Quite often, situations arise when it is necessary to take a screenshot of the screen of a Windows computer or mobile device. Why this is needed will be said separately. In the meantime, let’s dwell on a few classic methods that in a matter of seconds allow us to solve the question of how to take a screenshot of the screen on Windows or in a mobile operating system. But first, some theoretical information that will be useful to any user, regardless of the level of his training.
What is a screenshot?
Let's see what a so-called screenshot is. In essence, this is the most common screen shot. It is a picture that, by analogy, is created by a camera. Only when using photographic equipment you yourself choose what exactly to take at the moment, but when you need to take a screenshot of the screen in Windows 10, for example, or even in mobile systems, you do not have to choose. Photographing, of course, if I may say so, is subject only to what is currently displayed on the screen of a computer monitor, smartphone or tablet.
Another point of understanding the essence of such processes is that the picture is copied to the clipboard and is not displayed as an image right on the screen. Again, if you draw an analogy with old film cameras, it looks like you need to show the film after shooting, and only then print the photos, which is akin to saving the final file on your hard drive or removable media.
No, you can, of course, use the camera and take a picture of the image on the monitor, but this is not an option! Then you will have to copy the photo from the memory card to the hard drive, well, and the quality, as you yourself understand, will leave much to be desired. So isn’t it easier to use the built-in system tools?
Why might you need to take a screenshot?
In principle, making a screenshot in Windows is not difficult. But let's see why this is necessary. But for what. For example, something does not work for a user of a registered service, and some errors are constantly being generated. He contacts the support service, and there he is invited to describe the problem and attach a screenshot. How to take a picture? It all depends on which device (computer or mobile device) is currently being used.
Sometimes you need to take a picture, for example, in Skype. In principle, it does not have the most special means for this, and the whole procedure will be reduced to the classical version, which is then first proposed for consideration.
How to take a screenshot on a computer in a classic way?
Now let's move on to practical actions. To begin with, we will consider precisely the classical, so to speak, grandfather's method. It is clear that every computer device, whether it is a stationary terminal or laptop, has a keyboard, which is usually a PS / 2 standard. In other words, the first proposed solution is suitable for all, without exception, IBM-compatible computers, or more simply, a PC or PC.
So how to take a screenshot on a Windows computer? It turns out to be simple. If you look carefully at the keyboard, at the top right you can see a button marked Print Screen or a similar abbreviation for the full name. It is she who is responsible for creating pictures. How to take a screenshot of a computer with Windows 7 or any other system on board? Yes, just click the button, after the picture is sent to the clipboard. But this is still half the battle. We will consider further actions a little later, but for now let's see what actions can be performed on laptops.
How to take a screenshot on a laptop?
The keyboard of laptops differs from the standard one only in that it has additional keys and buttons. In this case, we are talking about the Fn key, whose role is in a sense similar to the Shift or Alt buttons. With its help, you can call the execution of additional operations.
On laptops, the above snapshot button can be combined with another primary key (for example, End). Thus, the question of how to take a screenshot of a screen on a Windows laptop on board is already solved by using a combination of two keys. On some models, this sequence may not work, so you have to include the Alt key in the main combination.
On laptops, by the way, some manufacturers provide not only combined, but also separately removed buttons on the main panel, which eliminates the use of the Fn key or any other combinations, which makes creating an image even simpler. But after that, and in any case, the graphical editor will still have to be called up, unless the button’s action is associated with preinstalled software that will open the picture on its own and in automatic mode. But this, as already probably clear, is very rare. It is possible to clutter the panel with additional buttons, perhaps, only in the case of ultrabooks, which have a screen diagonal of 18 inches or more.
How to open a picture and save it?
So, how to take a screenshot of the screen on the computer, figured out. We assume that the image is copied to the clipboard. Now, somehow, he needs to be “manifested”. After performing this operation, some actions to copy files or text fragments without special utilities that save everything that was placed in the buffer cannot be done, otherwise the picture will simply be erased.
At this stage, the question of how to take a screenshot of the screen on Windows 10 or any other similar system is to call any image editor and place the image in it. In order not to install additional programs, you can use the standard Paint application, which is available in pre-installed Window-systems of any generation. We use the insert mode through the PCM context menu or the combination of Ctrl + V. That's it. Snapshot is inserted. Now you need to save it. As usual, this is done through the file menu with the selection of the "Save As ..." item, after which the desired image format and the desired storage location are selected. Please note that it is best to save the file in PNG format, since it occupies the least amount of disk space. It’s better not to touch the outdated BMP format (bitmap) at all, and then you will be very surprised at why the hard disk is missing. JPG / JPEG is also not the best option. However, the choice of format depends solely on exactly what actions will need to be taken in the future. For example, to send a picture to the Internet, the minimum size of a PNG file is sufficient, but to use the file in a professional graphics editor, it is better to choose something else.
How to take a screenshot of a part of the screen?
However, the question of how to take a screenshot of the screen has another solution that few people know about. And it consists in using a special tool called “Scissors”. This tool is mainly used to not “take pictures” of the entire screen, but to take a picture of only a certain selected area.
How to take a screenshot with this tool? Simple too. First, find it in the list of programs through the Start menu. After starting this tool, the cursor changes the view from an arrow to a cross. Changing the appearance of the cursor is intended to create a selection area. Now it remains to simply select the desired screen fragment, and the contents will automatically be copied to the clipboard, after which it can be pasted, for example, in a Word text editor or in an e-mail.
If you want to save the object, click on the button with the image of the diskette, and then, as usual, enter a name and select the place where the file will be saved. As you can see, the question of how to take a screenshot on personal computers or laptops with Windows on board is solved very simply. Next, several similar methods will be considered, but with reference to mobile devices. We will not touch the "apple" devices, but as a basis we take smartphones and tablets running operating systems of the Android family. On these systems, oddly enough, there are several more ways to create snapshots, and additional applications, which will be discussed separately, often have much greater capabilities than those offered for installation on Windows.
Screenshot on Android: Method One
So, how to take a screenshot on the “Android”? The first technique is suitable for almost all devices running this operating system, for which the Home button is mechanical (rather than touch).
The problem regarding how to take a screenshot of the screen on a phone of this type is solved by simultaneously pressing this button with the power button pressed in parallel.
Second way
The second technique is intended for those models in which the Home button is presented in the touch version. As an example, consider how to take a screenshot on a Galaxy with Android operating systems of the fourth version and higher.
In this case, it is necessary to simultaneously hold down the volume down and power keys for one to two seconds, after which the picture will be saved (it will be said separately where to look for screenshots).
Third way
The third decision on how to take a screenshot of the screen on the phone is to simultaneously hold down the two touch buttons "Home" and "Back".
True, this option is not suitable for all devices and is designed mainly for devices that use mobile operating systems of outdated modifications.
The fourth way
Finally, the most advanced technique that allows you to solve the question of how to take a screenshot of the screen on the "Android", consists in the palm of your hand (by default it is supported only on the flagship devices of Samsung Galaxy S, in which this function was activated initially).
To create a picture, you just need to swipe your palm edge, touching the screen, from right to left or vice versa. If for some reason the function is unavailable, you need to enter the settings, and through the menu of movement, palm control and gesture control, go to additional parameters, where you should activate the item to create a screenshot of the palm of your hand (although, in theory, this is usually not required).
Where is the picture located?
As a rule, created screenshots are automatically placed in the gallery or document folders. But if you need to find a snapshot manually, you need to go to the Pictures directory on the internal drive and find the ScreenCapture or Screenshots directories there.
Additional programs for creating snapshots in Windows
As it turns out, not everyone likes their own means of operating systems of any type, since the actions performed with their help are often somewhat antediluvian. In this case, to simplify the work, you can also use specially developed third-party utilities for this.
So, for example, the Lightshot program can be called very popular and simple, which, by the way, is designed for both Windows and mobile systems, and can also be installed as a separate plug-in in the Google Chrome browser.
No less interesting is the FastStone Capture application, which seems to also take a picture using hot keys, but in the editor it opens it automatically.
It is also easy to take a picture in Snagit. Its advantage is that it is able to create scrollable screens or even take pictures while scrolling with a set time interval. The application has a built-in editor in which you can immediately configure the way to save files, plus additional tools for processing the created images.
Another very simple utility is GreenShot. It is slightly inferior to the previous one in the number of options and settings, but it is completely easy to use and perfect for any novice user.
In the Fraps application, you can set a hot key and initially set the format in which the captured pictures will be saved. But the Screen Capture utility works on the basis of the same Print Screen key, which looks somewhat inconvenient. Another minus is the immediate sending of a screenshot to the Internet by default (this can be corrected with the save image snapshot switch “Where to save ...”).
Android apps
For mobile systems, such applications are also available in sufficient quantities. Among all that is presented in the repository itself or is available for download on Internet resources, the following applications can be separately noted:
- "Screenshot".
- Screenshot touch.
- Screenshot ER Pro.
- Screenshot It.
- Screenshot UX.
- DroCap 2 (only for devices on which Root rights are installed) and others.
Each of these programs is interesting in its own way and often has a wider range of capabilities than applications installed under Windows. And this is not a question of utilities for instantly fixing everything that happens on the device’s screen with recording in video mode. But, as you yourself understand, any such application needs to be tried, as they say, in action. No description will give a complete picture of the capabilities of an applet.
What to use?
That, in fact, is all that relates to resolving the issue of how to take a screenshot of the screen. Unclear is only a matter of preference. Which of all the proposed methods to apply? It seems that those users who refuse the standard means of desktop and mobile systems are completely wrong. Classical methods work without additionally installed programs. Another thing is that third-party utilities have their own editors that are quite superior to the same Paint. Of course, you will not refuse this to them. But in most cases, using a regular button on the keyboard or keys on phones is enough.
The only thing that can be added is that third-party utilities allow you to immediately configure the output format (but in Windows it can be changed when saving, on mobile systems - not). So what to choose? There is no definite answer, since each user has his own preferences. If we talk about third-party utilities in general, in order to choose something suitable, in theory, each program needs to be tried in real use, not paying attention to colorful descriptions on the Internet, and this takes time, and you still have to install applications. Although they are small in size, nonetheless. The user can simply forget about them, and then when cleaning the computer or phone, he will be surprised where so much garbage came from.
For that matter, testing programs can be done only in this way: installed the application, worked with it, did not like it - deleted it. And after all, many immediately install a bunch of utilities, and then they are not deleted. In addition, some such programs can create their own processes in the "Task Manager", which will work in the background, and the applications themselves can constantly be in the system tray in the area of ​​hidden icons. This also needs to be remembered. The load on system resources, of course, is small, but in combination with other running software applets, this can adversely affect the performance of the operating system.