7 Easy Ways to Take Screenshots in Windows 11

Windows 11 changes the way you take a screenshot for the better. Learn all the best methods for
capturing your PC's screen in Microsoft's latest operating system.

by Michael Muchmore

(Credit: René Ramos)

Microsoft Windows has long had numerous options for taking screenshots, perhaps
too many. Windows 11 simplifies the situation. Recent updates to the OS have added nifty new tools
that let you take screenshots more easily, record video of your screen, and run optical character
recognition (OCR) on images. Here's how to take a screenshot in Windows 11.

1. Use PrtScn (Print Screen Key) and Paste

(Credit: PCMag)
Press the Print Screen key (PrtScn), and an image of the entire screen copies to the clipboard. You
then must paste the image into an app that will accept it, such as Microsoft Paint, Paint 3D, or Adobe
Photoshop.

If you want to capture only the active window and not the full desktop image, add the Alt key, for Alt-
PrtScn. Using this keyboard shortcut saves the current window to the clipboard, and from there you
must paste it into an imaging application. In Windows 11, the result can be a little strange because
the rounded corners are extended to squared-off corners, since image files are always rectangular.

2. Use the PrtScn Key With OneDrive

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Using the print screen key, you can also automatically create an image file of your screenshot that
saves to OneDrive. I include this method separately from the standard PrtScn option because the
result is so different and saves you the extra steps of opening an app and pasting from the clipboard.

To do it, click or right-click on OneDrive’s cloud icon on the right side of the taskbar. Choose Settings
and then the Backup tab of the dialog box and check Save Screenshots I capture to OneDrive.
That one simple check box changes everything about PrtScn. You no longer have to open an image
app or paste from the clipboard. Instead, an image file in PNG format is automatically created in the
OneDrive/username/Pictures/Screenshots folder. The filename uses the current date and time.

Right after you take the screenshot, a notification appears; clicking it takes you right to the folder with
the file highlighted. You can then access it from any device OneDrive (there are clients for every
major platform as well as a web version). I always use this method when I think I may need to use the
screenshot as an image file rather than just pasting it somewhere. It's also handy when I don't have
time to save an image file in a separate step, such as during a live presentation.
3. Use the Windows Key-PrtScn Keyboard Shortcut

(Credit: PCMag)

Here is yet another way to use the PrtScn key: Use the keyboard shortcut Windows Key-PrtScn.

Use this option if you want to take screenshots and automatically save them somewhere other than
OneDrive. This method causes the screen to dim briefly and places a PNG file in the Pictures >
Screenshots folder by default. (Note the different placement of the PrtScn key on the keyboard in the
image above.) You can also paste the image anywhere right after using this method, since it's copied
to the clipboard.

4. Use the Snipping Tool

(Credit: Microsoft)

Windows 11 cleans up the previous confusion of how to take a screenshot in Windows by taking all
the functionality from Windows 10’s terrific Snip & Sketch tool and rolling it into the new Snipping
Tool.

The easiest way to get to the Snipping Tool is to press Windows Key-Shift-S. That keyboard
shortcut gives you a choice to take a screenshot using a rectangular snip, freehand selection,
window, or full-screen capture (that is the order of the icons you choose from in the image above). If
you change your mind after you press Windows Key-Shift-S and do not want to take a screenshot,
use the Esc key to back out.
For the first two options, draw with the cursor to select the area you want to capture. For the window
option, just click over the target window; the full screen capture happens as soon as you click on that
last button.

(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)

Once you release the cursor, you see a notification in the lower right with a thumbnail image of the
screenshot. You can ignore it if you plan to paste the screenshot into another app because the image
is already saved to the clipboard. Or you can click the thumbnail to open the Snipping Tool interface
(shown below). Here, you can mark up the screenshot with a pen or highlighter, crop the image, or
use a ruler to draw straight lines. And a finger button lets you draw on a touch screen.

(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
With recent Windows 11 updates, you can set the screenshots to save immediately to a folder of your
choice. If you do not want to take up the disk space, you can change it in the Snipping Tool's
Settings, accessible from the app's three-dot menu at top right.

(Credit: Microsoft)

You can save the screenshot and any edits using the disk icon (some visual metaphors never die). A
Share button lets you send the image using Windows 11's standard share panel. You can also print
the image or open it in another app from the menu options.

One beef I have with this utility’s crop feature is that it does not offer aspect ratio options. I’d like to be
able to, for example, choose a 16:9 widescreen size, and I doubt I’m alone in that. As it is now, you
have to take the image into Microsoft Paint, Paint 3D, or some other image-editing program to get this
simple capability. I also wish the Snipping Tool gave access to previous screenshots as the OneDrive
option above and the SnagIt option below do.

Add a Delay Timer to the Snipping Tool

If you want to use a delay timer before taking a screenshot, simply type Snipping in the Start menu
and open the program window, rather than using the keyboard shortcut. In the small menu bar that
appears, look for the clock icon and choose to add a delay of 1, 3, 5, or 10 seconds before you take a
screenshot.

Use the Snipping Tool's New OCR Feature

The Snipping Tool now offers optical character recognition (OCR) technology, meaning any words
that appear in an image are identified and become searchable. The OCR tool can copy text found in
an image and automatically redact info like names, email addresses, and phone numbers. You get to
the tool from the text-page icon, shown below.

(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)

Record Your Screen With the Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool in Windows 11 can record video of your screen. To record your screen, you
cannot use keyboard shortcuts but instead must open the Snipping Tool app first. Once the app is
open, tap the movie camera icon, then press New. Choose a screen area to record, wait for a 3-2-1
countdown, and do your thing on the screen. When you are finished, press Stop. Once you stop, you
see a playback of the video, and you can save or share it just as with a still screenshot.

(Credit: Microsoft)
Other Snipping Tool Tricks

Three last tricks:

 You can change the behavior of the PrtScn key to open the Snipping Tool instead of copying

the image to the clipboard. Head to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and check the Use

the Print Screen Button to Open Screen Snipping box (the bottom option in the screenshot

below).

 If you have a Surface Pen stylus, double-tapping its eraser button opens the Snipping Tool.

 If you enable Clipboard History, you see your last few screenshots available for pasting when

you hit Windows Key-V. That actually works with any of the screenshot methods here that

copy the image to the clipboard.

5. Use a Third-Party Screenshot Utility

For many years I was a devout SnagIt user, particularly because I liked how it saved any screenshots
I took for use later. It is still a PCMag Editors’ Choice winner for screenshot utilities, and you can
certainly use it, but I now find that the built-in Windows screenshot tools serve my needs adequately.

How to Take a Scrolling Screenshot

SnagIt and most other third-party screenshot let you take scrolling screenshots, that is an image that
has automatically scrolled down to capture parts of the window that are below the visible area. The
most common use for a scrolling screenshot is for web pages. Windows 11's native screenshot
methods can't do it—but Microsoft Edge and Firefox can. In Edge, right-click on the webpage, select
Web Capture, and choose Capture Full Page.

Google Chrome can take scrolling screenshots, too, but you have to change a Developer Setting to
get it. It's easier to install an extension like Scrnli (though I'm not a fan of extensions, as they usually
have access to all your web browsing activity).
6. Use the Game Bar

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Windows Key-G opens the Game bar. From there, if you go to the Capture window, you see a
camera icon. Tap it and your screenshot is saved, somewhat counterintuitively, to the
Videos/Captures folder under your main user folder. You can change the target folder in the main
Windows Settings app. Alternatively, you can press Windows Key-Alt-PrtScn to bypass opening the
Game bar.

7. Use Volume Up and Power Buttons on Surface Tablets

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Taking screenshots on Surface tablets is different from doing it on a Windows PC, unless you have a
keyboard attached. The on-screen touch keyboard has no PrtScn key. As mentioned, if you have a
Surface Pen, you can simply double-tap its back button to open the Snipping Tool.
On the Surface Pro 9 and its predecessors back through the Surface Pro 4, press the Volume Up
and Power buttons at the same time to take a screenshot. Be careful to press the buttons
simultaneously, or else you end up turning off the screen.

The result of shooting this way is the same as pressing Windows Key-PrtScn; an image is saved to
your Pictures > Screenshots folder.

Older Surface tablets used the Fn-Windows Key-Spacebar combination on their attached
keyboards, and some had you press the power button and a hardware Windows button
simultaneously. On the Dell Latitude tablet, you use the Power Button and Volume Down buttons
simultaneously. You might have to experiment or dig into documentation if you have a less popular
tablet model.

How to Take a Screenshot on Any Device

There is a good chance that you may need to take screenshots on your smartphone and other
devices as well as on a Windows 11 PC. For those instances, head over to our story on how to take a
screenshot on any device, which walks you through the processes used by all of your non-PC
gadgets.