How to screenshot on Windows - Digital Fact

Sometimes you need to save what’s on your screen. Maybe you see something you want to share with friends or family, or perhaps there’s something you want to save for easy reference later. Thankfully, whether you’re running Windows 10 or Windows 11, there are a few easy ways to take screenshots of all — or part — of your screen.

While Microsoft no longer sells Windows 10, the software giant still supports the operating system until October 2025. So you don’t have to switch to Windows 11 yet, and you can still use these screenshot tips for a couple more years.

A screenshot is a photo of what is on your computer’s screen.

This is also known as ‘Print screen’ on a PC. The screenshot is usually saved in the Pictures folder unless you have changed the default setting.

Full screen on Windows

Press ‘Print Screen/PrtScrn’ or press ‘Alt’ and ‘Print Screen/PrtScrn’ (different for each PC).
Click ‘Start’.
Open ‘Paint’. Do a search for ‘Paint’ if you can’t find it.
Click ‘File’.
Click ‘New’ to open a new page.
Click on ‘Paste’ in the new page.
Click on ‘File’.
Click on ‘Save As’.
Name the new file, choose where you want it to save on your computer, and click ‘Save’.

Part of the screen on Windows

Click ‘Start’.
Click ‘Snipping Tool’. Do a search for ‘Snipping Tool’ if you can’t find it.
In the ‘Snipping Tool’ select ‘New’.
The cursor will then change to a crosshair pointer.
Move the crosshair to where you want to capture.
Click and drag to select an area.
When you have selected the area you need, release your Mouse or Trackpad.
Click on ‘File’.
Click on ‘Save As’.
1Name the new file, choose where you want it to save on your computer, and click ‘Save’.

Users running Windows 10

Use the ‘Print Screen’ button (PrtSc). You’ll find it on the upper-right side of most keyboards (or next to the Space Bar on some). It will copy an image of your entire screen to the clipboard. You can then hit ‘Ctrl + V’ to paste it into a document.

Screen recording on Windows

Xbox Game Bar is built into Windows 11 and Windows 10 and lets you make a screen recording one application at a time.

Press together the ‘Windows Key’ + ‘Alt’ + ‘R’ at the same time.
A recording widget will appear in the corner of your screen to start recording.
Turn on or off your microphone for your audio preferences.
Stop recording your screen by holding together ‘Windows Key’ + ‘Alt’ + ‘R’ at the same time or press the ‘Stop’ button in the recording widget.
You will usually find the recording in your Videos/Captures folder from File Explorer.

Note: Xbox Game Bar won’t be able to record your Windows desktop or File Explorer. You may need to download a third-party application to your desktop to do this.

What to do if you have a different computer or device

We also have advice on:

How to screenshot on an Android device
How to screenshot on an iPad or iPhone
How to screenshot on a Mac

If none of these screenshot methods work on your device, we suggest you open your search engine and search ‘How do I take a screenshot/screen recording with a [add your device type/model]’.

There are also some apps that can be used to take a screenshot or take a screen recording. Open Google Play and search ‘screen capture’ or ‘screen recorder’.

Snip & Sketch

The Snip & Sketch tool is easier to access, share and annotate screenshots than the old Snipping Tool. It can now capture a screenshot of a window on your desktop, a surprising omission when the app was first introduced that kept us on Team Snipping Tool until recently.

The easiest way to call up Snip & Sketch is with the keyboard shortcut Windows key + Shift + S. You can also find the Snip & Sketch tool listed in the alphabetical list of apps accessed from the Start button as well as in the notification panel where it’s listed as Screen snip. Or you can just search for it if you don’t commit the keyboard shortcut to memory. (If you’re a frequent screenshot taker, we recommend pinning the app to the taskbar.)