How do I take a screenshot or capture a window on my screen?
Windows
In Windows, you can use the Snipping Tool, which highlights sections of the screen and allows you to save it as an image. Search for Snipping Tool, and click to open it.
Alternatively, you can also capture the image of either the entire screen or only the currently active window using the PrtScrn or Print Screen key. Once you have the image captured, you can paste it into an image editor like Paint or a word processor like Microsoft Word.
- To capture the contents of the currently active window, press Alt-PrtScrn (or Alt-Print Screen).
- To capture the contents of the entire screen, press PrtScrn (or Print Screen) by itself.
In both of these cases, the image is captured to the clipboard, where you can paste it into an image editor like Paint or a word processor like Microsoft Word.
Mac OS X
On a Mac, You can use Grab, which is normally installed in Applications -> Utilities, to take screenshots of all or parts of your screen.
Alternatively, on your keyboard you can press Command-Shift-3 to take a screenshot of your entire screen. The image will be saved onto your Desktop.
To take a screenshot of only a portion of the screen:
- Press Command-Shift-4. Your mouse pointer will change into crosshairs
- Move your mouse to the upper-left corner of the area you want to capture. Hold down the mouse button, drag the mouse to the lower-right corner of the area you want to capture, and then release the mouse button.
You can also take screenshots of individual windows, menus, and icons:
- If you want to take a screenshot of a menu, select it. If you want to take a screenshot of a window, click it to bring it into focus.
- Press Command-Shift-4, and then press the Spacebar. Your mouse pointer will change into a camera.
- Click the window, menu, or icon you want to capture.