You can take screen captures in Windows 10 and 11 with just a few simple keystrokes. It’s easy to take a screenshot to capture part of or the entire display. Maybe you want to save an online receipt, or perhaps you want to catch a particularly noteworthy gaming feat to show your friends.
Windows 10 and 11 offer the same built-in tools, and several keyboard shortcuts will let you take a screenshot instantly.
Here, we’ll walk you through how to use built-in Windows screenshot tools and other shortcuts for taking screenshots in Windows 10 and 11, so you can decide which you like best.
Let’s start with the most commonly used shortcuts for Windows 10 and 11 users.
Windows key + Print Screen
To capture your entire screen and automatically save the screenshot, tap the Windows key + Print Screen key.
Your screen will briefly go dim to indicate that you’ve just taken a screenshot, and it will save the screenshot to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.
Next can use this one on both windows.
Windows Logo + Volume Down or Game bar
Suppose you’re rocking a Microsoft Surface device. In that case, you can use the physical (well, physical) buttons to take a screenshot of your entire screen. Similar to how you would take a screenshot on every other tablet or phone.
To do this, hold down the Windows Logo touch button at the bottom of your screen and hit the physical volume-down button on the side of the phone or tablet.
The screen will dim concisely; therefore, the screenshot will be automatically saved to the image > Screenshots folder.
You can use the Game bar to snap a screenshot, whether or not you’re in the middle of enjoying a game or not. First, you’ll need to enable the Game bar from the settings page by ensuring you’ve toggled on Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcasts using the Game bar.
Once enabled, hit the Windows key + G key to call up the Game bar. From here, you can click the screenshot button in the Game bar or use the default keyboard shortcut Windows key + Alt + PrtScn to snap a full-screen screenshot. To set your Game bar screenshot keyboard shortcut, to Settings > Gaming > Game bar.
Next is the in-built tool provided by windows in all versions.
Snipping tool
The Snipping Tool has been around Windows since always. Windows has warned for a couple of years that the Snipping Tool is going away, but it’s still kicking around, including in Windows 11.
The Snipping Tool has been delisted from the list of apps from the Start menu; however, it’s simply accessible via the search bar.
Click on the New button. The default snip type is rectangular, but you can also take free-form, full-screen, and window snips.
The Snipping Tool does not automatically save your screenshots; you must keep them in the tool before you exit manually. It automatically copies your captures to the clipboard.
Again an inbuild windows tool.
Snip & Sketch
The Snip & Sketch tool is easier to access, share and annotate screenshots than the older Snipping Tool.
It can now capture a screenshot of a window on your desktop, a stunning omission once 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 in the notification panel where it’s listed as Screen snip.
Or you can search for it if you don’t commit the keyboard shortcut to memory. (If you are a frequent screenshot taker, we suggest pinning the app to the taskbar.)
The keyboard shortcut or the notification button can dim your screen and open a little menu at the top. That allows you to choose which kind of screenshot you wish to take rectangular, free-form, window, or full-screen.
Once you take your screenshot, it’ll be saved to your clipboard and show up momentarily as a notification in the lower-right corner of your screen.
Click on the notification to open the screenshot in the Snip & Sketch app, and now you can annotate, save or share it. (If you miss the notification, open the notification panel, and you’ll find it sitting there.)
If you open Snip & Sketch from the Start menu or search for it, it’ll open the Snip & Sketch window rather than the trim panel at the top of the screen.
You must click the button New in the upper-left to initiate a screen capture and open the small board. It’s an extra step to proceed, but it lets you delay a screenshot. Click on the down-arrow button next to the New button to delay a snip for 3 or 10 seconds.
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