How to take a screenshot on any computer

Taking a screenshot is a necessary functionality on computers and phones these days. However, taking a screenshot on a computer can be a bit more complicated than on a phone. To help you do that, we’ve created this guide to take a screenshot on Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, and Mac computers.

Read more: Taking screenshots on Android

These are the best ways to take a screenshot on a Windows PC.

• Using the PrtSc (Print Screen) key – Press on the PrtSc key on your keyboard, open Microsoft Paint and press Ctrl + V to paste it. Save the file. You can press the Windows key + PrtSc to save it directly in the Images -> Screenshots folder.
• Using the Snipping Tool – Press the Windows key + Shift + S or the Snipping Tool key (shown above) if it is present on your keyboard. Choose the type of snip you want, run the snip and click on the image in the notifications to edit and save it.
• The Xbox Game Bar Capture Tool – Press the Windows key + G to bring up the Xbox Game Bar. Click the camera icon in the To establish window to take a screenshot of the active window, or the full screen if there are no active windows.
• Use a third-party screenshot app like snagit or Light recording.

Our complete guides on how to take a screenshot on Windows PCs are linked below.

Linux treats screenshots the same way Windows does, but a little better. You have different keyboard shortcuts for different types of screenshots.

• PrtScn — Take a screenshot of the full screen and save it in the Pictures folder.
• Alt + PrtScn — Take a screenshot of the active window and save it in the Pictures folder.
• Shift + PrtScn — Gives the option to select a specific area, screenshot, and save it in the Pictures folder.
• Ctrl + PrtScn — Copy a screenshot to the clipboard.
• Ctrl + Alt + PrtScn — Copy a screenshot of the active window to the clipboard.
• Shift + Ctrl + PrtScn — Gives the ability to select a specific area and copy a screenshot to the clipboard.

Do more: The best photo editors for Linux

Chromebooks also offer multiple ways to take a screenshot, and some of these may differ depending on your device.

• Using the keyboard – Press the Ctrl + Window Switch Keys (Ctrl + F5 for external keyboards) for a full screen shot. Press Ctrl + Shift + Window Switch tests (Ctrl + Shift + F5 for external keyboards) to select a specific screen area for screenshot.
• In tablet mode – Press the Power + Volume Down Keys.
• Using the stylus — Tap the screen with the stylus to open the menu. Press Capture screen option to take a full screenshot. To take a screenshot of a specific area, tap the Capture area option, tap, hold and drag over the area. Lift the stylus off the screen to take the screenshot.
• Using a Chrome extension — Use Chrome extensions like fire shot or Cloud to take screenshot in Chrome browser.

Check out our linked guides below on how to take a screenshot on a Chromebook or the Google Chrome browser.

macOS has keyboard shortcuts for different types of screenshots and a Screenshots app for a little more flexibility.

• Shift + Command + 3 — Take a screenshot of the full screen and save it to the desktop.
• Shift + Command + 4 + Spacebar — The cursor changes to a camera icon. Click on a window to save a screenshot of the active window. Delay Choice while clicking to exclude the window shadow from the screenshot.
• Shift + Command + 4 — The cursor changes to a crosshair. Select the area to save a screenshot of it.
• Control + Shift + Command + 3 — Copy a full screenshot to the clipboard.
• Control + Shift + Command + 4 + Spacebar — The cursor changes to a camera icon. Click on a window to copy a screenshot of the active window to the clipboard. Delay Choice while clicking to exclude the window shadow from the screenshot.
• Control + Shift + Command + 4 — The cursor changes to a crosshair. Select the area to copy a screenshot of it to the clipboard.

Press Shift + Command + 5 the calls Screenshots app. Click and drag the edges of the selection area and click To establish to take a screenshot and save it to your desktop. Press and hold Check to copy it to the clipboard instead.

Floating interface allows you to choose the type of screenshot you want. Click Options to choose the save location, set a timer, show thumbnails after capture, or show/hide the mouse cursor in screenshots.

We have a complete guide to taking screenshots on a Mac, linked below.