How to take screenshots in Windows 10

Snapping screenshots in Windows 10 can be useful indeed. Screenshots are useful for quickly showing someone what's on your desktop, or capturing a quick moment of a video you need to share. Taking screenshots with Windows 10's built-in controls is easy, but the methods for doing this are not exactly obvious.

Here are three keyboard shortcuts built into the Windows keyboard, most of which will also work in earlier versions of Windows. We will also offer some third-party applications for those who need a more powerful screen capture utility.

Screenshot

The old screen capture standard still exists in Windows 10. Press the PrtScn button and your entire screen (or screens, in a multi-monitor setup) is copied to the clipboard. From there, you can paste it into Paint, GIMP, IrfanView, Photoshop, or any other photo program that lets you paste into an image.

Add the Windows key

An improved version of PrtScn available since Windows 8 is the Windows + PrtScn key. Touch these two keys simultaneously and your screen (or screens) "blink" for one second, as if a camera shutter was opening and closing. Open File Explorer, navigate to Photos> Screenshots, and your screenshot will be waiting for you.

Just the current window please

If all you need is a screenshot of the current program you are using, such as Chrome, Word, Excel or PowerPoint, press Alt + PrtScn. This will copy an image from the window that is currently focused on the system clipboard. Like using the PrtScn shortcut, you can then paste the image into photo editing or any other friendly program (such as the Gmail web application).

Super screenshots

If you need to go beyond the tools offered by Windows 10, third-party programs and extensions can scratch your itch. The simplest option is the clipping tool provided with OneNote 2016 for the desktop. All you need to do is open OneNote and the clipping tool will appear in the system tray under the up arrow at the far right of the Windows 10 taskbar.

Look for the OneNote icon with a pair of scissors on the top. Right-click the clipping tool and select Type Clipping from the context menu. Your screen will freeze and transform a transparent gray color, while the mouse pointer turns into a precision slider (a big plus).

To take your screen break, click and drag in a rectangular or square way on the desired area, then release the mouse button. After a few seconds, a pop-up window appears with options for backing up clipping directly to a OneNote notebook or copying the image to the clipboard for use in a different program.

If you need a screen capture tool with captures, effects, annotations, and other similar features, there are a number of third-party solutions you can try, such as Greenshot, Monosnap, or PicPick. For browser-based solutions, try Awesome Screenshot or Nimbus.