How to Take Screenshots on PC and on Mac that are running Windows 10/8/8.1/7

Windows has been the most popular operating system over the past decades. However, some of its users still have no idea of how to take a screenshot (some others may call it screen capture or snapshot, etc.). Screenshots are sometimes essential when you want to show someone something on your computer, and most of the time, they better explain yourself.

To take a screenshot on Windows is not very much convenient, but it is still accessible and just a keystroke away. This how-to guide will explain to you how to take a full screenshot, a specific area, or whatever size you want.

How to Take a Full Screenshot on Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10

1. Press the “Print Screen”

  • This key would also be called “Print Screen SysRq,” “PrtScn SysRq,” “Prnt Scrn,” or something like that on your keyboard, and you are supposed to find this key between F12 and Scroll, above Insert or on the right of BackSpace on most keyboards.
  • The entire screen will be copied to the clipboard, so there won’t be any notification that the screenshot has been taken. As it is a full screenshot, the resolution of the image will be the same as your desktop resolution.
  • If you are running a laptop, you will have to press Fn or the function button together with the Print Screen button to take the screenshot.

2. Save Screenshot

Since the Screenshot taken is copied to the clipboard, you will not be able to see if you paste it somewhere. There are many ways to paste and save:

  • Paste (Ctrl+V or right-click and choose Paste) the Screenshot to Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint and save it to an office file.
  • If you are writing an email, most email providers accept pasting a screenshot to the email directly.
  • If you want a graphics file for future editing or transfer to others, you will need to use Paint:
    a. Open Paint:
    Windows 7/8: Start–> All programs–>Accessories–>Paint
    Windows 10: Start–> All Apps–>Windows Accessories–>Paint
    b. Paste (Ctrl+V or choose Paste) the screenshot to Paint
    c. Click File–>Save/Save As or simply press Ctrl+S to save the image. Here we recommend PNG for better quality and smaller file size.

How to take a screenshot of a window on Windows 10/8/7

Press Alt and Print Screen together to take a screenshot of the window that is in front of all other windows. Other steps and tips are all the same as in “How to Take a Full-Screen Shot” above.

Snipping Tool—Take Screenshots of any Area You Want

If you are running Windows above Windows XP, except for the Starter and Basic editions, you are free to take screenshots of whatever area you need with the snipping tool.

1. Open Snipping Tool

  • Simply click Start and search the snipping tool
  • Or, you can go Start–> All Programs–> Accessories and locate Snipping Tool in the list

2. Take a screenshot

You are ready to take a screenshot once the Snipping tool is running. Just hold the left click of your mouse and drag and release to capture. You can do some basic editing and save it after.

  • “Rectangular Snip” is the default option.
  • “Free-form Snip” lets you draw any shape with your mouse. The area inside the shape will be snipped.
  • “Window Snip” works as Alt + Print Screen, and “Full-screen Snip” works as Print Screen (without snipping tool window).

3. Edit and Save the Snip

Windows offers some basic editing function to the Snipping Tool. You can use the Pen and Highlight tool to annotate the screenshot if you like. And Click File–>Save As or Save As button or simply press Ctrl+S to save the image. Windows always work that way and PNG is always recommended for better quality and smaller file size.

How to Take Screenshots on Mac computers running Windows?

I use Bootcamp to run a Windows 7 on my own MacBook Pro and want to take a screenshot but cannot find the PrintScreen button. So, is there any way to use key combinations to take screenshots on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook, and iMacs running Windows instead of using the program Snipping tool? Okay, here’s how and it is straightforward.

How to take full screenshots on Mac computers running Windows?

Hold Fn, Shift, and F11 together. And the rest would be the same on standard Windows computers. Check above for details. Please note you won’t see the screenshot in the clipboard, but you can paste it into Office or emails as you need. 

How to take a screenshot of a window on Mac computers running Windows?

Please use Snipping tools to do so. 

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Bob
Bob
6 years ago

I think third party softwares are easier to use.

iTechBeat
iTechBeat
5 years ago
Reply to  Hunk

I agree with you. When Windows has a built-in tool for basic stuff then why need to download third-party programs.

Go2top Windows 10
Go2top Windows 10
5 years ago

Thanks for sharing this info. it’s very helpful to me as I am using
Windows 10 and hard to find how to screenshot. You can post more informative articles.
It would be great for us. Thank you.

Younis
Younis
5 years ago

Thanks for sharing helpful information.

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