Capture part of the screen with Windows + Shift + S

The quickest and most flexible method on both Windows 10 and Windows 11 is the screen-snipping shortcut. It dims the screen and gives you a small toolbar so you can grab exactly the region you want without opening any app first. This is the method most people end up using every day once they learn it.

  1. Press Windows + Shift + S together. The screen dims and a small toolbar appears at the top.
  2. Choose a capture mode from the toolbar: rectangular, freeform, window, or full-screen.
  3. For a rectangular snip, click and drag a box over the area you want, then release the mouse button.
  4. The image is copied to your clipboard. A small notification appears in the lower-right corner.
  5. Paste it wherever you need with Ctrl + V, or click the notification to open the capture in the editor, where you can annotate, crop, and save.

If you change your mind mid-capture, press Esc to cancel. Because this shortcut only copies to the clipboard by default, remember to paste or click the notification before you copy anything else, or the screenshot will be replaced.

Save a full-screen shot to a file with Windows + Print Screen

When you want the whole screen saved as a file without any pasting, use this shortcut. It is ideal for keeping a quick record of something on screen.

  1. Press Windows + Print Screen (the key is often labelled PrtScn, PrtSc, or Print Scrn).
  2. The screen dims briefly to confirm the capture.
  3. Open File Explorer and go to Pictures, then Screenshots to find the saved PNG file.

The files are numbered automatically, so each new screenshot does not overwrite the last. On some laptops the Print Screen key shares a function with another key, so you may need to press Windows + Fn + Print Screen instead if the standard combination does nothing.

Copy the whole screen to the clipboard with Print Screen

Pressing Print Screen on its own copies the entire screen to your clipboard without saving a file. This has been a Windows staple for decades and still works in both Windows 10 and 11.

  1. Press Print Screen.
  2. Open an app that accepts images, such as Paint, Word, or an email message.
  3. Press Ctrl + V to paste the screenshot.
  4. In Paint you can then crop, mark up, and save it in your preferred format.

As with the saved-file shortcut, a laptop keyboard may require you to hold Fn alongside Print Screen. If pressing the key seems to do nothing, try the Fn combination before assuming the key is broken.

Capture only the active window with Alt + Print Screen

Sometimes you only want a single window rather than everything on screen, including the taskbar and other apps behind it. The active-window shortcut handles that cleanly.

  1. Click the window you want so it is in focus.
  2. Press Alt + Print Screen.
  3. The active window is copied to your clipboard.
  4. Paste it into Paint, a document, or a chat with Ctrl + V.

This saves you from cropping out the rest of the desktop later, which is useful when you want to share just one program’s window.

Use the Snipping Tool app for more control

The Snipping Tool is the dedicated screenshot app built into Windows. It gives you more deliberate control over timing and saving, which helps when you need to capture a menu that disappears or want to save directly to a chosen folder.

  1. Open the Start menu, type Snipping Tool, and press Enter.
  2. Click New to begin a capture.
  3. Choose a snip type: Rectangular, Freeform, Window, or Full-screen.
  4. Make your selection on screen.
  5. The capture opens in the Snipping Tool editor, where you can annotate with a pen or highlighter.
  6. Press Ctrl + S to save, then pick the folder and file format you want.

The modern Snipping Tool in Windows 11 also includes a short delay option, so you can set a timer of a few seconds before the capture fires. That delay is what lets you open a dropdown menu or tooltip and still capture it before it closes.

Make Print Screen open the snipping overlay

If you prefer the snipping overlay to launch whenever you tap Print Screen, you can reassign the key. This change is handy if you never use the plain clipboard copy and want the more flexible tool instead.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. On Windows 11, go to Accessibility, then Keyboard, and turn on the option to use the Print Screen button to open screen snipping. Windows 10 offers a similar setting under Ease of Access keyboard options.
  3. From then on, pressing Print Screen opens the same overlay you get with Windows + Shift + S.

Windows 10 versus Windows 11

The good news is that the core shortcuts are the same across both versions. Windows + Shift + S, Windows + Print Screen, Print Screen, and Alt + Print Screen all behave identically. The main differences are cosmetic: the Snipping Tool app looks more modern in Windows 11 and combines features that were once split between two separate apps in Windows 10. If a menu name does not match exactly, look for a similarly worded option, because the underlying steps are the same.

Choosing the right method

For everyday grabbing and sharing, Windows + Shift + S is the one to memorise. When you want an instant saved file, reach for Windows + Print Screen. For precise work with annotation and timed captures, open the Snipping Tool app. And when you only care about one window, Alt + Print Screen keeps your screenshot tidy. With these covered, you can capture anything on your PC in a couple of seconds.

Capturing a game or app with the Xbox Game Bar

Windows also includes the Xbox Game Bar, an overlay aimed at gaming that works for ordinary apps too. It is handy when a regular shortcut is intercepted by a full-screen program.

  1. Press Windows + G to open the Game Bar overlay.
  2. Click the Capture widget, or press Windows + Alt + Print Screen to grab the active window instantly.
  3. The image saves automatically to the Videos folder, then Captures.

Because the Game Bar runs as a system overlay, it can capture content that blocks the standard Print Screen key, which makes it a useful backup. Note that it saves to the Videos folder rather than the usual Screenshots folder, so check there if you cannot find the file.

Editing and sharing your screenshot

However you capture an image, you will often want to tidy it up before sending it on. If the screenshot is on your clipboard, paste it into Paint to crop out anything unnecessary, draw arrows or boxes to point out details, and then save it as a PNG or JPG. The Snipping Tool editor offers similar tools, including a pen, highlighter, and a ruler for straight lines, and it can also redact sensitive information before you share. When you are ready to send the image, most chat apps, email clients, and document editors accept a direct paste with Ctrl + V, so you do not even need to save a file first. Keeping a consistent habit, such as always using Windows + Shift + S and then pasting straight into your destination, makes the whole process almost instant.