Taking a screenshot in Windows 10 and 11 is easy with just a few keystrokes.
Whether you are downloading Windows 11 or using Windows 10 for an extended period of time, you can easily take screenshots to capture part or all of your display. Perhaps you want to save online receipts, or you want to capture a particularly noteworthy gaming feat to show your friends. Windows 10 and 11 offer the same built-in tools (Snip & Sketch and Snipping Tool), as well as multiple keyboard shortcuts that let you take screenshots instantly.
Here’s how to take screenshots in Windows 10 and Windows 11 using the built-in Windows Screenshot tool and other shortcuts so you can decide which you like best.
The Snip & Sketch tool makes it easier than the old Snipping Tool to access, share and annotate screenshots. It can now take a screenshot of a window on your desktop, which is a surprising omission when the application was first launched and we used Team Snipping Tool until recently.
The easiest way to invoke Snip & Sketch is to use the keyboard shortcut Windows Key + Shift + S. You can also find Snip & Sketch in the alphabetical list of applications accessed from the Start button and in its notification panel listed as Screen snip tool. Or, if you have not committed a keyboard shortcut to memory, you can just search for it. (If you take screenshots frequently, we recommend that you pin the app to the taskbar.)
Either the keyboard shortcut or the notification button will darken your screen and open a small menu at the top of the screen, allowing you to choose the type of screenshot you want to capture: rectangular, free-form, windowed or full screen. After taking a screenshot, it will be saved to the clipboard and immediately displayed as a notification in the bottom right corner of the screen. Click on the notification to open the screenshot in the Snip & Sketch application for annotation, saving or sharing. (If you miss a notification, open the Notifications panel and you’ll see it sitting there.)
If you open Snip & Sketch from the Start menu or by searching, it will open the Snip & Sketch window instead of the small panel at the top of the screen. From here, you will need to click the New button in the upper left corner to launch the screen capture and open the small panel. Doing it this way is an extra step, but it also allows you to delay the screen capture. Click the down arrow button next to the New button to delay the clip by 3 or 10 seconds.
Screenshot tool
The Screenshot Tool has been around since Windows Vista. For several years, Windows has warned that the Screenshot Tool was going to disappear, but it is still running in Windows 11. The Screenshot Tool has been removed from the list of applications in the Start menu, but can be easily accessed via the search bar.
Click the New button to start the screenshot process. The default clip type is rectangular, but you can also use free-form, full-screen and windowed clips.
The Screenshot tool does not automatically save your screenshots – you need to manually save them in the tool before exiting – it will automatically copy your screenshots to the clipboard.
Print Screen
To capture the entire screen, click on the Print Screen (sometimes marked as PrtScn) key. Your screenshot will not be saved as a file, but will be copied to the clipboard. You will need to open an image editing tool (such as Microsoft Paint), paste the screenshot into the editor, and save the file from there.
You can also set the PrtScn button to open the Snip & Sketch tool by going to Settings > Easy Access > Keyboard and toggling “Use PrtScn button to open screenshots” under Print Screen Shortcuts.
Windows Key + Print Screen
To capture the entire screen and automatically save the screenshot, tap the Windows key + Print Screen key. Your screen will darken briefly, indicating that you have just taken a screenshot, and the screenshot will be saved to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.
Alt + Print Screen
To quickly capture a screenshot of the active window, use the keyboard shortcut Alt + PrtScn. This will capture your currently active window and copy the screenshot to the clipboard. You will need to open the photo in the image editor to save it.
No print screen key?
If your computer does not have the PrtScn key, don’t worry, Microsoft provides you with another keyboard shortcut. You can take a screenshot by pressing Fn + Windows logo key + Spacebar. It will then be saved to the Pictures > Screenshot folder.
Game Bar
You can use the Game Bar to capture screenshots whether you are playing a game or not. First, you need to enable the Game Bar from the Settings page by making sure you have used the Game Bar to switch to Record Game Clips, Screenshots and Broadcasts. Once enabled, press Windows Key + G to bring 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 take a full screen screenshot. To set your own screenshot keyboard shortcut for the Game bar, go to Settings > Gaming > Game bar.
Windows logo + lower volume
If you’re using a Microsoft Surface device, you can capture a screenshot of the entire screen using the physical (well, some kind of physical) button – similar to how you would capture a screenshot on any other phone or tablet. To do this, press and hold the Windows logo touch button at the bottom of the Surface screen, then tap the physical volume down button on the side of the tablet. The screen will darken briefly and the screenshot will automatically be saved to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.