. View your screenshots
All captured images will automatically be saved to the desktop. To view them you simply have to click the relative icon with a double click of the mouse.
