How to Take a Screenshot in Windows
Beginner
How-To · Windows
Every built-in way to capture your screen, and when to use which one.
- Press Windows+Shift+S to open the Snipping Tool overlay, then drag to select exactly the area you want — it copies straight to your clipboard to paste anywhere.
- Press Windows+PrtScn to capture your entire screen automatically and save it as a file directly in Pictures > Screenshots, with no extra steps needed.
- Press PrtScn alone to copy the full screen to your clipboard without saving a file, useful for a quick paste you don't need to keep afterward.
- Press Alt+PrtScn to capture just the currently active window, rather than your whole screen.
- Open the Snipping Tool app directly (search for it in the Start menu) for more control — delayed captures, freeform shapes, and basic markup after capturing.
- For screen recordings rather than still images, the same Windows+Shift+S overlay includes a video recording option in newer versions of Windows.
Running into an error instead of just needing the how-to? Check our Windows troubleshooting guides or the error lookup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do screenshots taken with Print Screen actually go?
A plain Print Screen copies the image to your clipboard only, without saving a file — you need to paste it somewhere (like Paint) to save it. Windows+Print Screen, by contrast, automatically saves a file to your Pictures > Screenshots folder.
Can I screenshot just part of the screen instead of everything?
Yes — Windows+Shift+S opens the Snipping Tool for selecting a specific area, window, or shape, rather than capturing the entire screen.
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