A 'screenshot' is a still, digital image, or 'snapshot' of what appears on all or part of a computer screen. Screenshots can be useful to diagnose problems and record screen events.
The best file formats to save screenshots are as a .jpg or .gif. Bitmaps (.bmp) are very large in comparison (often as much as twenty times as large) and are therefore not as convenient.
The Snipping Tool lets you take snapshots of the entire screen, windows, or just parts of the screen. Here are some common ways to take screenshots on Windows:
Option 1: Using the Snip & Sketch app
- Press the Start button and enter Snip & Sketch in the search field.
- Press the New button to start snipping with the snipping bar.
The snipping bar allows you to capture the following types of snips:
- Rectangular snip. Drag the cursor around an object to form a rectangle.
- Free-form snip. Draw a free-form shape around an object.
- Full-screen snip. Capture the entire screen.
Once you snip an area of your screen — the snipped image is added to your clipboard and you can paste it immediately in another app. A screen prompt will also allow you to annotate, save or share it using the Snip & Sketch app.
Option 2: With the Print Screen key
While the PrtScn key already captures your full screen and sends it to your clipboard, opening the snipping bar provides you with more snipping tools you can use for precise snipping. For better control of your screen capturing options, you can opt to have your PrtScn key open the new snipping bar instead of having to type Windows logo key + Shift + S.
To turn on the new snipping feature keyboard shortcut Select Start > Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard
Option 3: With the Window logo key + Shift + S shortcut
Pressing the S key + Windows logo + Shift keys down initiates the snipping bar at any time.