Apple, Google, and Microsoft have provided different ways to take screenshots on a laptop. Third-party apps can also help you with this task. But you can also easily take screenshots just by using your computer’s internal system.
In this article, we will show you a step-by-step guide on how to take a screenshot on a laptop. These instructions are designed for Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS, so you can easily take screenshots no matter which model of device you have.
How to take a screenshot on a Windows laptop
First of all, we are telling you how to take a screenshot on a Windows laptop. Microsoft has provided the PrtScn button for this for some time. But graphical interfaces are being used in modern computing. In which the Snip & Sketch app comes preloaded inside the Windows computer. It gives a rectangular Snip option, through which you can select the cursor in a rectangle around that object (screen, image). You can easily take a screenshot by selecting the part of it that you want to take a screenshot of. In this, you can take a screenshot in the desired shape through free-form Snip, while in Window Snip you can take a screenshot of a specific window. This app also has a Fullscreen Snip option, through which you can capture the entire screen. Below are some steps to take a screenshot on a Windows machine. You can skip these steps and proceed further to see the guide of taking a screenshot on MacBook or any other Mac machine.
On your computer keyboard, press the Windows logo key + Shift + S simultaneously. After this, you will see the snipping bar on your screen.
From here you can choose any one of the options from Rectangular Snip, Freeform Snip, Window Snip, or Fullscreen Snip.
For Rectangular Snip and Freeform Snip, select the area you want to capture with the mouse cursor.
Once captured, the screenshot will be automatically saved to your clipboard. Once the screenshot is captured, click on the notification and open it in the Snip & Sketch app.
Here you can adjust the screenshot with the help of zoom or crop tool.
Now click on save option on your app to save the edited screenshot.
If you are using an old Windows, you can capture the entire screen on your clipboard using the PrtScn button. After this, you can take it to MS Paint app or any other photo editor app and edit it as per your wish. After that, you can save this image on your computer. You can also take a screenshot by pressing the Windows logo key and the PrtScn button simultaneously. This will save the picture directly in the picture gallery of your computer.
How to take a screenshot on a MacBook or other Mac computer
Unlike Windows computers, Mac machines do not have any preloaded app or dedicated button to take screenshots. Screenshots can be taken in a basic way in Apple’s macOS as well. For that, follow the steps given below.
First of all, press Shift + Command + 3 together and take a screenshot.
A thumbnail will appear in the corner of your screen confirming that the screenshot has been captured.
Now click on the preview of the screenshot to edit it. If you don’t want to edit it, wait for it to be saved on your computer.
If you do not want to capture the entire screen, then press and hold the Shift + Command + 4 buttons simultaneously. By doing this, you see a crosshair pointer. Using this, you can select the part of the screen that you want to capture. You can also use the space bar while dragging to change the location of the selection. If you want to cancel it, then use the Esc key.
In Apple, you can take a screenshot of a window or menu on your Mac by pressing Shift + Command + 4 + Space bar simultaneously.
macOS naturally saves screenshots to the desktop. But you can change the save location in macOS Mojave and above by going to the Options menu in the Screenshot app.
How to take a screenshot on a Chromebook
Google’s Chrome OS also has some shortcuts for taking screenshots inside Chromebook. You can capture the entire screen by pressing Ctrl + Show Windows. You can also take a screenshot of a specific part by pressing Shift + Ctrl + Show Windows simultaneously and then clicking and dragging on the desired part.
You can take screenshots on Chrome OS in tablets by pressing the Power button and the Volume down button at the same time. Once captured, screenshots in Chrome OS are copied to the clipboard just like in Windows. You can then paste them into an app for future use.