How to Quickly Take Screenshots on Windows 10
Windows 10 has been released for many years, but some users may still not be familiar with some of the keyboard shortcut, such as the keystrokes to take screenshots. Don’t rush to laugh, because it did happen. Last week I received an email asking help for troubleshooting his PC, and when I asked him to provide the screenshot of the issue, I received several pictures taken by his mobile phone.
The pictures were too blurry so I could not get the information to identify the issue he encountered. After I shares with him the shortcut to take screenshots, I finally got clear pictures and helped him solve the issue. And then I realized that, not every body knows the effective way to take screenshots in Windows 10. So in this post I’m going to share some methods that come in handy for me. Read on if you’re interested.
There are many options to take screenshots on Windows 10, including the built-in Snipping tool, various keyboard, physical button shortcuts, and third-party tools.
1.Snipping Tool
The Snipping Tool has been introduced since Windows Vista. You can launch this tool from Start > All Programs > Windows Accessories > Snipping Tool, or by typing Snipping Tool in the Search box and selecting it in the result. Then you can click the New in the Snipping Tool window, use your mouse to crop a rectangular part of your screen for capture, and then manually save the screenshot by heading to File > Save As in the Snipping Tool window. Note that after the quick capturing, the screenshot has been copied to the clipboard so you can directly paste it at any location.
2.Print Screen Key
If you want to capture the entire screen, you can simply tap the PriScn/Prt Scr button on your keyboard, and then the screenshot will be copied to the clipboard. But also it will not be saved automatically. To save or edit the screenshot, open an image editing tool like the built-in Paint app, paste the screenshot, and save/edit it from there.
To capture the active window, you can use the keyboard shortcut Alt + Prt Scr, but also you need to paste the shot in an image editor to save it or do some editing. And make sure to click the window to make it active before pressing the combination.
Besides, the combination of Windows + Print Screen keys can capture the entire screen and automatically save the screenshot in the Pictures > Screenshots folder.
3.Third Party Apps
There are so many Windows programs that provide the capturing screen features, such as OneDrive, Firefox browser, and Snagit. Personally I use the professional Snagit to take screenshots and make some editing when I need to write How-to guides. But it is a priced program, and if you have no advanced requirements, you can save the money.
What apps do you frequently use to capture screen? Share your good idea with me!