It is often necessary to take a screenshot of the screen of a computer or laptop on which you work. This is necessary if you want to clearly demonstrate the algorithm for performing certain actions. But on many devices, such screenshots are taken differently. It takes no more than 10-20 minutes to understand how to make a screen on a laptop.
Ways to take screenshots
Screenshots very often help out bloggers and computer masters, as they perfectly help convey all the necessary information to the browser and reduce the time for explaining new material. Often, information reproduced only in textual form is difficult for humans to assimilate. So this method is indispensable in order to intelligibly explain everything.
There are some of the most common methods for taking a screen shot of a laptop:
- Using the Print Screen key. It may also be called other names: PrtSc, PrntScrn, PrtScn, PrtScr. It all depends on the keyboard of a particular device.
- Using third-party programs.
- Operation of the Scissors tool built into the operating system (Windows 7, 8, 10).
Each of them is convenient in its own way. Who likes what. But there are other ways to make a screen on a laptop, which, again, are typical only for certain models.
Print Screen Button
Both on a laptop and on a regular desktop computer, you can easily “take a screenshot” of the screen image. To do this, there is a Print Screen key.
Algorithm of actions:
- When there is something you need to capture on your monitor, find the Prt Sc button on the keyboard and press it. This is called in most cases, but there are other formulations that were mentioned in this article above.
- To see the resulting snapshot and change it, you need to use a graphical editor. Photoshop, Picasa, and other similar programs are suitable for this, but it is most convenient to use the built-in Windows editor - Paint. Open it (Start - Programs - Accessories - Paint.).
- Under the inscription “file” you will see the “insert” button. Click her. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + V.
- Your picture will appear in the editor window. You can, if necessary, crop it or draw something on it. For example, instructions for action. It depends on the specific case.
- After click "file" and "save as." Select the image format, as well as the place where you want to save it. Done!
Thanks to these easy steps, you can learn in a few minutes how to make a screen on a laptop or on a regular computer.
When you press Prt Sc, nothing happens
On some laptops, a truncated keyboard is installed, and so just pressing the button we need will not be enough. There is a button Fn (Function). It combines some functions, mainly on a laptop keyboard, as it is noticeably reduced. Here's how to make a screen on a laptop with different versions of Windows: press Prt Sc + Fn.
Further, all according to the above scheme. Go to the graphics editor and paste your screenshot there. Then save.
Windows 7, 8, and 10
It will be even easier to learn how to make a screen on a laptop with Windows 10, 7 and 8 operating versions. The creators of these OSes have decided to simplify the task for their users, as fraud with graphic editors takes too much time. Especially if you need to make more than 15 screenshots. They created the Scissors utility.
To take a picture using this program, you must:
- Click "Start".
- Go to the "Standard" tab.
- Find the Scissors utility in it.
- After clicking on it, a window of this program will open. There you will see the "create" button, next to which there will be a small black arrow. Click on it to select a screenshot creation area.
- After you decide, you can click "create". If your choice is “full screen”, then the finished picture will be displayed in a regular editor, where you can somehow crop or attribute something to your work.
- After editing, save the finished result in a folder convenient for you. Save recommended in PNG format.
But how to make a screen on a laptop 10 operating system quickly, if you constantly need to look for a utility among other standard programs? There is a way to spend much less time opening the Scissors. You can set a combination of keys for this software, designed for instant launch.
To do this, you must:
- Again find "Scissors" (Start - Standard - Scissors).
- Do not run the utility, but right-click on it.
- In the menu that appears, select the "properties" command.
- In the "Shortcut" line, enter any letter you want. For example, English K.
- A combination of Ctrl + Alt + K will appear. Click Apply, and then OK.
Now, no matter what you do, working at the computer, you can easily make a screen by pressing Ctrl + Alt + K.
Alternative methods
For Windows 8 and 10, there is another method for making a screen on a laptop. You just need to press the key combination Win + Prt Sc. The Win button is located on the keyboard next to Alt. The Windows flag is drawn on it.
After completing this action, your screenshot will be stored on disk, in the "Images" folder. There will be another folder called Snapshots.
Macbook Screenshot
Macbook users also need to use this feature. Only on the keyboard of such computers and laptops there is no Prt Sc button. For them, there is another set of steps:
- When you need to take a screen of the whole screen, press Cmd + Shift + 3. The image will appear on your desktop.
- If it is necessary to "screen" a specific area, press Cmd + Shift + 4. Use the cursor to select the desired area. A picture will also appear on the desktop.
The creators of Apple products have perfectly adapted their devices to create screenshots. You will do it faster than in 1 minute.
Programs for creating screenshots
If you don’t really want to use the typical methods of creating screenshots or they are not very convenient for you, there are many software that can help with this. The most common programs:
- LightShot. It takes a picture in just a couple of minutes and allows you to share it online in the same second. It has a built-in simple editor and is suitable for any operating system.
- FastStone Designed both for those who care about speed in working with the utility, and for those who want to pay more attention to the editing of their illustrations. It retains excellent quality when captured.
- ScreenCapture Images can be created in different sizes: in the format of a specific object, an area of arbitrary shape or in the format of a plot of a predetermined size. The built-in editor is capable of superimposing many interesting effects on the illustration.
- Picpick The application is similar to the previous one in functionality. It differs in that it has a different design.
It is up to you to make a screen on a laptop or any other device, as each person chooses a method that suits his personal requirements.