How to Take a Screenshot on Windows 11

How to Take a Screenshot on Windows 11

Whether you’re working on a project or just trying to share something with your friends, knowing how to screenshot can help you get your point across quickly and easily.

This guide will show you several of the best to take screenshots on Windows 11.

Save to the Clipboard (PrtScn)

This is the easiest way to take a screenshot of the whole screen.

  1. Press the PrtScn button on your keyboard. You can find it between F12 and Scroll Lock.
    Note: You might need to use the Fn key and PrtScn together if you are using a laptop.
  2. Now, the photo is saved to your clipboard, and you can paste it to any application that accepts images, such as an email, chat with a friend, word document, or even Photoshop.

Save to Pictures (Windows + PrtScn)

This method also takes a screenshot of the whole screen, but it saves it as a file instead of placing it in your clipboard.

  1. Press the Windows and PrtScn keys together.
  2. The screenshot will be saved in Pictures > Screenshots.
A photo for the "screenshot" folder
A photo for the “screenshots” folder

Use the Snipping Tool

The snipping tool is a great way to take screenshots of specific areas of your screen. For this reason, it’s perfect for capturing menus, dialog boxes, or individual parts of a web page.

  1. Open the Snipping Tool, which you can find by searching for it in the Start Menu or by pressing Windows + Shift + S.

    Searching the snipping tool in the search bar
    Searching the snipping tool in the search bar

  2. Click and drag the cursor around the area you want to screenshot.

    Choose the area you want to take a screenshot for
    Choose the area you want to take a screenshot for

  3. The screenshot is now saved to your clipboard, and you can paste it wherever you want.

    Photo saved to clipboard
    Photo saved to the clipboard

  4. If you want to save the screenshot as a file, click “Save As.”

    Press save as button to save the photo
    Press the “save as” button to save the photo

  5. Now, you can save it anywhere. All you have to do is choose the path.

    Choose the pass where you want to save your picture
    Choose the path where you want to save your picture

Use the Xbox Game Bar

You can use this approach to capture a screen image or video while playing video games or watching a video.

  1. Press Windows + G to open the Xbox Game Bar.
  2. Next, click on Capture > Screenshot.

    Press the capture button to take a screenshot
    Press the capture button to take a screenshot

  3. The screenshot will be saved in C://Users [YOURUSERNAME]VideosCaptures

    The captured photo path
    The captured photo path

Third-Party Screenshot Apps

If you don’t want to use the built-in screenshot tools, you can use several third-party apps.

Some popular ones are Greenshot, Lightshot, and ShareX.

Each software has its unique features – try them out to see which one you like best!

Erik is a full-time product quality engineer at the IBM who has a passion for teaching others (and always learning) about technology. He has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology. Erik is the chief editor for Windows, Linux and coding tutorials.

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