4 Ways to Take Screenshots in Windows 11

This article explains all the different ways to make Windows 11 screenshots.

Use PrtScn to Screenshot the Whole Screen

There are many ways to make screenshots in Windows 11, the most basic being to use the PrtScn (aka PrtSc) button on your keyboard. This captures the entire screen, including multiple displays if you have them, plus all visible windows, the taskbar, the Start button, etc. You can then paste the screenshot into any program that supports image pasting.

However, there are several better ways to take a screenshot, depending on what you're capturing and how you want to save it. Most methods require you to memorize keyboard shortcuts, but there's also a tool built into Windows 11 to help take screenshots.

Fullscreen Screenshot and Auto-save to Folder

 Win+PrtSc

This method is super helpful if you're taking lots of screenshots. Press and hold the Windows key, then press the PrtSc key on your keyboard.

The fullscreen screenshot will be saved to your Pictures > Screenshots folder. One way to navigate to that folder is to quickly search for folders: screenshots.

Screenshot Part of the Screen

 Win+Shift+S

This three-button shortcut triggers Snipping Tool, which is much more useful than PrtSc. It still lets you screenshot the whole screen, but you can also use three other techniques.

After striking those three keys together, the screen will dim, and a small menu will show at the very top of the screen. There are four buttons which let you take different kinds of screenshots. Here's how to use them:

• Rectangle: You draw a box containing what you want to capture. You would use this method to screenshot a smaller part of the screen (and ignore the rest).
• Window: This lets you capture an open window. This is identical to the rectangular snip but lets you avoid needing a steady hand to get just that one window; it will automatically screenshot just one window without the taskbar, etc.
• Full screen: Press to capture the whole screen. It's identical to using PrtScr.
• Freeform: You draw a shape that contains what you'd like to capture. This is useful if the rectangular snip is too restrictive to capture what you need.
  

After choosing one of those options, the image will be saved to the clipboard, which you can paste into an email or some other program that accepts pasting pictures.

Or, if you select the prompt that pops up at the bottom of the screen after taking the screenshot, it'll open in Snipping Tool. There are markup tools like a pencil and highlighter. You can also easily crop the screenshot further, print it out, copy text from it, import it into Paint, run it through Bing's reverse image search tool, and save it as a PNG, JPG, or GIF file.

Delayed Screenshots With Snipping Tool

Pull up the search button from the taskbar and enter Snipping Tool to open the app. This tool was briefly covered above, but what we'll look at now is the delayed screenshot function.

Taking screenshots of open menus and other areas of Windows can sometimes be difficult if triggering the screenshot breaks whatever it is you're doing. Snipping Tool has a timed screenshot option, so you can do what you need to and then wait for the screenshot to happen automatically, hands-free.

With the program open, select the stopwatch. There are three options: 3-second delay, 5-second delay, and 10-second delay. Select one, choose New, and then quickly arrange the screen in the way you need it for the screenshot. When the time you chose is reached, the four options above will display at the top of the screen.

Tips for Taking Screenshots in Windows 11

• Once an image is loaded in Snipping Tool, use the crop tool to define further which part you want to keep without needing to retake the screenshot.
• If your desktop wallpaper includes colors or shapes, it sometimes shows through in the screenshot. You can avoid this by setting the wallpaper to all-white.
• Create an outline around your screenshots created with Snipping Tool by opening the tool's settings and enabling the Add border to each screenshot option. You can choose any color you like.
• If your window screenshots need a specific height and width, the free Sizer tool can resize the window before you capture the screenshot.
• There are screenshot apps you can use instead. One reason you might want a dedicated app for taking screenshots is for increased capability. There's a screenshot app, for example, which lets you take a screenshot of an entire web page, something you can't do with the above steps.