Take Screenshots in Windows 8

Want to capture an image of your screen to share, save, or use for troubleshooting? There are a variety of different ways you can save a screenshot in Windows 8, depending on what you are capturing and how much of your screen you want to save. You can even take screenshots on devices without keyboards, such as the Surface tablet or a Windows Phone.

Steps

Taking a Screenshot of your Entire Screen (Keyboard)

  1. Press .⊞ Win+PrtScn. The screen will darken for a moment, indicating that a screenshot was taken.
    • Different computers will have different labels on the Print Screen button. If you're having difficulty finding it, it is usually located between the F12 and ScrLk keys.
    • If you have two monitors attached, this will capture the image from both monitors.
  2. Open your Pictures folder. You can quickly access your Pictures folder by pressing ⊞ Win+E and then selecting the Pictures folder.
  3. Open the Screenshots folder. This folder contains all of your screenshot images.
  4. Open your screenshot. Your newly-created screenshot will be in PNG format. You can manipulate it just like you would any other image. It can be edited, attached to an email, uploaded to a website, and more.
    • If you have multiple screenshots in the folder, your newest one will have the highest number.

Taking a Screenshot of a Single Window (Keyboard)

  1. Select the window that you want to take a screenshot of. When you use this method, only the active window will be captured in the screenshot.
  2. Press .Alt+PrtScn. You will not receive any confirmation that the screenshot was taken.
  3. Open an image editing program or word processor. When you use this method, the screenshot is copied to the clipboard instead of a file being created. This means you will need to paste it somewhere. The quickest and easiest way to do this is by using Paint, the free image editing program that comes with all versions of Windows.
    • You can open Paint quickly by switching to the Start screen, typing paint, and pressing ↵ Enter.
  4. Paste the screenshot into your blank canvas or document. Either click "Edit" → "Paste", or press Ctrl+V
  5. Save the image. Once you've pasted your screenshot, you can save the image or document so that you can attach it to an email, upload it to a website, or continue editing it.
    • Click "File" → "Save" and select a name and location for the new screenshot to be saved.

Using the Snipping Tool

  1. Open the Snipping Tool. This tool lets you drag a selection around your screen to select exactly what you want to save to the screenshot, as well as add annotations. The Snipping Tool is available in all versions of Windows 8, desktop or touchscreen.
    • You can only use the Snipping Tool in Desktop mode. It will not work on Metro apps.
    • You can find the Snipping Tool in the "All Apps" page of the Start screen under "Accessories". You can also open the Start screen, type snipping tool, and press ↵ Enter.
  2. Click or tap the down arrow next to the "New" button. This will allow you to choose how you want to select what is captured. There are four options:
    • Free-form snip - This allows you to draw a selection on your screen and only the content inside the selection will be shown.
    • Rectangular snip - This allows you to draw a selection box on your screen. Everything inside the box will be shown.
    • Window snip - This allows you to select a specific open Window to be captured. Note that if anything is visible on top of the window (such as another window) it will also be captured.
    • Full-screen snip - This will capture your entire screen for the screenshot.
  3. Create your snip. After selecting your snip mode, you will be able to create your snip. If you are using the free-form or rectangular snip, you can use your mouse or finger to draw the selection. If you are using the window snip, you can click the window you want to capture. If you are creating a full-screen snip, it will happen automatically.
  4. Edit your snip. After making your selection, a new window will appear displaying the snip you created. You can use the annotation tools like the pen and highlighter to draw attention to important parts of the screenshot.
  5. Save the snip. Click the Save button at the top of the editing window to save your snip. You will be prompted to pick a name and location for it on your computer.

Taking a Screenshot (Tablet)

  1. Press and hold the Windows button. If you have a Windows tablet, you can take a screenshot using the physical buttons since you don't have access to a keyboard.
  2. Press the Volume Down button while holding the Windows button. The screen will darken for a moment, indicating that the screenshot was taken.
  3. Open the screenshot. The screenshot will be saved as a file in the Screenshots folder, located in your Photos app.[1]

Taking a Screenshot (Windows Phone)

  1. Determine which version of Windows Phone 8 you have. The process is different depending on if you have Windows Phone 8 or Windows Phone 8.1.
    • You can determine your version by tapping "Settings" → "About" → "More info". Look for the "Software" entry.
  2. Take a screenshot with Windows Phone 8.1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons. The screen will dim for a moment, indicating that the screenshot was taken.
  3. Take a screenshot with Windows Phone 8. Press and hold the Windows and Power buttons. The screen will dim for a moment, indicating that the screenshot was taken.
  4. Open your screenshot. Your new screenshot will be saved to your phone and can be found in the "Screenshots" album in the Photos Hub.[2]



Tips

  • If you are planning on taking lots of screenshots, it might be a good idea to pin the Snipping Tool to your Desktop Taskbar.

Related Articles

  • Take Screenshots of an Active Window

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/take-screenshot-on-microsoft-surface/
  2. ↑ http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/photos/take-a-screenshot
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