How to screenshot on Windows

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A screenshot is a photo of what is on your computer’s screen.This is also known as ‘Print screen’ on a PC. The screenshot is usually saved in the Pictures folder unless you have changed the default setting.getintopc

Full screen on Windows

  1. Press ‘Print Screen/PrtScrn’ or press ‘Alt’ and ‘Print Screen/PrtScrn’ (different for each PC). 
  2. Click ‘Start’. 
  3. Open ‘Paint’. Do a search for ‘Paint’ if you can’t find it. 
  4. Click ‘File’. 
  5. Click ‘New’ to open a new page. 
  6. Click on ‘Paste’ in the new page. 
  7. Click on ‘File’. 
  8. Click on ‘Save As’. 
  9. Name the new file, choose where you want it to save on your computer, and click ‘Save’.

Part of the screen on Windows 

  1. Click ‘Start’. 
  2. Click ‘Snipping Tool’. Do a search for ‘Snipping Tool’ if you can’t find it. 
  3. In the ‘Snipping Tool’ select ‘New’. 
  4. The cursor will then change to a crosshair pointer. 
  5. Move the crosshair to where you want to capture. 
  6. Click and drag to select an area. 
  7. When you have selected the area you need, release your Mouse or Trackpad. 
  8. Click on ‘File’. 
  9. Click on ‘Save As’. 
  10. 1Name the new file, choose where you want it to save on your computer, and click ‘Save’.

Users running Windows 10 

  1. Use the ‘Print Screen’ button (PrtSc). You’ll find it on the upper-right side of most keyboards (or next to the Space Bar on some). It will copy an image of your entire screen to the clipboard. You can then hit ‘Ctrl + V’ to paste it into a document.

Screen recording on Windows

Xbox Game Bar is built into Windows 11 and Windows 10 and lets you make a screen recording one application at a time.

  1. Press together the ‘Windows Key’ + ‘Alt’ + ‘R’ at the same time.
  2. A recording widget will appear in the corner of your screen to start recording.
  3. Turn on or off your microphone for your audio preferences.
  4. Stop recording your screen by holding together ‘Windows Key’ + ‘Alt’ + ‘R’ at the same time or press the ‘Stop’ button in the recording widget.
  5. You will usually find the recording in your Videos/Captures folder from File Explorer.

Note: Xbox Game Bar won’t be able to record your Windows desktop or File Explorer. You may need to download a third-party application to your desktop to do this.

What to do if you have a different computer or device

We also have advice on:

  • How to screenshot on an Android device
  • How to screenshot on an iPad or iPhone
  • How to screenshot on a Mac

If none of these screenshot methods work on your device, we suggest you open your search engine and search ‘How do I take a screenshot/screen recording with a [add your device type/model]’. 

There are also some apps that can be used to take a screenshot or take a screen recording. Open Google Play and search ‘screen capture’ or ‘screen recorder’.

GUI

In 1983 Apple introduced Lisa, a personal computer with a graphical user interface (GUI) to perform routine operations. A GUI is a display format that allows the user to select commands, call up files, start programs, and do other routine tasks by using a device called a mouse to point to pictorial symbols (icons) or lists of menu choices on the screen. This type of format had certain advantages over interfaces in which the user typed text- or character-based commands on a keyboard to perform routine tasks. A GUI’s windows, pull-down menus, dialog boxes, and other controlling mechanisms could be used in new programs and applications in a standardized way, so that common tasks were always performed in the same manner. The Lisa’s GUI became the basis of Apple’s Macintosh personal computer, which was introduced in 1984 and proved extremely successful. The Macintosh was particularly useful for desktop publishing because it could lay out text and graphics on the display screen as they would appear on the printed page.

In 2000 more than 50 percent of all households in the United States owned a PC, and this penetration increased dramatically over the next few years as people in the United States (and around the world) purchased PCs to access the world of information available through the Internet. In 2018 more than three-quarters of all U.S. households had either a desktop or a laptop. With the inclusion of smartphones and tablets, over 90 percent of U.S. households had some form of computer.

Worldwide PC sales grew through the early 21st century and reached a peak in 2012. Thereafter sales declined through the 2010s, as more consumers shifted their computer use to smartphones and tablets and thus were slower to replace their PCs. However, PC sales increased in the early 2020s, as many people worked from home or attended school through videoconferencing during the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.