How to Take a Screenshot on Windows 10

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

There are several ways that you can take screenshots in Windows such as the Snip & Sketch tool, the Snipping Tool, the Print Screen button on your keyboard, as well as using third-party apps that you can install. Screenshots allow you to capture exactly what you see on the screen, which can be very helpful since they can be cropped, edited, shared or used in documents.

Before You Begin:

Windows 10 should be up to date.

• How to Check for and Install Windows Updates

2. Take Screenshot Using Snip & Sketch

The Snip & Sketch is set to replace the current Snipping Tool in a future Windows update. You may capture the screen in a couple of different ways: rectangular select, free-form capture, or full-screen. Once you're done, you can save it to a file.

Launch Snip & Sketch

1. Click Start.
   

1. Type in Snip & Sketch in the search bar.
   

1. 
   
2. Click on Snip & Sketch in the list.
   

Taking a Screenshot

1. Click the down arrow to the right of New.
   

1. Select the time delay before the picture the screenshot is taken. This allows you to open any menus or other items not normally accessible.
   

1. Once the time delay has ended you will be prompted with a greyed out screen with some different capture options.
   
2. Rectangular Snip - Allows you to drag a rectangle around the area you want to capture.
3. Freeform Snip - Allows you to draw around the area you wish to capture.
4. Full-screen Snip - Captures the entire screen.
5. Cancel - Well take you off the capture screen.
   

1. Next, select the area or screen you want to capture.
2. Click on the Save icon.
   

1. Choose a filename, file type, and then click Save.
   

3. Take Screenshot Using Snipping Tool

The Snipping tool allows you to capture portions of your screen and save it as an image. This tool is currently being phased out of Windows 10 and may eventually be removed from future versions of Windows 10.

Launch Snipping Tool

1. Click Start.
   

1. Type in Snipping Tool in the search bar.
   

1. Click on Snipping Tool in the list.
   

Capture Modes

1. Click Mode.
   

1. Select the mode you wish to use.
   

1. 
   
2. Freeform Snip - Allows you to draw around the area you wish to capture.
3. Rectangular Snip - Allows you to drag a rectangle around the area you want to capture.
4. Window Snip - Click the open window you wish to capture.
5. Full-screen Snip - Captures the entire screen.

Capture Delay

1. Click Delay.
   

1. Choose the delay before the picture is taken.
   

Taking a Screenshot

1. Click on New.
   

1. After the delay time has passed, your screen will go dim and you can select what you want to capture.
2. You will see the image appear in the snipping tool.
   

Saving Your Captured Image

1. Click the picture of a floppy disk.
   

1. Type a file name you would like to use to identify the file.
   

1. Choose the format that you would like to save your image as.
   

1. Click Save.
   

4. Take Screenshot Using Print Screen Function

Using the Print Screen button on your keyboard, you can capture your entire screen or window and copy it to the clipboard. From there, you may paste the image from the clipboard into an editor, word document or in an instant message. If you need to save a copy, you can save the entire screen to a file.

Depending on your keyboard, the Print Screen button may be located in a different location.

Capture Screen to Clipboard

Press the Print Screen key on your keyboard.

If you have more than 1 monitor, this will capture content across all monitors.

Capture Active Window to Clipboard

Press the Alt + Print Screen keys on your keyboard.

Capture Screenshot and Save to File

Press the Windows + Print Screen keys on the keyboard.

If you have more than 1 monitor, this will capture content across all monitors.

Opening a Screenshot that was Saved to File

1. Click on the Start menu.
   

1. Type File Explorer in the search bar.
   

1. Click on File Explorer from the search results.
   

1. Click on Pictures in the left navigation pane
   

1. Your files will be located in the Screenshots folder.
   

5. Screenshots Using Third Party Apps

There are third party apps that allow you to take control of your screenshots and add additional functionality. These apps may take over the default keys or compliment them in other ways.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a program that provides you access to cloud storage. An advantage to this software is the integrated support of saving screenshots directly to Dropbox. This will make it accessible to all your devices. For more information, visit https://www.dropbox.com.

Greenshots

Greenshots is a screen capture tool that Is bundled with an imaged editor. This will allow you to edit the image that you captured. For more information, visit https://getgreenshot.org/.

PicPick

PicPick is a full-featured screen capture tool. The program is bundled with an intuitive image editor, color picker, color palette, pixel ruler, protractor, crosshair, whiteboard and more. For more information, visit https://picpick.app/en/.