Do you need to “photograph” the desktop of your PC but don’t know how to proceed? Don’t worry, it is a very simple operation and even if – as you say – you are clumsy with the computer, you will succeed without any problem! All you have to do is give me five minutes of your time and follow the instructions below.
With today’s guide, we’ll see together how to take screenshots on your PC, that is, how to make “photographs” of your computer screen using some tools included directly in Windows and macOS, but also through some very good applications that you can download from the Internet. But that’s not all: in addition to capturing a snapshot of your desktop, thanks to the tools that I’m going to recommend, you can “photograph” individual windows, custom portions of the screen and you can enrich your screenshots with arrows, text, drawings, highlights and other content that you deem appropriate.
So, what are you still doing standing there? Roll up your sleeves and find out how to take perfect screenshots that you can share online or store on your computer, without bothering your computer-savvy friend. You’ll find the information you need right below. Happy reading!
How to take screenshots of Windows PC
Are you using Windows and interested in understanding how to take screenshots on your PC? Then follow the instructions below. In the following steps, in fact, you will find explained, in a simple but not too detailed way, how to perform the operation in question using the default tools offered by the operating system.
How to take PC screenshots with keyboard
If you prefer to use keyboard shortcuts, I’m happy to tell you that you can take screenshots on your PC using the following key combinations.
On Windows 8.x and later, you can take a screenshot of the entire desktop using the key combination Win+Stamp (or Prt Scr or Print Screen). Using the key combination Alt+Stamp or Alt+Fn+Stamp, you can take a screenshot of a single window in the foreground. In all cases, the resulting screenshots are automatically saved in PNG format in the Windows Images folder.
On Windows 7 and earlier versions, you can capture the entire desktop by simply pressing the Stamp (or Prt Scr or Print Screen) key on your keyboard. The image is saved to the clipboard, then you need to paste it into any graphics software (e.g. Paint, GIMP, Photoshop, etc.) using the Paste function or the key combination Ctrl+V and save it as a JPG, PNG or BMP file using the File > Save As menu.
Capture tool
As an alternative to keyboard shortcuts, if you are using a PC with Windows 7 or later version of Microsoft’s operating system installed on it, you can make use of a small but very useful screen capture tool called – guess what – Screen Capture Tool to take screenshots on your PC. With this tool, you can take screenshots of your entire desktop, individual windows or custom portions of the screen. The final result can then be processed with a small internal editor, which allows you to add freehand drawings or highlights to the image, and save everything as a PNG or JPG file. Convenient, isn’t it?
To use the Capture Tool included with Windows, click on the Start button (the one with the Windows flag) located at the bottom left part of the taskbar, type “Capture Tool” in the search field displayed and select the relevant suggestion from the list offered in the menu that opened.
Now that you see the Screen Capture Tool window, click the New button and hold down the left mouse button to select the area of the screen you want to capture and release it to save the image.
If you wish, you can set a different screen capture mode than the default one (Rectangular Capture) by clicking on the Mode button and choosing from the menu that appears the Freeform Capture option (to take a free-form screenshot), the Window Capture option (to take a screenshot of a specific window) or the Full Screen Capture option (to take a screenshot of the entire screen).
If you find this useful, I would also like to point out that by clicking on the Delay button in the Capture Tool window, you can set a timer from 1 to 5 seconds between the mouse click and the moment of screen capture.
Once you’ve captured the screenshot, apply all the changes you want to the screenshot (drawings, highlights, etc.) using the appropriate editor that opened and save the final result by clicking on the floppy disk icon located at the top left of the window.
Capture and annotate
If you’re using a Windows 10 PC, you can also capture screenshots on your PC using the Capture and Annotate Tool, which acts pretty much similarly to the Capture Tool I mentioned in the previous step.
To be able to use it, click the Start button (the one with the Windows flag), type “capture and annotate” in the search field that appears and select the relevant suggestion from the list attached to the opened menu. Alternatively, you can invoke the Capture and Annotate application using the Win+Shift+S keyboard shortcut.
Now that you see the tool window on your screen, click the New button located on the top left corner and hold down the left mouse button to select the area of the screen you want to capture and release it to save the image.
If you want, you can select a different capture mode than the default (rectangular clip) by clicking on the buttons on the toolbar at the top of the desktop after clicking the New button. More precisely, you can choose to take a free-form screenshot by clicking on the button with the free-form drawing and the (+) symbol or take a screenshot of the entire screen by clicking on the button with the rectangle and the highlighted corners. Alternatively, you can use the suggested keyboard shortcuts by hovering the mouse cursor over the various buttons in the software.
If you want, before starting the capture, you can also set a timer from 1 to 3 seconds between the mouse click and the moment of screen capture. To do so, click the down-arrow button located in the upper left part of the Capture window and note down and make your choice from the menu that appears.
After the capture, the resulting image will be visible in the Capture and Annotate editor and you can add arrows, objects, annotations, etc. to it using the buttons on the toolbar at the top. Then, save the screenshot by clicking the button with the floppy disk in the upper right corner.
How to make Apple PC screenshots
Do you own a Mac and would like to understand how to take screenshots on PC in this case? No problem! Here you will find out how to proceed with macOS as well. It’s very simple, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
How to make Apple PC screenshot with keyboard
Even on macOS, you can make use of some special keyboard shortcuts to take a screenshot of your computer’s desktop without necessarily having to use third-party tools. If you’re interested in this, here are the key combinations you can use to take a screenshot of your computer.
To take a screenshot of the entire screen, use the key combination command+shift+3.
To take a screenshot of a portion of the screen, use the key combination command+shift+4.
To take a screenshot of a single window, use the key combination command+shift+4, press the space bar, and click on the window to be “photographed”.
By default, all captured images will be saved on the macOS desktop in PNG format. If before a given screenshot is saved you want to edit it, adding text, drawings and anything else, click on its thumbnail that you see appearing in the bottom right of the desktop immediately after the “shot” and use the tools and commands in the editor screen that is proposed.
If, however, you want to save the screenshots obtained in the clipboard, I inform you that you can do it simply by pressing the key control in conjunction with the use of the combinations that I have indicated earlier. Then, you can paste the copied screenshot in the clipboard wherever you want using the key combination control+v.
Snapshot Screen
If you want a more granular control over the screenshots you take, you can rely on the use of Screen Snapshot, the default macOS screenshot application, which allows you to take snapshots of the entire desktop, portions of it or individual windows and allows you to adjust various advanced parameters, such as the inclusion of the mouse cursor in the capture, the screenshot delay, etc. It also allows you to record video of what happens on the computer screen, choose the output format and enable/disable the appearance of the screenshot thumbnail in the lower right corner of the screen. It also allows you to record video of what happens on your computer screen, choose the output format and enable/disable the appearance of the screenshot thumbnail in the lower right corner of the screen.
To use it, access the Launchpad by clicking on its icon (the one with the space rocket) on the Dock bar, open the More folder and click on the Screen Snapshot icon (the one with the macOS window and the camera). Alternatively, you can open the application using the command+shift+5 key combination on your computer keyboard.
At this point, you should see the Screen Snapshot toolbar: on the left are the buttons to capture a screenshot of the entire screen, a selected window or a portion of the desktop of your choice and next are the buttons to record a video of the entire Mac screen or a portion of it.
Select, then, the capture mode you prefer, click on the Capture button and take your screenshot by tracing, if necessary, the portion of the screen of your interest, clicking and holding the left mouse button to create the selection and releasing it to save the image.
If you feel like it, before starting the capture you can click on the Options button, also located on the Screen Snapshot toolbar, to adjust screenshot preferences, such as showing the mouse pointer, setting a timer to delay screen capture, setting an output path different from the default one etc.
After the capture is done, if you have not changed the default position, the image will be saved automatically on the Desktop. If you want to edit the image first, adding arrows, text, cropping, etc., click on the thumbnail that appears in the bottom left corner of the desktop right after the capture and use the tools in the Screen Snapshot editor window.
Please note that if you’re using a version of macOS prior to 10.14 (Mojave), you have access to a limited variant of Screen Snapshot, which doesn’t allow you to record video or even adjust many of your screenshot preferences.
How to take PC screenshots online
Let’s see now how to take a screenshot online, or rather of Web pages in their entirety, going beyond the portion displayed on the screen at the time. To do this, you have to rely on third-party solutions, as in the case of the service called Web Capture, available directly from the browser window, free and easy to use.
To use it, all you have to do is connect to its home page and type the address of the Web page of which you want to take a screenshot in full in the text field located under the heading Enter the URL to capture.
Next, choose the output format via the Choose the file format drop-down menu, then click the Capture web page button located at the bottom to proceed with the capture. Once you get the screenshot, click the Download button to download the resulting image to your computer. Does it get any easier than this?
Programs to make screenshots PC
Are the default tools made available by Windows and macOS for taking screenshots on your PC a bit too narrow for you, so to speak, and are you looking for a solution that offers more customization options? In this case, I suggest you to try the third-party software that I have reported in the following list.
Monosnap (Windows/macOS) – application available for both Windows and macOS that allows you to capture screenshots of your entire desktop or individual parts of it, very easily and quickly. It also includes a timed screen capture feature and allows you to include the cursor in the images. Basically it’s free, but with some limitations, such as the cloud storage space offered by the service, which can be circumvented by signing up for a paid subscription (at a cost of $2.50/month).
Greenshot (Windows/macOS) – program that lets you capture the PC screen and includes a very powerful editor through which you can customize images with arrows, writing, highlights and whatnot. Note that for Windows it is totally free, while the macOS version costs 2.29 euros.
FastStone Capture (Windows) – this is one of the best screen capture programs for Windows. It looks like a small toolbar that can be placed anywhere on the desktop and allows you to capture the entire screen, individual portions or individual windows. It is free of charge.
For more details about the above software, I refer you to reading my review specifically focused on screen capture programs.