You may need to take a screenshot for a variety of reasons. Maybe you need to take a quick screenshot of an essential document to save for later or you need to email someone over Slack a screenshot of your screen to identify an issue. There are various ways to snap a screenshot on a Windows 11 PC, regardless of the motivation.
The technique is rather straightforward regardless of whether you want to take a full-screen grab, only a portion of the screen, or would rather utilize a keyboard shortcut or program. Learn how to snap a screenshot on Windows 11 in the following paragraphs.
1. Take a screenshot of the entire screen
Using the PrtSc key at the top of your keyboard is the simplest way to capture your full desktop. You won’t see any confirmation that the screenshot was properly taken after pressing the PrtSc key, but it will be saved to your clipboard. Use Ctrl-V to paste the screenshot into a program like Paint, Microsoft Word, or even the body of an email to view it in full-screen mode.
2. Take a screenshot of the entire screen and save it to your computer
The Windows-PrtSc keys work similarly to the first option to capture a screenshot of your full desktop, but they also save the image to a folder on your computer. Your entire screen will flash if you press the keys correctly, signifying that the screenshot has been taken and stored. All of your full-screen screenshots may be seen under Pictures > Screenshots.
3. Take a screenshot of only part of the screen
Windows 11 allows you to take only a partial screenshot because not everyone wants a screenshot of their complete screen. When you press Win + Shift + S, your screen flashes and a little Snipping Tool menu with the following options appears at the top of the screen (from left to right):
- Rectangular Snip: Draw a box around what you want to capture.
- Freeform Snip: Draw any shape around what you want to capture.
- Window Snip: Choose a window to capture.
- Full-screen Snip: Capture your entire screen (same thing as PrtScr).
As with the PrtScr key choice, the screenshot will be saved to your clipboard after being taken. After that, you can paste it somewhere else to view it. You can adjust the screenshot (crop, rotate, and more) and save it to your desktop if you select the Snipping Tool preview that appears at the bottom of the screen.
4. Use the Snipping Tool to take delayed screenshots
The Snipping Tool, which is a built-in feature of Windows 11, is essentially the same tool that was used in the preceding section with a few minor modifications. To utilize it, open the application to take a snapshot and type Snipping Tool into the Search field.
If you select New in Snipping Tool, the small Snipping Tool menu (similar to the one in the previous section) will open, allowing you to select from a variety of snips. However, you can select any of the four snipping options (rectangular, freeform, window, and fullscreen) with this Snipping Tool’s complete edition before selecting a delay option. You have the option of a 3-, 5-, or 10-second delay. This may make it simpler than taking the screenshot manually and will give you some time to set up whatever it is that you’re trying to screenshot.
To take the delayed screenshot, simply hit Win-Shift-S, which will then be copied to your clipboard. You can also click on the screenshot preview that appears to make any edits or save it to your computer as a JPEG, PNG or other.
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