How to take a screenshot on Windows or Macintosh

Sometimes, you will need to take a picture of your computer's screen. This can be done via the screenshot feature that is available on computers. When you capture your screen, the picture file will be saved to a clipboard on your device which you can paste wherever you want.

How to take a screenshot on Windows

The quickest way of taking a screenshot on Windows is done with a keyboard:

1. To capture your entire screen, press the PrtScr key on the upper right side of the keyboard.
2. The screenshot will be copied to your clipboard. You can then paste the image to anywhere where it's possible to insert images.

If you need to manually select the portion of your screen when taking a screenshot, you can use the Snipping Tool:

1. Open the Snipping Tool on your computer.
   
2. You can click on New, and drag the crosshair to select the area of your screen. Once you release the mouse button, the snip will be saved to your clipboard.

How to take a screenshot on Macintosh

1. To take a screenshot, press and hold these three keys together: Shift, Command ⌘, and 3. 
2. If you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot. Or wait for the screenshot to save to your desktop.

It is also possible to manually select a portion of the screen when taking a screenshot:

1. Press and hold these three keys together: Shift, Command ⌘, and 4.
2. Drag the crosshair to select the area of the screen to capture. To move the selection, press and hold the Space bar while dragging. To cancel taking the screenshot, press the Esc (Escape) key.

Note:

The screenshot is placed into your clipboard, and you can paste it where needed. By default, screenshots are saved to your desktop. You can change the default location of saved screenshots from the Options menu in the Screenshot app. You can also drag the thumbnail to a folder or document.