How to Use the Print Screen Button: 12 Steps

This wikiHow teaches you how to take a screenshot on a Windows or Mac computer. Windows computers generally come with a button called "Print Screen" on the keyboard, which allows you to take a screenshot of the entire screen. Mac users do not have a "Print Screen" button, but screenshots can still be taken on that operating system.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: On Windows

Step 1. Find the "Print Screen" key on your computer

It's usually at the top right of the keyboard, one or two keys to the right of F12. The "Print Screen" key sometimes also says "PetSis" ("System Request").

This key can have different labels: "Print Screen", "Print Screen", "Print Screen", and so on.
If the "Print Screen" key (or whatever it is written) has other text underneath, you will have to hold down the Fn key before pressing "Print Screen". Find the Fn key at the bottom left of the keyboard.

Step 2. Find the ⊞ Win key

The Windows logo key is usually at the bottom left of the keyboard. Holding down the "Windows" key before pressing "Print Screen" will capture the entire screen content.

In Windows 8 and earlier versions, you cannot take screenshots using the ⊞ Win key

Step 3. Go to the screen you want to capture

Navigate to the page where you want to take your screenshot. Keep in mind that everything on the screen (except the mouse pointer) will appear in the screenshot.

Step 4. Hold down the ⊞ Win key

Do it firmly and do not release that key until you finish taking the capture.

If you need to use the Fn key, hold down that key as well.
If you are using Windows 8 or earlier, you can skip this step.

Step 5. Firmly press the Print Screen key

The computer screen will go dark for an instant. Now you can release the "Print Screen" and "Windows" keys

If the screen doesn't go dark, try using the Fn key if you didn't, or not using it if you did.
Sometimes Windows doesn't recognize screenshots the first few times you try to take it, so try doing it a couple more times.

Step 6. View the screenshots

After you have taken a couple of snapshots, your computer will create the "Screenshots" folder within the "Pictures" folder. You can access this folder by opening

Beginning, by clicking

File Browser, and then on the tab Images on the left side of the File Explorer window.

If you are using Windows 8 or earlier, your computer will not create a folder for screenshots. Instead, you will need to open Beginning (or Look for in Windows 8), type paint, click Paint when it appears and paste the screenshot by pressing Ctrl + V. Then you can save it by clicking File, Then in Keep and again in Keep in the pop-up window.

Method 2 of 2: On a Mac

Step 1. Find the Command keys and Shift.

Both keys are at the bottom left of your Mac keyboard. In order to take a screenshot on a Mac, you must hold down both keys at the same time and then press a number key.

Step 2. Go to the screen you want to capture

Open a page or go to the screen that you want to save as an image file.

Step 3. Take a screenshot of the full screen

Hold down the Command and Shift keys, tap 3, and then release all keys. Your Mac will play the sound of a camera shutter, and then an image file will appear on the desktop.

Step 4. Capture only a specific section of the screen

Press Command + Shift + 4 to transform the mouse cursor into a crosshair icon. Then click the mouse, drag the cursor over the area you want to capture, and release the mouse button.

If you press the space bar while the mouse is in "crosshair" mode, the cursor will turn into a camera icon. With the camera cursor you can click on a window to capture only that window

Step 5. Save the image to the clipboard if you don't want to permanently save it to a file

Press Control along with the Command and Shift keys to temporarily save the image to the clipboard instead of permanently saving it as a file. In this way, you can paste the image of the screen into another application, for example, in an image editing program.