Screenshots are quintessential means to capture important facets of your computer screen for future or immediate references. While the ways to capture screenshot on smartphones are common knowledge, most people don’t know how to do the same on Windows 10, or even think its possible. If you are one of these people, here’s a newsflash for you. Taking screenshots on Windows 10 is enormously easy.
You can take a screenshot on windows 10 in innumerable ways offered by the operating system. Moreover, external applications can also be used if the traditional means are of no use to you. We have compiled 4 of the simplest ways to do so. By the end of this piece, you would learn how to take a screenshot of the full computer screen, or just a part of it.
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4 Different Ways to Take a Screenshot on Windows 10
PrtSc key:
Using keyboard shortcuts is the easiest way to capture a screenshot on Windows 10. On the top-most bar of your keyboard where the function keys are situated, locate the button that says “prtsc”. This abbreviation stands for “Print Screen”.
While on some computers, simply pressing the prtsc button will capture the screenshot, on certain, you might need to hold another function key to do the same. In the following section, we have discussed other combinations of function keys with theprtsckey that might prompt your computer system to take the screenshot.
- Alt + Prt Sc: Alt key is located at the bottom-most bar of your keyboard next to the windows key. After pressing Alt and Prt Sc simultaneously, the computer system will copy the screenshot on the clip board and allow you to paste it on an image editing tool such as MS Word, Powerpoint or paint.
- Window key + Prt Sc: On some computers or laptops, pressing the window key and prtsc simultaneously will capture the screenshot and redirect it into My Computer. You can locate the file from the search taskbar and find it in the pictures folder of the computer.
Snip and Sketch:
Snip and Sketch is a built-in application of the window 10 that enables you to take quick screenshots without the use of keyboard shortcuts. If you tried the above-mentioned way and failed, it is likely that those means are unsupported on your device. However, Snip and Sketch is available on all devices as long as it has windows 10. To use snip and sketch, you can either manually locate the app from the search bar, or summon it using a shortcut.
To summon the toolbar of the application, press the windows key, the shift key and the S key simultaneously. The toolbar will allow you to take the screenshot of your full screen or just a part of it. You can select the part of the screen which you want to capture and the operating system will redirect the same in the picture folder. Once the screenshot is captured, a notification will pop up on the bottom right part of the screen informing you of the same. You can even make edits on the captured picture.
Game Bar:
This method is largely used on Windows 10 while playing a game. If you wish to take a screenshot or record your screen whilst playing an engaging game, the game bar is quintessential for rendering a number of services. With the screen record feature, you could record the gameplay, as is done by many twitch users. To use this feature of the Windows 10, first you have to enable the feature from the settings. For this, go to the built-in Xbox app of your computer or laptop and open the settings.
Locate the tab that says ‘Game DVR’ next to ‘General’ and press ‘Take Screenshots using game DVR’. You can create the keyboard shortcut of your own liking. Once you have enabled the Game DVR, you would be able to access it while playing the game by summoning it via the shortcut you devised. Press the keyboard shortcut you created to summon the game bar and click on the camera icon to capture a screenshot. If the screenshot has been taken, the system will notify you about the same. Not only can this feature be used whilst playing a game, but you can also use it to take screenshots any other time.
Snagit:
While you have numerous free methods of capturing a screenshot on windows 10, there are some limitations to these tools. If you are looking for something more than what these means have to offer, you can check out the Snagit app. Snagit is a screenshot application that takes screenshots and screen recordings with audible backing. It is available for both the Windows operating system as well as Mac operating system. However, in case of the Mac OS, it has fewer features to offer, in contrast to the Windows.
Snagit has an array of features and facets. You can screenshot whatever you like and edit it to meet your needs. It is undeniably a major upgrade to the built-in screenshotting options of the Windows 10. Subsequently, you have got to bring out the big bucks as the services of the Snagit are not free. Although, their services are worth every penny.
You can annotate the screenshots, draw on it, resize it and do virtually all sorts of editing. Such ample features are absent from other screen capturing tools supported by the Microsoft Windows. Although, you can get a free trial of Snagit to get a rough idea about the expanse of the app.
Conclusion:
Windows is equipped with virtually everything you might need to have a quintessential computing experience. This includes efficacious means to capture a screenshot and screen-record. The 4 ways mentioned in this piece will aid you in capturing a screenshot and editing it either in the programme itself or via an image editing tool of the windows. Some of these methods also provides scope for screen-recording if need be.