Screenshots play an important role in capturing instant information that can be used for a variety of purposes. If you are using a Windows laptop, you can easily take screenshots using various methods. In this article, you will learn 6 ways to take screenshots on a Windows laptop. In addition, you can also learn to take screenshots in Chrome and Firefox while browsing privately.
Ways to create screenshots on a Windows laptop
Microsoft Windows offers Windows Snipping Tool as a built-in tool to easily capture screenshots in your system. With this tool, you can either capture the entire screen or save a portion of it. It also provides the option to save the screenshot in a variety of image formats like JPG, PNG, etc. Follow these simple steps to use the Windows Snipping Tool.
- Press the Windows key, search for Snipping Tool and open it.
- Select the screenshot mode from the list provided.
- You can also set a timed delay for taking the screenshot.
- Click the +New button to start taking a screenshot from the current window.
- Drag the plus cursor to capture all or part of the current window.
- You can edit this captured screenshot with the Toolbox.
- To save this picture, click on the Save icon.
- Alternatively, press the Windows + S key and name the file and select the format to save it.
Use the PrintScreen method to take screenshots
One of the easiest ways to take screenshots on a Windows laptop is via PrtSc Key. Follow these simple steps to take your own screenshot.
- Open the window you want to capture as a screenshot.
Press the PrtSc key (PrintScreen key) to capture the entire window to the clipboard. - Open an image editor, for example, MS-Paint.
- Click the Paste icon in the Toolbox to paste the screenshot from the clipboard into the Paint app.
- Save this image by pressing the key combination Windows + S and selecting the desired format.
Taking screenshots with Windows Game Center/Bar
Both Windows 11 and 10 offer an improved Game Center/Bar that allows gamers to take screenshots while playing games on their laptop. This feature is not limited to games only and you can activate it at any time using the hotkeys to take a screenshot of the current window. Follow these steps to achieve this goal.
- Press the Windows + Alt + G keys on your keyboard simultaneously to start the Windows Game Center.
- Navigate to the top left corner of the screen to find the screenshot button and click on it.
- The screenshot of the current window will be taken immediately.
- You can view these screenshots by clicking the View All Captures button just below the screenshot icon.
Take screenshots with Windows hotkeys/dedicated keys
If you don’t have enough time to search for and open the screenshot app provided in Windows, you can launch it instantly using Windows hotkeys. Some laptop manufacturers include a dedicated screenshot key in the keyboard of some laptop models for easy access. Alternatively, you can press Windows + Shift + S to launch the snipping tool instantly.
Use third-party software like TinySnap
There is much reliable third-party software that offers screen capture for Windows systems. One such app is TinySnap, free software that offers annotated screenshots, and instant sharing. You can also capture full-page screenshots with TinySnap on a PC along with text annotations. This way you can add more impactful screenshots to your work.