Capturing a snapshot of your computer screen is called a screenshot or screen capture. Once captured, the screenshot is automatically copied to your clipboard in Windows. Windows uses the Print Screen key, either alone or with another key, to capture one of the following:
You can then paste the screenshot into a document, email message, file, or image editor (Paint, for example). Alternately, you can insert the screenshot as an image into a document, email message, another file, or image editor.
On desktop keyboards, the Print Screen key is typically located in the upper right corner of the keyboard. Some keyboard models label the Print Screen key differently, such as PrintScreen, PrntScrn, PrntScr, PrtScn, PrtScr, PrtSc, or a similar abbreviation. In this article, we use the PrntScrn abbreviation to represent any key label variations.
On laptop keyboards, the Print Screen key is typically located on the Function Key row. Press the Fn key together with the associated Function key (usually F10) initiates the screenshot.
Laptops with capacitive (illuminated) Function Key rows should press the Fn key to toggle between the functions of the keys to locate the Print Screen key. Once illuminated, press the PrntScrn key along with any of the options below to capture the relevant screenshot. Refer to your product's user guide for more information.
Figure 1: Illustration of the print screen key on a Dell KM5221W wireless keyboard
Figure 2: Illustration of the print screen key on a Dell Precision 5550 mobile workstation keyboard
Figure 3: Illustration of a laptop with a capacitive Function Key row
The Print Screen function operates slightly differently in each Windows operating system.
Press the Windows logo key + PrntScrn key together.
On tablets, press the Windows logo button + the volume down button together. (The screenshot is saved in the Screenshots folder in the Pictures folder.)
Press the PrntScrn key.
Select the window that you want to capture and press the Alt + PrntScrn keys together.
Once you have captured the wanted screen or window using the Print Screen key, you must take additional steps to retain the screenshot. Paste the captured image into an image editor such as Microsoft Paint or Photoshop to edit or save it. Open the appropriate application and use the Ctrl + V key combination to paste the image into a new image document.
For more complex screen captures, see the Snipping Tool in Windows.