Capture Screenshots Using built-in Windows Tools [How To]

There are a number of ways to capture screenshots without any additional software in Windows. You can:

1. Capture the whole screen (and automatically save it if you have Windows 8)
2. Capture a part of the screen or a window
3. Capture a series of screenshots in a document

This guide covers the tools built in to Windows and how to use them.

Capture the Whole Screen or a Single Window

• To capture the whole screen, press the Print Screen key (often abbreviated i.e. Prt Scrn)
• To capture a window i.e. your web browser, click the window to bring it into focus and pressAlt+Print Screen

The screenshot is copied to the clipboard; you can now paste it (Ctrl+V) into Word, Paint etc. for saving.

• Windows 8 only: Press the Windows+Print Screen key to capture a screenshot and save it in Libraries\Pictures\Screenshots
  To view saved screenshots:
  • Either: Click Start, type Libraries, click Libraries, and navigate to Pictures -> Screenshots
  • Or: Press Windows Key + E open Windows Explorer, press Ctrl + L to enter an address and navigate to: Libraries\Pictures\Screenshots

Capture Part of the Screen

The Snipping tool can capture the whole screen, a selection of the screen, or a specific Window. The snipping tool is available with:

• Windows 8, Windows 8 Professional, Windows 8 RT
• Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise
• Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise

Step 1: Click the Start button, type snip, and click Snipping Tool.

Step 2: Click NewNote: To free-form clip or grab a window or the whole screen, click the down arrow next to the New button

Step 3: Select the area you wish to capture

Step 4: Optionally annotate and highlight your image:

Step 5: Save your image to your hard drive (Ctrl+S) or copy it to your clipboard (Ctrl+C):

Capture a Series of Screenshots in a Document

To capture a series of screenshots in a document, you can use the Steps Recorder (named Problem Steps Recorder in Windows 7) that’s available with both Windows 7 and 8.

To open Steps recorder: click Start, type psr, and click Steps Recorder (Windows 8) or psr.exe*(Windows 7.)

*If you’re using Windows 7, I recommend you run the program as an administrator (right click psr.exe and click Run as Administrator.)

Step by step instructions for using the steps recorder.

Notes:

• Once you’ve completed your steps, you can open the saved file and copy the screenshots into Word, Paint etc.
• If you want to capture more than 25 screenshots, click the down arrow next to the help icon and click Settings…; replace 25 with the maximum number of screenshots required