Taking screenshots on Windows systems is a piece of cake. On the keyboard, usually on the top right, just find the “prt sc” button and press it (sometimes this requires using the function key, i.e. the fn+prt sc combination). We can paste such a screenshot directly into an email or a conversation in the messenger we are currently using using the paste function. The disadvantage of this solution is that we then paste a screenshot of the entire screen, not just the part of it (e.g. a table or a meme) that interests us. You can use an image editing program to crop the screenshot appropriately. However, there is a key combination that will save us from this.
How to take a screenshot on Windows? Magic key combination
First, you need to locate the “Windows” button. It’s the key with the windows – the Microsoft operating system logo. It’s located between the left control and left alt, to the left of the space bar.
To activate the screen snipping function, press three keys simultaneously: windows + s + shift.
When we do this, after a while the screen will dim slightly and a context menu will appear at the top, from which we will be able to choose the selection option: rectangular mode, freeform mode, window mode and full screen mode.
The first one lets you select any area in the shape of a rectangle and you decide on its size and the part of the screen that you select. In fact, this is the only mode that I use. In free mode, as the name suggests, you select an area of any shape, you just need to select the area around what you want with the mouse. Window mode takes a screenshot of one selected window – for example, the one with the Excel sheet. Full screen mode works the same way as the prt sc key.
The screenshot taken in this way can be placed in any designated place using the paste function (ctrl+v). What’s more, for a long time now, taking a screenshot causes it to be sent to the clipboard (you can bring up the clipboard with the windows+v combination, which is almost the same as in the case of the paste function).
Note: the ctrl+v combination pastes the last thing you copied or pasted. Of course, you can paste a screenshot using this combination, but only if you didn’t copy anything else in between. If that happened, you don’t have to repeat the screenshot – just bring up the clipboard and select the screenshot.
In addition, during copying, a context menu appears in the lower right corner of the screen, informing you that the screenshot has been copied to the clipboard. Clicking on this message will launch the system photo editor. With it, you can cut, draw, or write on the screenshot you just took. It is also a good way to quickly save the photo as a JPG or PNG file. If you did not see a notification in the corner of the screen after taking a screenshot, do not worry. Just open the notifications by clicking the clock, date, or bell icon, and you will find your screenshot at the very top.
How to take a screenshot on Macbook?
MacOS users have a slightly more difficult task. Macbook keyboards do not have a prt sc key. In addition, most combinations require pressing four buttons, not three, as in Windows.
The equivalent of the Windows key on Apple keyboards is the “cmd” button, which is located to the left of the space bar. Taking a screenshot of the selected area will be the simplest – it’s a key combination shift+cmd+4. The screenshot taken in this way will be saved to the desktop in PNG format. The same combination, but using the 3 key instead of the 4 key, will save a screenshot of the entire screen to the desktop.
If you want to save a screenshot of a selected area of the screen to the clipboard instead of saving it immediately, you need to add the ctrl key to this combination. So you need to press simultaneously – shift+cmd+4+ctrl. Replace the 4 key with 3 and a screenshot of the entire screen will be saved to the clipboard.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
