How to Save a Screenshot

This article was co-authored by Chiara Corsaro and by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA. Chiara Corsaro is the General Manager and Apple Certified Mac & iOS Technician for macVolks, Inc., an Apple Authorized Service Provider located in the San Francisco Bay Area. macVolks, Inc. was founded in 1990, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A+ rating, and is part of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN).

There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

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Most devices allow you to take a photo of everything that appears on the screen by entering a quick shortcut. On Windows, press the Windows key + Print Screen. On Mac, press Command + Shift + 3. Screenshots can be used for troubleshooting, instruction, reference, or showing off. The process for taking screenshots varies depending on the device you are using. This wikiHow teaches you how to take a screenshot on popular computers, phones, tablets, and gaming consoles.

Taking a Screenshot on Your Computer

To save a screenshot on Windows 10, press the Windows key + PrntScn at the same time. On Mac, press Command + Shift + 3.

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Windows 10

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To find your screenshot, press the Windows key + E together to open File Explorer, click Pictures in the left panel (you may have to expand "This PC" first), and then click Screenshots.
If this didn't work for you, or if you want to select a certain area of the screen to screenshot instead of the entire screen, keep reading.

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This tool comes pre-installed on Windows 10 and is meant to replace "Snipping Tool." If you're used to using Snipping Tool, you can still use it, but Microsoft recommends using Snip & Sketch instead.
If you use the keyboard shortcuts, your images will be saved to your clipboard, so you will need to use an app, like Paint, to paste your clipboard image into a file in order to save it. Alternatively, you can open the Snip & Sketch app and click the floppy disk icon to save your files after capturing a screenshot.

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The first icon is the rectangular snip, which lets you draw a rectangle or square around the part of the screen you want to capture. [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
The second is the freeform snip, which lets you draw freehand around the desired part of the screen.
The third tool is the window snip, which lets you take a screenshot of a single window.
The fourth tool is the fullscreen snip—this one takes a photo of the entire screen (a traditional screenshot).

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If you want a full-screen screenshot, clicking the full-screen button automatically captures the screen and saves it to your clipboard.
To select part of the screen, select either the rectangle or free-form tool and click and drag around the part of the screen you want to capture. As soon as you lift your finger, the screenshot will be saved to your clipboard.
To capture just a window, select the window snip tool and click the window you want to capture. This saves the screenshot to your clipboard.

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Your screenshots are only saved to your clipboard, so you'll need to use the Paint app to paste your clipboard image into a file where you can save it.
However, if you open the Snip & Sketch app from the beginning without using keyboard shortcuts, the app will prompt you for a file save location after you capture a screenshot, so you'll be able to skip the steps involving the Paint app.

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Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + V to paste from your clipboard into Paint.

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\n"> Click the File menu and select Save as . The File menu is at the top-left corner of the screen.

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Choose a location and click Save . You can also rename the file if you'd like. Your screenshot is now saved.

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Windows 8

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To find your screenshot, press the Windows key + E together to open File Explorer, click your Pictures folder, and then click Screenshots.
If this didn't work for you, or if you want to select a certain area of the screen to screenshot instead of the entire screen, keep reading.

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Open the Snipping Tool. An easy way to do this is to press the Windows key on the keyboard to open the menu, type snipping into the search, and then click Snipping Tool. This opens the built-in screenshotting tool.

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\n"> Click the down-arrow next to "Mode." This expands a list of options for taking a screenshot.

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Free-form snip lets you draw a freehand line around the area you want to capture. As soon as you lift your finger from the mouse, a preview will appear.
Rectangular snip lets you draw a square or rectangle around an area to capture. When you lift your finger, you'll see a preview of the screenshot.
Windows snip lets you screenshot the contents of a single window only. After selecting this tool, click the window you want to capture to immediately screenshot it and display a preview.
Full-screen snip captures everything currently on the monitor screen. This will capture the screen as it is now and display a preview.

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\n"> Click the disk icon to save. It's in the toolbar running along the top of the screen.

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\n"> Select a saving location and click Save . This saves your screenshot to the desired folder. Advertisement Method 3 of 10:

Mac

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To copy the screenshot to your clipboard instead of creating a file, press Command + Ctrl + Shift + 3.

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Press Esc to exit the screenshot selection without taking the picture.
To copy the screenshot to your clipboard instead of creating a file, press Command + Ctrl + Shift + 4.

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To copy the screenshot to your clipboard instead of creating a file, press Command + Ctrl + Shift + 4 + Spacebar. [3] X Research source
If you copied screenshots to the clipboard, paste them into any document need to (like Skype, Word, or Outlook). [4] X Research source

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Chromebook

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It's in the same spot an F5 key would be.
That key combination will screenshot your entire screen then either appear in a pop-up window, which allows you to copy the image to your clipboard or annotate it or save it to the Downloads folder in your Files.
If you want to take a partial screenshot, continue reading this method.

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\n"> Press ⇧ Shift + Ctrl and the Show Windows keys. The cursor will change to a crosshair icon.

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To find this folder and all your screenshots, click the Launcher icon in the lower-left corner of your desktop (you can also press the magnifying glass key on your keyboard), then click Files under the search bar. In the file manager window that appears, you'll find the Downloads folder under "My Files" in the panel on the left. [5] X Research source

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Android

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If that doesn't work, keep reading.

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There are many different Android models, so the key combination can vary. However, if the previous steps didn't work for you, you'll need to refer to your manufacturer's website for support.

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iPhone and iPad

If you want to edit the screenshot, tap the preview that appears on the screen to open it in Markup.

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If you want to edit the screenshot, tap the preview that appears on the screen to open it in Markup.

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PlayStation 5

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Press and hold the Create button. It's on the left side of your DualSense controller, above the directional pad, and will open a menu.

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To take a quick screenshot, hold the Create button until an image with a checkmark icon appears in the top right corner of your screen.

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Find your screenshots. These will be in your Media Gallery and you can edit and share them to linked social media accounts like Twitter or Facebook. [9] X Research source

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PlayStation 4

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Not all content supports screenshots. You may not be able to take screenshots when playing movies or during video game cutscenes.

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\n"> Select Screenshot . This captures the screenshot and saves it to your gallery.

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Select an upload option. If you want to share your screenshot online, you can now select an option, such as Activities (to share to PSN as an activity) or Facebook (to share with online friends).

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Xbox One and Series X

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\n"> Start up the game you want to take a screenshot of. You can't take screenshots of the Xbox's menu.

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If you're using one of the new wireless controllers, you can take a screenshot quickly by pressing the Share button (the curved arrow) on the controller. This saves a screenshot immediately.

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Press the Y button to take a screenshot. If you have a Kinect, you can also say, "Xbox, take a screenshot."

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Find your screenshots. You can find all of your screenshots in the Upload Studio app, under "Manage Captures." You can then share your screenshot to various social networks or save it to your OneDrive.

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Nintendo Switch

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If you're using the Switch Lite, the Capture button is located below the +Control Pad.

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Navigate to your Album application. It's the blue icon located on the HOME screen that you see when you first turn on the Switch.

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If you have social media linked, navigate to a screenshot and press A to make it full-screen. Press A again to select Editing and Posting. You'll be able to add text and make small edits to your screenshot before continuing, which you can do by pressing A to select Finished and Post. [12] X Research source

Advertisement Common Questions: Capturing Your Screen

How do I take a screenshot on Windows?

If you want to take a screenshot on Windows, press the Windows key + PrntScn. Alternatively, press PrntScn and then paste the screenshot onto Paint. Save the file.

How do I take a screenshot on Mac?

To take a screenshot on Mac, press Command + Shift + 3. This will take a picture of your entire screen.

Do screenshots save automatically?

On some devices, screenshots should save automatically in a designated folder. Look for a folder titled Screenshots to make sure they're saved after you press the buttons.

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