Have you been asked by a family member about taking a screenshot using a Windows PC, yet you don’t know what to teach them?
That’s not something to feel embarrassed about, to be honest. The number of operating systems designed and offered by Microsoft Windows has already gone from 1 through 10. It is a considerably huge success in the world of information technology in the last 30 years. In truth, there is not even a sign that they will be retiring and passing off the baton to other OS developers anytime soon.
Such a milestone is primarily because their consumers experience fewer bugs and navigational issues compared to other products. Understanding its features and functions is not too challenging either. Hence, it should not take much time for you and your family member to realize how screenshots work in Windows.
To further help you get to know this aspect of your computer, here are three different ways to take a screenshot using the OS.
Process 1: Get The Whole Picture
In older computer keyboards, the abbreviation that you will see for the Print Screen button is PrtSc, but there are new ones that indicate it as PrtSc SysRq. The ultimate function of this key is to capture an image of the entire screen, including the taskbar. That is ideally the fastest way to take a screenshot because you merely have to click a single key to get the image of a full page.
The benefit that you may obtain here is that you’ll be able to gain a real-time copy of whatever is on your monitor at that moment. Follow these steps to accomplish this task:
- Press the Print Screen key. Although you only need to hit this button once, there will not be a sound or visual notification that will let you know if it is a success or not.
- Drop the copy in any word processing program that you want by clicking the Control (Ctrl) key and the letter V at the same time. You can also do it in the Paint tool, which can be seen in all Windows OS. This way, you can crop the image easily.
- Save your new print in any format that you want once you are happy with what it looks like.
Process 2: Be Partially Selective Of What You Want To Capture
Another thing to remember when taking a screenshot in Windows is that you can be selective of the picture that you will capture. This operating system has a feature in which it is possible to get one part of the screen in the shot. It is different from the first process, in the sense that will automatically remove the taskbar -that small strip where you can view the icons for the programs that are running, the time, the date, the battery, and many more.
Here’s what you should do to get it done.
- Click the Alternative (Alt) and Print Screen (PrtSc) keys at once. Similar to the above mentioned, you won’t see a notification that you have copied the page already.
- Now, click Control+V in the Microsoft Office’s Word, Publisher, Excel or PowerPoint or even Paint. The entire page should appear as an image when you do that.
- Save it in a file of your choice.
Process 3: Be Ultra Selective
For this procedure, you will have to make use of a program called the Snipping Tool. It is readily available in all Windows operating systems since the conception of the Vista; that’s why you do not need to download it. The tool lets you become very selective of which portion of the screen you will take a screenshot of. It is going to be advantageous if you only have to get a single passage or paragraph from an article or a scene in the game that you are playing.
To make it happen, you should:
- Go to the Search box in the Menu, and type Snipping Tool.
- Click the New button once it opens, and then select the arrow pointing downwards beside it to change the shape that you will cut out. It will automatically be in Rectangular, but you can choose Free-Form, Window, or Full-Screen too.
- You may also change the ink color. It will not affect the actual image; it will merely serve as your guide when you start snipping the screenshot.
- Make the Snip by holding the left side of the mouse and dragging it up or down to where you want it to end.
- Save the new image as is or alter it in the program.
Final Thoughts
Being able to take a screenshot in Windows does not require you to be an IT or Computer Science expert. Anyone can do that, and you can undoubtedly teach it to your friends and family members too. All you need to do is remember the ways mentioned above.
Good luck!