Print Screen Key: How to Take Screenshots on Windows 11 (2026)
Have you ever used the Print Screen key to capture desktop screenshots in one click? It sits at the top right of most keyboards, often labelled PrtScn, PrtSc or Print, next to Scroll Lock and Pause. When this post was first written in 2005 it simply copied the screen to the clipboard for pasting into Paint. In Windows 11 the Print Screen key does much more. Here’s every way to use it in 2026, plus the Mac and phone equivalents.
Quick answer: In Windows 11, press PrtScn (or Windows + Shift + S) to open the Snipping Tool and drag to capture any area. Press Windows + PrtScn to save a full-screen PNG straight to Pictures > Screenshots, and Alt + PrtScn to copy just the active window. On a Mac use Cmd + Shift + 3, 4 or 5.
Table of Contents
Print Screen key shortcuts in Windows 11 and 10
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| PrtScn | Windows 11: opens Snipping Tool’s capture bar (default setting). Windows 10: copies the whole screen to the clipboard. |
| Windows + Shift + S | Snipping Tool: rectangle, freeform, window or full-screen snip, copied and shown as a notification. |
| Windows + PrtScn | Saves the full screen as a PNG in Pictures > Screenshots. The screen dims briefly. |
| Alt + PrtScn | Copies only the active window to the clipboard. |
| Fn + PrtScn | Needed on some laptops where PrtScn shares a key. |
To change what PrtScn does, go to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and toggle Use the Print screen key to open screen capture. Need video instead of a still image? Here is how to screen record on Windows 11 with sound.
What to do with the screenshot
- Paste it with Ctrl + V into an email, chat, document or Paint.
- Edit it in Snipping Tool: crop, highlight, draw, and use Text actions to copy text from the image or redact emails and phone numbers.
- Record video: Snipping Tool can also record a part of the screen.
Free and paid screenshot tools
- ShareX: free and open source; scrolling captures, annotations, GIF recording and auto-upload.
- IrfanView: our long-time favourite free viewer. Paste with Ctrl + V, select an area, crop with Ctrl + Y and save with S.
- Snagit: paid, polished capture and markup for tutorials and documentation.
Screenshots on Mac, Chromebook and phones
- Mac: Cmd + Shift + 3 (full screen), Cmd + Shift + 4 (area; press Space for a window), Cmd + Shift + 5 (toolbar with recording). Add Ctrl to copy instead of saving.
- Chromebook: Ctrl + Show windows for full screen, Ctrl + Shift + Show windows for an area.
- iPhone: press the Side button and Volume Up together.
- Android: press Power and Volume Down together.
Full-page screenshots of websites
For a whole long web page, open DevTools in Chrome or Edge (F12), press Ctrl + Shift + P, type “screenshot” and choose Capture full size screenshot. Firefox has Take Screenshot > Save full page in the right-click menu.
Keyboard confusion? Here’s where to find the any key on the keyboard.
FAQ
Where do Print Screen screenshots go?
PrtScn and Alt + PrtScn copy to the clipboard. Windows + PrtScn saves to Pictures > Screenshots. Snipping Tool also saves snips to that folder by default.
Why does my Print Screen key not work?
On laptops try Fn + PrtScn. Also check that another app such as OneDrive or Dropbox hasn’t taken over the key, and the Accessibility keyboard setting.
How do I see clipboard history?
Press Windows + V to see recent screenshots and copied items (turn on clipboard history first).
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Lala,
Yeah, it looks like nothing happened–which drove me crazy at first–but for me it actually is there on the clipboard when I try to paste into another program. I am an academic working on presentation about a particular film and just hit “print screen” and then paste into word. It’s magically there.
Good luck and thanks for the tips!
When I clicked Print Screen, nothing happened. =(
This didn’t work for me either, but using Windows Media Player Classic, I simply pressed
File > Save Image
Windows Media Player Classic – What a great program
Thanks for see me way “ALT + PINT + SCREEN” work.
Thank you soooooooooo much! I have been trying to figure this out for years. I could not find a website that could help. Your instructions were easy and clear. You’re awesome!
i found a freeware prog called Gadwin Print Screen you can basically take a picture of your desktop and you can set the prog to save directly or you can control every step of the save process
i just used this program and my photo editor to grab stills of musician Billy Joel from a video of him that i had, i have the prog set up so i just need to hit 1 button, Print Screen (Pnt Scrn)and it saves as a jpeg file or the format of your choice then i can crop it in my photo editor, Gadwin Printscreen as far as i know is freeware and it doesnt have any adware or anything bad but please scan it just to be safe as always, Google “Gadwin Print Screen”
I have the same question as Poster number 7, August 18th, 2005.
I paste it on paint and save the captured image but when I look at it again and open it, I only see blank space.
Can someone please tell me what’s wrong? I unchecked ‘use overlays’, and put the slider to ‘none’ – but I have the same problem!! HELP!
Your entry was such a great help. Thanks!
I found another program that is similar to the two mentioned called Desktility, which uses the print screen key as the hotkey. It is $17.95 and I’m using the 30-use trial version to see how it goes. It creates a jpg (default) and stores it in the directory of your choice. Pretty cool.
Hmm.. I often wondered why there is still that “PrtScr/SysRq” button on my keyboard.
I’ve been using the Screen Capture Utility from https://wordhub.com/ .. I still think it’s worth it, for $19.95usd .. as it creates it’s own .jpg on the fly .. but, had I seen your tip before I shelled out the moolah, I’d probably just use that Print Screen button and Adobe Photoshop.
I just want to say “Thank you sooooooooo much” :) I had tried everything to capture a photo from media player and real player and nothing worked.. Thank you so much.. This is exactly what I needed.. If I ever get my website back up and running, I am definitly gonna put a link to this trick.. Awesome!
I paste it on paint and save the captured image but when I look at it again and open it, I only see blank space
Good info… I can use this page to help others figure out how to take a screenshot :). I think alt + print screen does the same as described by Lee Grey.
–jdjs
I don’t remember where I found it, but a program called “GrabClipSave” works great. Minimizes to the tray, then just hit PrtScrn and it automatically takes the screenshot and saves it (.jpg, .bmp, or .png) to the folder of your choice. You can also choose to have it make a sound once the screenshot is captured, but the sound will be delayed a second or two (but the picture will be taken when you hit the Prt Scrn button). Works with Zoo Tycoon running in full screen, so I’d assume it works in other games too.
A great screen capture program is FastStone, at https://www.faststone.org/
MP
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You’re going to kick yourself when you hear this. I did. ;-)
Even more useful than plain old Print Screen is Ctrl-Alt-Print Screen. It takes a snapshot of only the currently active window. No more cropping!