You’ve Probably Been Taking Screenshots Wrong This Whole Time
Taking screenshots on your computer can be tricky, but there’s really no right or wrong way to do it – until now. We’ve discovered a unique method that makes taking screenshots far easier than they have been in the past, and we think you should know about it too! Read on to learn how to take a screenshot or picture of what’s on your computer screen correctly from here on out.
Method 1: PrtScn
Since we’ve had computers and keyboards, people have been taking screenshots by pressing the PrtScn button on their keyboard. But you’ve probably been taking screenshots wrong this whole time.
It turns out PrtScn is only meant to be used as a Print Screen button, and you’re not supposed to actually save or use those images. If you press it now, your screenshot will just print onto your printer (assuming it’s plugged in). That’s because PrtScn doesn’t really do anything—your computer actually saves screenshots using a different command. Instead of PrtScn, you should press Alt+PrtScn to take a screenshot, which will copy that image file to your clipboard instead of printing on paper. Now it’s ready for you to paste into another program or file.
Method 2: Alt + PrintScreen
Taking a screenshot is easy with Alt + PrintScreen. Just make sure to use the keyboard shortcut when taking screenshots and not the one for taking a picture of your whole screen. This allows you to capture exactly what’s on your computer, without anything else in the frame. If you want to take a screenshot of an open window or application, press Ctrl + PrintScreen instead. And if you want to take a screenshot of a part of your screen and cut out what’s not needed, press Alt + Shift +PrintScreen and select an area with your mouse by clicking and dragging before releasing the button to crop what should be saved.
Method 3: Snipping Tool
So you want to take a screenshot of your computer screen. There are multiple ways to do this, but it’s important to know the differences and which one is the best for your situation. The different methods involve using keyboard shortcuts, taking a photo with your phone, or using a tool from Microsoft. Let’s get started!
The first and best method of taking a screenshot is using Windows 10’s built-in snipping tool. It allows you to take rectangular, circular, or freeform screenshots of your entire screen, as well as scrolling windows and even certain objects on your computer screen. You can annotate screenshots with shapes and text before saving them to your hard drive or sharing them with others. To learn how to use it, see our full guide here: How to Use Snipping Tool in Windows 10
Method 4: Google take screenshot shortcut
Click on the Chrome Menu in the top right corner of your browser and click More tools. On the left side of the new tab, click on Capture full page screenshot. Click to select an area you want to capture. Then, use your mouse to select from the menu options of what you want to share: Save as image, save as PDF, copy and paste HTML code for this page, copy and paste text for this page. Choose your desired option and save it!
Method 5: Chrome Command Shortcut
- Open the Chrome browser on your computer.
- Type in chrome://flags and press Enter to open the Google Chrome experiments panel.
- Find the Capture entire screen (experimental) option, click on it, and select Enabled.
- Click back on the Relaunch Now button below to restart your browser with this experimental feature enabled.
- Press Print Screen or PrtScn on your keyboard to take a screenshot of what’s on your computer screen – you should see an image with a lot of different files and folders that looks just like any screenshot you’ve taken before this one in the past!
