Screenshots are incredibly useful for taking photos on your desktop , but how to take a photo on a Windows PC may not be immediately obvious if you haven't done it before.
There are a number of ways to accomplish this simple task in Windows, and we've detailed each of the available methods, according to a Digital Trend report.
Most of these methods work in Windows 11 just as they do in Windows 10. Here's how to take a screenshot on a Windows computer.
Snipping Tool in Windows 10 and 11
The best native way to take a screenshot in Windows is via the Snipping Tool. This built-in screen capture tool works well enough, but it is not the most powerful or versatile when it comes to saving a screenshot. However, it is a tool that allows users to select parts of a screen. Desktop and better capture it as a screenshot.
Here's how to use it.
Step 1: To get started, simply type Snipping Tool in the search box on the taskbar
Step 2: In Windows 10, select the Mode button to expand its menu, and you'll find four screen capture options: Draw a window (Free Clip), square into an area (Rectangular Clip), capture the current window (Window Clip), and capture the entire screen ( Full screen snippet ).
In Windows 11, you'll need to either select New or press the Windows key + Shift + S keyboard shortcut to start the snippet.
Once you're done with either, the screen will darken slightly and you'll see the four 'mode' options mentioned above at the top of your screen.
Select one of these modes to start the screenshot.
Step 3: Once you take a screenshot, the Snipping Tool interface will display your screenshot, you can make light edits like using a pen, highlighter, or erasing something.
(In Windows 11, this editing screen may appear automatically, or you'll have to select a notification that pops up first to open the editing screen.
Step 4: When you're done editing within the Snipping Tool, select File in the top-left corner and then tap the Save As option listed in the drop-down menu.
In Windows 11: Select the Save as disk icon in the upper-right corner, name your file on the pop-up screen, and then select the Save button.