How to Take A Screenshot on Windows 10 (3 Quick Ways)

If you’re a Windows user and you’ve got something important on your screen that you want to capture, in this guide, we’ll show you a few different ways you can take a screenshot of it.

While there are many different ways that you can take a screenshot on Windows 10, in this post, we’ll focus on three of the easiest ways to capture your screen.

For Windows 11 users, check out our guide on How to Screenshot in Windows 11.

How to Use the Snipping Tool to Take A Screenshot

Microsoft has included the Snipping Tool since Windows Vista and it is one of the easiest ways to take a screenshot in Windows.

There are a couple of different ways that you can capture a screenshot using the Snipping Tool. We’ll outline those methods below.

*In an upcoming update, the Snipping Tool will be taken over by a new feature called “Snip & Sketch” which will provide the same functionality.

Opening the Snipping Tool and Using It

1. Type ‘snipping tool’ into the search bar and hit enter
2. From the Snipping Tool menu, hit ‘New’
3. This will give you a cursor that you can click and drag to select the area you want a screenshot of
4. After you’ve selected your area, the tool will give you a preview of your screenshot
5. If the screenshot looks good, you can save the screenshot as an image file, using ‘File > Save As…’

Using Snip & Sketch Hotkeys to Take A Screenshot

1. Press ‘Windows logo key + Shift + S’
2. Click and drag the cursor to select the area you want a screenshot of
3. Open the prompt in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen to preview the screenshot
4. In the top right corner, click the save icon to save your screenshot

*Using this method, before you save your screenshot, you can markup the image using the available writing tools.

Using Print Screen to Take A Screenshot

The Print Screen button is another easy way to take a screenshot in Windows 10.

There are a few different ways that you can use the Print Screen button to take a screenshot.

Use the Print Screen Button to Capture Your Entire Screen

1. Hit the ‘Print Screen’ or ‘PRT SC’ button
2. This will send a screenshot of your entire screen to your clipboard
3. You can paste this image into any image editing program and edit it to your liking

*Just note that, if you have multiple monitors, this method will take a screenshot of all of your monitors in one extra wide image.

Using Print Screen to Capture and Immediately Save A Screenshot

1. Press ‘Windows logo key + Print Screen’ to capture your entire screen
2. This will not only capture your entire screen, but it will also automatically save it
3. You can find the saved screenshot in your Pictures > Screenshots folder

*As with above, if you have multiple monitors, this method will take a screenshot of all of your monitors in one extra wide image.

Using Print Screen to Take A Screenshot of the Active Window

1. Press ‘Alt + Print Screen’ to screenshot the active window
2. This will send a screenshot of your active window to your clipboard
3. You can paste this image into any image editing program and edit it to your liking

*With this method, the active window can be a single monitor in a multi-monitor setup, or the active window can be a program you are currently using.

Using Game Bar to Take A Screenshot

Windows Game Bar app will also allow you to take screenshots. It will also allow you to record your screen if you want to create a video.

To take a screenshot using Game Bar, do the following:

1. Press ‘Windows logo key + G’ to open the Game Bar
2. Find the Capture menu and hit the camera icon
3. You screenshot will save to your ‘Videos > Captures’ folder

Conclusion

Taking a screenshot on Windows 10 is incredibly easy. In this post, we’ve provided you with three easy ways that you can take a screenshot of your screen. Whether you want to take a screenshot that you can edit in an image editing program, or you want to take a screenshot that will instantly be saved as an image file, one of the methods outlined above will help you achieve your goal.