Taking Screenshots: A Beginner’s Guide to Capturing Your Screen
Whether you’re a blogger, a marketer, a designer, or just a regular computer user, taking screenshots can be an incredibly useful skill to have. Screenshots allow you to quickly capture and share images of your computer screen with others, making them a great way to illustrate tutorials, show off products, or troubleshoot technical issues.
In this article, we’ll be walking you through the basics of taking screenshots on Windows and Mac computers, as well as discussing some of the best tools and apps for capturing screens. We’ll also cover the differences between screen recording and screen capturing, and provide tips on how to annotate and share your screenshots on popular social media platforms. So, let’s get started!
Beginner’s guide to taking a screenshot on a Windows PC
If you’re using a Windows-based computer, there are several ways to take screenshots:
Using built-in Windows keyboard shortcuts
The easiest way to take a screenshot on a Windows PC is to use one of the built-in keyboard shortcuts:
- Press the PrtScn (Print Screen) key to capture the entire screen. The screenshot will be saved to your clipboard.
- Press Windows key + PrtScn to capture the entire screen and save the screenshot to your Pictures > Screenshots folder.
- Press Alt + PrtScn to capture the current active window. The screenshot will be saved to your clipboard.
Using the Snipping Tool
If you need more control over what you’re capturing, you can use the Snipping Tool. Here’s how:
- Click on the Start Menu and type “snipping tool” into the search bar.
- Click on the Snipping Tool app to open it.
- Click on the New button.
- Select the type of snip you want to make (Free-form, Rectangular, Window, or Full-screen).
- Select the area you want to capture.
- Save your snip by clicking on File > Save As.
Using the Windows Game Bar
If you’re a gamer and want to capture screenshots while playing, you can use the Windows Game Bar:
- Press Windows key + G to open the Game Bar.
- Click on the Camera icon to take a screenshot.
- The screenshot will be saved to your Captures folder.
How to take a screenshot on a Mac
If you’re using a Mac, here are some of the keyboard shortcuts you can use to take screenshots:
Capture the entire screen
- Press Shift + Command + 3 to capture the entire screen.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
Capture a portion of the screen
- Press Shift + Command + 4 to capture a portion of the screen.
- Drag the cursor to select the area you want to capture.
- Release the mouse button or trackpad to take the screenshot.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
Capture a window
- Press Shift + Command + 4 + Spacebar to capture a window.
- Move the camera cursor to the window you want to capture.
- Click on the window to take the screenshot.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
Screen recording vs screen capturing: Which one to choose for your needs
When it comes to capturing your computer screen, you have two main options: screen recording or screen capturing. Here’s a brief overview of the two methods:
Screen recording
Screen recording allows you to capture the entire process of what you’re doing on your computer screen. It’s a great way to create tutorials, walkthroughs, or product demos. Screen recording usually requires additional software, such as Camtasia or OBS.
Screen capturing
Screen capturing, on the other hand, allows you to take a static image of your computer screen. It’s a great way to capture a specific moment, such as an error message, or a part of an app or website. Screen capturing is often built into the operating system, but there are also third-party apps, like Greenshot or Snagit, that offer more advanced capture options.
When it comes to choosing between screen recording and screen capturing, it’s important to consider your goals. If you’re creating a tutorial or demonstration video, screen recording is likely the better choice. However, if you’re simply trying to capture a moment or image, screen capturing is the way to go.
Top 5 tools for capturing screenshots
Here are some of the best apps and tools for capturing screenshots on different platforms:
1. Greenshot (Windows)
Greenshot is a free, open-source screenshot tool for Windows. It offers a variety of capture options, including full-screen, window, and region. Greenshot also allows you to add annotations, arrows and other elements, and it has built-in support for uploading to image hosting sites.
2. Snagit (Windows, Mac)
Snagit is a premium screenshot tool for Windows and Mac. It has a wide range of features, including scrolling capture, video recording, and markup tools. Snagit also integrates with other tools like Google Drive and Dropbox, making it easy to share your screen captures.
3. Lightshot (Windows, Mac)
Lightshot is a simple, lightweight screenshot tool that’s available for Windows and Mac. It supports capturing of full-screen or selected regions and also provides basic editing tools. Lightshot is free to use and lets you upload your captures to their online gallery or save it to your computer.
4. Skitch (Mac, iOS)
Skitch is a versatile tool for capturing, annotating, and sharing screenshots on Mac and iOS devices. It offers basic and advanced editing tools, and it integrates with Evernote, so you can save your captures in the cloud. Skitch is completely free and easy to use.
5. Nimbus Screenshot (Chrome, Firefox)
If you mostly browse websites on Chrome or Firefox browsers, Nimbus Screenshot is a solid option that lets you capture, annotate, and share screenshots. The tool offers various capture options like visible screen, full screen, and selective capture. Nimbus also allows you to save your captures to their server and share it via link.
How to annotate screenshots
Once you’ve captured a screenshot, it can be helpful to annotate or markup the image to make it stand out. Here are some ways to add annotations or markup to your screenshots:
Using Preview (Mac)
- Open the screenshot with Preview
- Click the “Annotation” button in the toolbar to enable annotation mode. Different mark-up options will appear to the right of the toolbar.
- Select the annotation tool you want (shapes, text, etc) and drop them onto the screenshot.
- Save your annotated screenshot and share it with your friends.
Using Paint (Windows)
- Open the screenshot with Paint
- Click the “Select” button and drag the cursor over the area of the screenshot you want to annotate.
- Click the “Paintbrush” button and choose a color to start marking up the screenshot.
- Freehand draw or use different shapes and figures to add annotations and highlight elements in the screenshot.
Using third-party annotation tools
There are also plenty of third-party apps and tools that can help you annotate and markup screenshots, like Snagit and Skitch. These apps offer more advanced markup tools like stamps, callouts, and clickable links.
How to take screenshots on social media platforms
Screenshots can be incredibly useful on social media, whether you’re documenting a conversation, capturing feedback, or sharing an event. Here’s how to take screenshots on some of the most popular social media platforms:
- Open the post or conversation you want to capture.
- Press F12 on your keyboard to open developer tools, and click the “Pick an Element” icon.
- Hover your cursor over the area you want to capture and click.
- In the developer tools panel, right-click the highlighted code and choose “Edit as HTML.”
- A section of the code will be highlighted. Right-click it and choose “Copy Outer HTML.”
- Paste the code into any text editor and save it as an HTML file.
- Open the tweet you want to capture.
- Press Command + Shift + 4 on Mac or Windows key + shift + S on PC.
- Use the cursor to capture the tweet you want.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
- Open the Instagram post you want to capture.
- Press Power button + volume down on Android, or Power button + home button on iPhone.
- The screenshot will be saved to your device’s gallery.
Conclusion
Taking screenshots is an easy way to capture images of your computer screen and share them with others. Whether you’re a blogger, marketer, designer or just a regular computer user, it can be an incredibly useful skill to have. In this article, we’ve covered the basics of taking screenshots on Windows and Mac computers, as well as discussed some of the best tools and apps for capturing screens. We’ve also shared some tips on how to annotate and share your screenshots on popular social media platforms.
So what are you waiting for? Give it a try and start capturing your screen today.