How to Take a Screenshot on a Windows PC

Taking a screenshot isn’t a particularly exciting computing task, but it’s a very useful skill to have nonetheless. Screenshots can be helpful at work, essential for record-keeping, or requested by tech support to better illustrate a bug you’re experiencing.

But if you’re taking screenshots on a Windows PC, the first thing to know is that you’re not just stuck with one method for doing so — you aren’t limited to just the Print Screen key. Your options include sending your captured screenshot to OneDrive, getting them via the Xbox Game Bar, and others. Our preferred method uses the Paint program, but you can edit screenshots with nearly any first- or third-party tool.

Further reading

Step 1: Capture the image

Windows provides six methods to capture your desktop as an image. Three are based on the Print Screen (PrtScn) key, while the remaining three require the Windows (Win) key.

On external keyboards, you’ll find a dedicated PrtScn key located in the upper-right corner. The Win key typically resides on the lower-left, between the Control (Ctrl) and Alternate (Alt) keys. It sports the Windows logo, so it’s hard to miss.

On laptops, the Print Screen command may be combined with another function on a single key, as shown above. In this case, you must press the Function (Fn) key in addition to the Print Screen key.

Here’s a breakdown of the six screen-capture commands:

• Print Screen (PrtScn): Captures the entire screen. If you have more than one display, this function captures everything shown across all connected displays as a single image. By default, this method does not save your image as a file but merely sends the captured image to the Windows clipboard.
• Alt + Print Screen: Captures a single window. Be sure to highlight the target window first, such as a document or browser, before pressing these two keys (or three on certain laptops). By default, this method does not save your image as a file but just sends the image contained in the capture window to the clipboard.
• Win + Print Screen: Captures the entire screen. The difference here is that Windows saves the image as a file. By default, it’s sent to C:Users<user name>Pictures>Screenshots or C:Users<user name>OneDrive>Pictures>Screenshots on your PC.
• Win + Shift + S: Capture a screenshot using the built-in screenshot tool called Snip & Sketch. The screen dims and provides four choices on a small toolbar (not including the Exit icon): Rectangular Snip, Freeform Snip, Window Snip, and Fullscreen Snip. This tool does not save captures as an image but merely sends them to the clipboard. We expand on this later in the guide.
• Win + G: Opens the Xbox Game Bar. Click the Capture button and then the Camera icon, and this tool will save an image to C:Users>(user name)>Videos>Captures by default.
• Win + Alt + Print Screen: Captures only the active window. This command saves an image to C:Users>(user name)>Videos>Captures by default.

In some cases, the screen flickers or dims to signify that Windows grabbed a screenshot. If this doesn’t happen, open File Explorer and head to their respective default locations to see if Windows saved your image.

If you’re using OneDrive, you can save screenshots to the cloud so they’re accessible from every device. It does not save screenshots by default, however. Instead, you must click on the Cloud icon parked next to the System Clock (or in the Hidden Icons menu marked with an upward-facing arrow). If this icon isn’t appearing, you may need to open the OneDrive app first and sign in to your account. After clicking on the Cloud icon, select Help & Settings, and click Settings on the pop-up menu. Next, click the Backup tab in the resulting pop-up window and check the box under Screenshots. Then click OK.

In this case, you can press the first two Print Screen commands to automatically save an image file to OneDrive. You won’t see the screen flicker or dim for these commands — you’ll receive a notification instead. Be sure to sync the Screenshots folder if you want to access the images on your PC.

Step 2: Open Paint

If you used a method that saves your screenshot locally as a file, you can locate and view the image using the Photos app. If everything looks great, you can move it, attach it to an email, upload it to the cloud, and so on. However, if you need to crop an image — especially those taken on PCs with more than one screen — you have three native tools at your disposal: Paint, Paint 3D, and Photos.

Compared to Paint and Paint 3D, Microsoft’s newer Photos app is somewhat limited. You can rotate and crop images, change their aspect ratio, apply filters, adjust the color, remove red-eye, and more. You can’t create an image from scratch and paste it from the clipboard, though.

In this guide, we use the older Paint program because it’s familiar and reliable. By default, you won’t find it listed on the Start menu. Instead, type “paint” in the taskbar’s search box and click the resulting desktop app.

Paint also may be available when you right-click on an image. When the pop-up menu appears, hover your mouse pointer over the menu’s Open With option to see Paint listed on a secondary menu, as shown below.

Alternatively, you can locate the program — mspaint.exe — in the C:Windows>System32 directory. Right-click on the file and select Pin to Start on the pop-up menu.

Step 3: Paste the screenshot (clipboard only)

You’ll need this step if you used a screenshot method that sends your capture to the clipboard.

With Paint open, click the clipboard-style Paste button located in the top-left corner. You can also press the keyboard’s Ctrl + V keys to paste the image on Paint’s blank canvas, which expands accordingly.

With your screenshot properly inserted into Paint, you can crop, paint, create shapes, add text, and more. If you want to add stickers, 3D shapes, effects, and more, click the colorful Edit With Paint 3D button located on the toolbar’s right end.

Step 4: Save the screenshot

When you finish editing the image in Paint, click the main File option in the upper-left corner. Next, select Save As in the drop-down menu. This option expands with a selection of four file formats — PNG, JPEG, BMP, and GIF — along with the Other Formats option, which lets you save your image as a TIFF or HEIC file.

If you’re not familiar with image formats, check out our guide that covers JPEG versus PNG.

Whatever format you choose, a pop-up window appears. Enter a file name, and select your desired file format from the drop-down menu. You can select a specific destination, too, if you don’t want to save your screenshot in the default location.

When you’re ready, click the Save button in the bottom-right corner.

And that’s it! You’re done.

Alternative: The Snipping Tool

The best native alternative method is the Snipping Tool. This built-in screen-capture utility works well enough, but it’s not the most robust or versatile when it comes to saving a snapshot. However, it is a utility that allows users to better define and capture portions of their desktop display as a screenshot.

To start, just type “snipping tool” into the taskbar’s search box and select the resulting app. Once it opens, you’ll see a notification that it’s “moving to a new home” in a later update. It’s still an available tool, but Microsoft encourages you to use Snip & Sketch or the aforementioned Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcut.

With the Snipping Tool opened, click the Mode button to expand its menu. You’ll find four screen-capturing options: Draw a window (Free-Form Snip), box in an area (Rectangular Snip), capture the current window (Window Snip), and capture the entire screen (Full-Screen Snip).

Note that if you use the Free-Form and Rectangular Snip modes, the screen turns white. Once you begin defining the screenshot space, the white tint clears within that area. If you’re capturing a specific window (Window Snip), your screen tints white except for the contents within the window you select.

The Snipping Tool includes a delay feature, too. It can wait between one to five seconds before it snaps an awesome screenshot, so you can capture a precise moment in a video or animation.

Once you capture a screenshot, the Snipping Tool interface expands to display your screenshot. You can perform light edits like using a pen, highlighter, and eraser. You also can click the colorful Paint 3D button to perform additional edits in the newer application.

When you’re done editing within the Snipping Tool, click File in the upper-left corner and then click the Save As option listed on the drop-down menu.

Alternative: Snip & Sketch

Snip & Sketch is Microsoft’s newer version of its snipping utility. You can access this tool from the Start menu or by typing Win + Shift + S on your keyboard.

If you use the keyboard shortcut, the screen darkens and renders a five-button toolbar along the top. You have the same functions found in the older Snipping Tool, but it doesn’t save your screenshots as a file. Instead, the image goes straight to your clipboard first. You’ll also see a desktop notification that informs you that the image has been copied to the clipboard. This same notification gives you the option to edit the captured image within the Snip & Sketch app. You can access this latter option by clicking on the Desktop Notification itself. If you click on the notification, the screenshot loads within the app, allowing you to crop the image and apply a pen, pencil, highlighter, and eraser.

If you load the Snip & Sketch app instead, click the drop-down arrow next to the New button in the top-left corner and select Snip Now in the drop-down menu. The screen darkens, and the five-button toolbar appears. Take your snip, and your desired image should automatically load in the Snip & Sketch app, ready for you to edit.

When you’re ready, save the image anywhere on your PC by clicking the Disk-Style button. If you want to edit and save the screenshot using any installed image editor, click the Three-Dot icon on the toolbar and select the Open With option on the drop-down menu.

How to take a screenshot on Windows 11

Windows 11 becomes officially available to the public later this year. Once that happens, and you upgrade your PC to Microsoft’s latest version of its flagship operating system, you’ll want to know how to take a screenshot on it. Well, don’t worry too much, as the steps are the same as it is in Windows 10.

Following our instructions above, you can use Paint, Print Screen, the Snipping Tool, or Snip & Sketch. Microsoft hasn’t made any changes to the screenshot mechanisms in Windows 11. They’re exactly the same as you know it in Windows 10.

Third-party alternatives

If you want even more options for choosing and customizing your screenshots (and don’t mind downloading a new app), we suggest giving LightShot a try. It is free and works on Windows and MacOS. LightShot may be a better option for more professional work or screenshots that need significant editing.

We also suggest GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP). It’s an open-source tool for creatives who don’t want to pay for an Adobe Photoshop subscription. It provides everything you need to create artwork, edit high-definition images, and more.

Knowing how to take a screenshot on Windows is an important skill, but it’s not the only one you need to know. Be sure to check out our other guides on how to use Windows, including how to turn on Bluetooth in Windows and how to record your computer screen.

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