What’s a screenshot?

A screenshot is an image taken by a device, showing exactly what the user sees on the monitor screen or other visual output device. Learn more.


How can I create a link to a screenshot?

You can use different services for creating screenshots, for example:


How can I make a screenshot in Windows?

Using a graphics editor

  • On the keyboard, press the PrtScr key (for the entire screen) or the combo of keys Alt+PrtScr (for the current window)—and a picture of the browser window will go to the clipboard.
  • Launch any graphics editor— for example, Paint. Click Edit → Paste (Ctrl+V)
  • Click File → Save as
  • Choose the file type: PNG or JPG
  • Click Save.


Using the Snipping Tool

In Windows 7, 8, and 10 there is a built-in alternative to the classic screenshot creation method described above. It’s called the Snipping Tool. This is a preinstalled tool in the system, and it can be found in the Start menu → All Apps → Windows Accessories. The Snipping Tool allows you to select the desired area of the screen and save it as a graphic file. To quickly bring up this tool without reaching into the menu, you can configure a hot key or drag a shortcut to a convenient place (for example, the Desktop or taskbar).

  • Launch the Snipping Tool.
  • Launch the program you wish to screenshot.
  • Click New.
  • Select a snip type from the dropdown menu: Full-Screen Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip, or Free-Form Snip.
  • Make and save the screenshot.


How can I make a screenshot on macOS?

Using system tools

No special program is needed to make a screenshot. Just knowing a few keyboard combos is enough. You can view them in your computer settings, specifically in System Preferences → Keyboard & Mouse → Keyboard Shortcuts: Command+Shift+3: this captures the entire screen into a file on the desktop. Command+Shift+4: capture a selected area into a file. Command+Shift+4+Space: capture a program window into a file.

To save to the clipboard, also hold down Ctrl.


Using Mac OS X Grab

If you don’t want to remember hot keys, you can use the standard Mac OS X Grab tool. You can find this through Spotlight (search in your computer) by typing ""“grab”"" or looking in the system app folder.

The Grab tool is extremely simple while having good functionality.

There are four modes of shooting and hot keys for each:

Selection (Shift+Command+A): take a snapshot of the selected area

Window (Shift+Command+W): take a snapshot of the window (you can select any of the currently open windows)

Screen (Command+Z): take a snapshot of the entire screen

Timed Screen (Shift+Command+Z): take a snapshot of the entire screen on a timer (after clicking the timer’s start button, the time will count down from 10 seconds; during this time, you can prepare the screen for a shot).

After taking the screenshot, a window will appear in Grab with the resulting image. You can now save it where you need to.

Grab can work with several screenshots at once. That means you can snap several screenshots at once, then compare them and choose the best. Grab also knows how to copy its shots to the clipboard by pressing Command+C.