How to take a screenshot in Windows 10

[JamieKavanagh]

Need an image to help with troubleshooting? Want to prove to your friends that something really did happen? A screenshot will help. They are a snapshot image of what is happening on your desktop right at that second. There are lots of reasons why you might need such a thing, so if you would like to know how to take a screenshot in Windows 10, read on.

Take a screenshot of the entire screen in Windows 10
If you want to capture the entire screen, try this.

1. Find the Print Screen button on your keyboard. It might say something like ‘PrtScn’.
2. Arrange your desktop so it shows what you need it to.
3. Hit PrtScn.
4. Paste into an image editor by hitting Ctrl + V.

Take a screenshot of just the active screen in Windows 10
If you use a multi-monitor computer like I do, it’s often useful just to take a screenshot of the active window. That saves cropping and arranging to get what you need.

1. Arrange your desktop so it shows what you need it to.
2. Press Alt + PrtScn.
3. Paste into an image editor by hitting Ctrl + V.

Create a screenshot file
You can also take a screenshot and create a file directly rather than using an image editor.

1. Arrange your desktop so it shows what you need it to.
2. Press the Windows key and PrtScn.
3. Navigate to your Pictures folder. The screenshot should be inside the file.

Snip a screenshot
You can also take a screenshot of a particular part of your display using the snipping tool.

1. Type or paste ‘snipping’ into the Search Windows box.
2. Click ‘New’ and drag your mouse to create a box around the part of the screen you want to capture.
3. Save the image.

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