Here’s everything you need to know about capturing screenshots, no matter the platform—Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, iOS, Android, and even Linux.
Need to preserve what you’re seeing on your phone or computer screen? Mobile and desktop operating systems offer robust screen-capture tools. Most are built into the device, but there’s a wealth of third-party options, as well as browser extensions, that get the job done. Here’s how to take a screenshot on Android, Chrome OS, iOS/iPadOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows.
How to Take a Screenshot on iPhone or iPad
For the iPhone X, 11, 12, and 13 lines, and newer iPad Pro and iPad Air devices—devices without a Home button—hold down the side button to the right of the screen (top button on an iPad) and the volume up button at the same time to take a screenshot.
If you own an Apple device that still has a Home button, hold down the sleep/wake button and press the Home button to take a screenshot. You will hear a camera shutter (if your sound is on) and see a “flash” on the screen. The screenshot will then appear in your camera roll and in the Screenshots album.
If you use an Apple Pencil with an iPad, you can take a screen grab with the drawing tool. Swipe up from the bottom corner with the Apple Pencil to capture the image. You can also choose between your current screen or the entire page, even after the picture has been taken.
To annotate a screenshot, tap the thumbnail that appears at the bottom of the screen once you capture an image. This will open the device’s markup tool and allow you to edit the screengrab.
Some apps may make it difficult to take screenshots through the normal means. This is where your device’s built-in Screen Recording tool comes in. While its primary purpose is to record video of your screen, you can pause the video and take a screenshot this way. Just make sure to first add the shortcut button to Control Center under Settings > Control Center.
You can also use a third-party tool to capture the screen on your mobile device from a computer. With LonelyScreen, you share your screen via AirPlay and capture anything on your mobile device’s screen from the computer. Apowersoft’s iPhone/iPad Recorder can work as long as the PC and mobile device are on the same Wi-Fi network. Activate the AirPlay connection in Control Center, then snap your images on a computer.
How to Take a Screenshot on Android
Buttons on Pixel 4 Buttons on the Google Pixel 4Android devices are not as uniform, so screenshot commands may be different depending on the phone’s manufacturer. Most Android devices should be able to take screen grabs by holding down the power and volume down buttons, though holding the power and home buttons (if your device has a physical button) may also work.
Several Android devices have a screenshot button in the pull-down shade. If your phone has Google Assistant or Bixby (Samsung), use a voice command to ask the voice assistant to take a screenshot for you. For Samsung devices with the S Pen stylus, take a screen grab from the Air Command menu by tapping Screen Write, and then write on or crop the image.
Samsung phones also support gestures to take screenshots. Navigate to the screen image you like, position your hand like you plan to karate chop the phone, then swipe the entire side of your hand along the screen from left to right. Set this up (or turn it off) in Settings > Advanced Features > >Motion and gestures > Palm swipe to capture.
All Android users can download third-party apps to take screen captures. Many apps meant for recording video can also take screenshots. Screenshot Easy is a top-rated option that uses the same basic triggers as Android itself; you can also customize it and take a screenshot just by shaking your phone. You can instead use Apowersoft’s Android Recorder to take screenshots of your phone from a PC.
How to Take a Screenshot on Apple Watch
To take a screenshot of your Apple Watch screen, the feature must first be enabled. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, and navigate to My Watch > General > Enable Screenshots and toggle it on, or open Settings > General and tap Enable Screenshots on your watch.
Take a screenshot on an Apple Watch by pulling up the screen you want to capture. Hold the Side button and click the Digital Crown simultaneously. Like on iPhone, the screen will “flash” white and the camera shutter will go off. The screenshot will then appear on your iPhone’s camera roll, not the watch itself.
How to Take a Screenshot in Windows 10
The simplest way to take a screenshot in Windows 10 is to use the Print Screen button. You’ll find it on the upper-right side of most keyboards (or next to the Space Bar on some). Tap PrtSc once to copy an image of your entire screen to the clipboard. You can then hit Ctrl + V to paste it into your program of choice.
The problem with this method is it captures everything visible on your monitor, and if you have a multi-monitor setup, it will grab all the displays as if they’re one big screen. Narrow things down with Alt + Print Screen, which will capture just the window you currently have open.
Snip & Sketch is a program that adds a helpful screenshot toolbar to the OS. Use the Shift + Windows Key + S keyboard shortcut to launch a small toolbar at the top of the screen to choose between capturing the full screen, a custom portion, or a specific window. Open the app directly and you get the added ability to capture on a delay.
Microsoft’s older Snipping Tool remains available for those who prefer this method. The app can be found in the Start menu and has the same capturing functionality as Snip & Sketch.
The Windows Game Bar in Windows 10 is intended for recording gaming sessions, but it can also be used to record any action and capture screen grabs. Open the tool with Windows Key + G, then tap the camera button in the Capture section to save a screenshot to the Videos/Captures folder under your main user folder.
If all that fails, Windows has an array of third-party screen-capture utilities available. Our Editors’ Choice pick is the $50 Snagit, which can do everything you can imagine, including take video of what’s happening on your screen. The same company also offers TechSmith Capture for free.
How to Take a Screenshot in Windows 11
For anyone who wants to take screenshots in Windows 11, the Print Screen and Alt + PrtSc options are still available. A new Windows Key + PrtSc shortcut will place your screenshot into the Pictures > Screenshots folder and Windows’ Photos app.
You can also use PrtSc in conjunction with OneDrive. Open Settings > Backup in OneDrive and check Automatically Save Screenshots to ensure that all screengrabs are saved in a folder in the cloud.
If you find multiple screenshot tools confusing, Microsoft has combined the Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch to create a new and improved version of Snipping Tool. You use the same Shift + Windows Key + S keyboard shortcut and get the same capture options. If you open the app directly, instead of using the shortcut, you can capture on a delay.
Windows 11 actually allows you to assign the Snipping Tool to the PrtSc key from Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard. Check the Use the Print Screen Button to Open Screen Snipping box to open the screen capture tool instead of simply grabbing your entire screen.
Despite being renamed the Xbox Game Bar, the feature works the same way it did in Windows 10. Open the tool with Windows Key + G, then tap the camera button in the Capture section to save a screenshot. Or use the Windows Key + Alt + PrtSc command to capture with the Game Bar without having to open it first.
For tablet users, anyone with one of the more recent Surface tablets can press Volume Up and Power at the same time to take a screenshot. These instructions may vary for older products.
How to Take a Screenshot on Mac
With the release of macOS Mojave, Mac users got more control over taking screenshots on a Mac. The update introduced a screenshot tool that can be triggered by pressing Command + Shift + 5, or by navigating to Launchpad > Other > Screenshot.
The screen-capture window allows you to perform different actions and save images to your desktop. Choose to capture the entire screen, part of the screen, or a specific window. You can also capture video of the entire screen or just a portion of it, and there’s also the option to take screenshots on a timer and change where images are saved.
For anyone who prefers keyboard shortcuts, those are still supported. Use Command + Shift + 3 to capture the entire screen. If you only want part of the screen captured, Command + Shift + 4 will turn the cursor into a crosshair. Select the section of the screen you want to capture.
To capture a specific window, use Command + Shift + 5 (yes, the same shortcut to trigger the screenshot tool). Then hit the space bar to switch between capturing a section of screen and a specific window. If you have a Mac with a Touch Bar, capture that by pressing Command + Shift + 6.
You can capture an image and save it to the clipboard by adding Control to any keyboard shortcut you use. For instance, use Command + Shift + Control + 3 to capture the entire screen, or Command + Shift + Control + 4 for a specific section. The image won’t save to the computer, but it can be pasted into an app.
If you have a Mac with Retina display, a screenshot of the entire screen can be huge in PNG format—as big as 7MB. If you’d rather the Mac save in JPG or some other format, change the setting. Open a terminal window on the Mac in question and type:
Enter your password, if asked, then restart the computer and future screenshots should save in the preferred format you specified. You can always change it back by typing the above command with PNG at the end instead.
If you prefer a third-party solution, options like Snappy (which can sync screenshots with the Snappy app for iOS), TechSmith Capture, Snagit, Skitch, LightShot, and others are available.
How to Take a Screenshot on Linux
There are almost as many ways to take a screenshot in Linux as there are flavors of Linux. Focusing on Ubuntu in particular, open the Activities menu and select Screenshot. You can then choose between the whole screen, a single window, or a custom area before snapping an image.
Linux also allows you to use the Print Screen button, as well as the Alt + Print Screen shortcut to screenshot a specific window. Use Shift + Print Screen to select a custom area to capture. You can also add the Ctrl key to any shortcut and save the image to the clipboard.
The program GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) allows you to take a screenshot from the same program where you edit the image after it’s captured. Open GIMP and go to File > Acquire > Screen Shot. You’ll get a few options, such as taking the entire screen, a window, or using a time delay. The captured image then opens in GIMP for editing.
How to Take a Screenshot on a Chromebook
Those with a Chromebook can take a screenshot with the Show Windows key. This button is located at the top of the keyboard and has an image of a box with lines next to it. Hit Shift + Ctrl + Show Windows, then select Screenshot and capture the full screen, part of the screen, or a specific window. You can also select the time and click Screen capture.
If you’re using an external keyboard, it may not have a Window Switcher button. You’ll need to use Ctrl + F5 to capture the entire screen or Ctrl + Shift + F5 to grab a part of the screen. When using your Chromebook in tablet mode, press the power and volume down buttons to snap a picture of the entire screen.
Your screenshot will be saved in the Images folder, but you can also upload them to Google Photos or back them up in Google Drive. Since 90% of what you do on a Chromebook probably takes place in the Chrome web browser, you can also utilize a number of Chrome extensions.
How to Take a Screenshot in a Web Browser
Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all support add-ons that extend browser usability. Here are a few screen capture add-ons that will fit right into your browser.
LightshotLightshot is free and works on Windows and Mac, but can also be added as Chrome, Edge, and Firefox extensions.
FireShotFireShot is a paid ($59.95, but currently $39.95) capture program that works with a browser or email client. You can capture images, make edits, share via social media, and save files to your computer. There are also Chrome and Edge extensions
Awesome Screenshot is a free program that captures a whole page or a section, and then quickly annotates it (or blurs out the naughty bits) before sharing instantly. There are extensions for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
Nimbus Screen ScreenshotNimbus Screen Screenshot is free and will let you capture the whole screen or just parts of it. You can also use it to draw, make annotations, or mark up those same images. There are Chrome, Edge, and Firefox extensions.
Page ScreenshotPage Screenshot is a paid ($2.99) extension for Safari users that can capture the full length of a website or just a specific section. Once a screen grab is taken, the program opens Preview for easy editing.