How To Use The Print Screen Key To Take A Screenshot In Microsoft ...

Overview What the Print Screen Key Does:

• Captures a snapshot of your display (full screen, all active windows, or the active window).
• Automatically copies the screenshot to the Windows clipboard.
• You can paste the screenshot into apps such as Paint, Photoshop, Word, or email clients.
• Some key combinations save screenshots directly to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.

Print Screen Key Locations:

Desktop Keyboards

• This key is commonly located in the upper right corner.
• May appear as: PrintScreen, PrntScrn, PrntScr, PrtScn, PrtScr, PrtSc, or similar (Figure 1). NOTE: For some desktop keyboards, such as the KM3322W keyboard use Fn + Insert when no dedicated PrtScr key exists. Figure 1: Example of a print screen key on a desktop keyboard

Laptop Keyboards

• This key is commonly located on the Function (F key) row.
• Often requires Fn + F10 or another function key (Figure 2).
• Laptops with capacitive/illuminated function rows may require enabling the function layer first.
• Some laptops use Fn + Insert when no dedicated PrtScr key exists.Figure 2: Example of a print screen key on a laptop keyboard

Screenshot Methods in Windows 11 & Windows 10:

Capture the Entire Screen:

Windows key + PrtScr

• Saves automatically to: Pictures > Screenshots folder.
• On Windows based tablets: Windows button + Volume Down.

Capture All Active Windows:

PrtScr

• Copies the entire desktop to the clipboard.

Capture the Active Window Only:

Alt + PrtScr

• Copies only the current window to the clipboard.

Using and Editing the Screenshot:

After capturing:

1. Open an image editor (for example, Paint, Photoshop, or any app that accepts pasted or saved images).
2. When using Alt + PrtScr, press Ctrl + V to paste the screenshot into the image editor such as Paint.
3. Edit or save as needed. For advanced captures (rectangular, freeform, timed), use the Windows Snipping Tool.

Additional Resources:

• If these instructions do not seem to apply to your laptop or desktop keyboard, refer to your device’s user guide for model specific key layouts. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article Manuals and Documentation for your Dell Product