As part of our How Do I Use Shortcuts? series, today we’re looking at how to take a screenshot, and what that even means! Let’s examine some of the most likely computer tips for combatting these problems.
If you aren’t already familiar with the concept of using a shortcut to perform an action on your computer, have a quick (two minutes) read of our simple Introduction to Computer Shortcuts guide.
Screenshots are a brilliantly simple way to turn whatever is on your screen into an image in any given moment.
Screenshot – Take a “photo” of your screen
What is a screenshot?
The screenshot shortcut takes an image of your entire screen. This image is then saved on your computer just like a photo, available for you to view at any time, or send to a friend.
Why Computer Tips is useful?
This computer tips is really handy if you ever want to quickly capture information from your screen, without fiddling around trying to highlight and copy it. It’s also a very easy way to save a photo that you like.
How do I take a screenshot – Basic Computer Tips
As with many shortcuts, the keys you need to press are quite different on a Windows computer and a Mac; we’ll go through both below.
Windows – Desktop Keyboard
Simultaneously press the Windows key + Print Screen (see image caption for much more detail).
Click to enlarge the image.
The screenshot image this creates can be found by going to your Pictures folder, then the Screenshots folder within that.
It will also be copied to your clipboard, meaning you can paste into an email or document.
Windows – Laptop Keyboard – Computer Tips
Simultaneously press the Windows key + Print Screen + Sometimes the Fn key (see image caption for much more detail).
Click to enlarge the image.
The screenshot image this creates can be found by going to your Pictures folder, then the Screenshots folder within that.
It will also be copied to your clipboard, meaning you can paste into an email or document.
Apple Mac Keyboard
On a Mac, press “command”, “shift” and “3” at the same time to take a screenshot. Don’t worry if you don’t quite see those exact keys on your keyboard. The image and caption below explain how to find them.
Click to enlarge the image.
Your screenshot will be saved to your desktop with the name ”Screen Shot [date] at [time].png.”
Summary
That’s it, you now know how to capture anything that’s displayed on your computer screen.
If you’d like to learn how to capture only a specific part of your screen, such as a window or a photo, talk to one of our friendly UK-based team today.
They’ll answer all your questions and provide you some basic computer tips at your pace. And will even send you a follow-up email or video going through all the steps you learned together.