Sometimes taking a fast screenshot is the quickest and simplest method to capture what’s on your screen, whether it’s a particularly pertinent meme you want to share with a buddy or a crucial piece of information you need to remember for later. Fortunately, Windows 11 comes with a function that allows you to record a video or take a picture of your screen.
Examine its capabilities and the keyboard keys you’ll need to know to take screenshots with ease.
Tool panel for snipping
You may take, save, annotate, and share screenshots of all or a section of your screen with the integrated Snipping Tool. Additionally, it has the ability to capture a sound-assisted video of a desktop window. The Snipping Tool may be accessed most easily by using the Windows key + Shift + S keyboard combination.
The Snip & Sketch tool for Windows
You may capture a video of your screen or take a screenshot using the Snipping Tool.
Image courtesy of Matt Elliott/CNET
Using either approach will cause your screen to darken and reveal a little panel at the top of your screen where you may choose whether to capture a full-screen, window, freeform, or rectangle screenshot.
When you take a screenshot, it will be temporarily shown as a notice in the bottom-right corner of your screen and saved to your clipboard. To edit, save, or share the screenshot, click the notice to open it in the Snipping Tool app. (Opening the notification panel will reveal the notice if you missed it.)
You must first highlight a section of your screen before selecting Start from the little panel at the top of your screen to begin recording a video. You have the option of recording microphone sound, system audio, or both.
Window of the Snipping Tool
The Snipping Tool will open a small window rather than the tiny panel at the top of the screen if you search for it from the taskbar or launch it from the alphabetical list of programs in the Start menu. From here, you must enter the tiny panel and start a screen capture by clicking the New button in the top left corner. This method requires an additional step, but it also allows you to postpone a screenshot by 3, 5, or 10 seconds.
A Tool for Snipping Windows
If you open the Snipping Tool in a window rather than as the little panel at the top of your screen, you may snap a screenshot after a brief lag.
Image courtesy of Matt Elliott/CNET
Click the New button to start taking screenshots when the Snipping Tool has opened. Although rectangle snippets are the default, you may also capture window, full-screen, and free-form snippets.
Although the Snipping app automatically copies your screenshots to the clipboard, you will still need to manually save your screenshots inside the app before you quit.
Screen Printing
Press the Print Screen (also known as PrtScn) key to take a full screen capture. Your snapshot will be transferred to the clipboard but won’t be saved as a file. An image editing program, such Microsoft Paint, must be opened. The screenshot must then be pasted into the editor and saved.
By selecting Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and turning on Use the Print screen key to start screen capture, you can also configure the PrtScn button to launch the Snipping Tool.
Press the Windows key and then Print Screen.
Press the Windows key + Print Screen key to take a snapshot of your full screen, which will be saved automatically. To let you know that you’ve just taken a screenshot, your screen will momentarily go dark. The screenshot will then be stored to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.
Alt + Print Screen
Use the keyboard shortcut Alt + PrtScn to quickly capture a screenshot of the window that is now open. This will take a snapshot of the window that is presently open and save it to your clipboard. To save the picture, you’ll need to open it in an image editor.
No key for the Print Screen?
Don’t worry if your machine lacks the PrtScn key; Microsoft offers an alternative keyboard shortcut. A full-screen screenshot may be taken by pressing the Fn + Windows key + spacebar. The Pictures > Screenshots folder will then be where it will be kept.
The game bar
Whether you’re playing a game or not, you can take a snapshot using the Game bar. First, make sure you have toggled on Record game clips, pictures, and broadcasts using Game bar on the settings page. This will activate the Game bar. To access the Game bar once it has been activated, use the Windows key + G key. From here, you may take a full-screen screenshot by using the usual keyboard shortcut Windows key + Alt + PrtScn or by clicking the screenshot button in the Game bar. Go to Settings > Gaming > Game bar to create your own keyboard shortcut for the game bar screenshot.
Volume down + Windows logo
If you’re using a Microsoft Surface device, you can take a snapshot of your full screen using the actual (kind of physical) buttons, just as you would with any other phone or tablet. To do this, press the physical volume-down button on the side of your Surface while holding down the Windows logo touch button at the bottom of the screen. The screenshot will be immediately saved to the Pictures > Screenshots folder once the screen temporarily dims.