Taking a screenshot on Windows 10

A screenshot (also known simply as a screenshot) is a snapshot of the entire screen or a specific part of it that can be saved to a computer and/or sent to someone.

How can you take a screenshot?

In total, the available methods can be divided into two categories:

• Methods that involve the use of built-in Windows functionality;
  
• Methods that require downloading third-party software.
  

Method 1: Ashampoo Snap 10

This is a multifunctional program that allows you to take both a full screenshot and any part of it. The functions provide the ability to capture an arbitrary area, a specific window, video, menu, fixed-size area and the entire screen. The interface also has a translation into Russian. However, this solution is paid.

The instructions for taking a screenshot using this program are as follows:

1. Download, install and open the program. Unlike most programs, it will not open as a window, but as a special strip on which you will need to move the cursor to see the main functions.
   
2. From these functions, select the screen capture mode that suits you. Each of them has its own characteristics, but you won’t have any difficulties taking a screenshot, since in any shooting mode everything is intuitive. If you need to take a screenshot of the entire screen, then press the Print Screen key (may be abbreviated as Prt Sc).

   
   

3. Select the desired area of ​​the screen and follow the further instructions of the program. If you captured the entire screen using the Prt Sc key, then this step is skipped.

   
   

4. You will now be taken to the screenshot editor. There you can add any elements, cover up or paint over a certain part of the screen, and make signatures. All the tools for this are on the right side of the screen.
   
5. After you're done with the screenshot, you can save it, delete it, copy it to the clipboard, open it in Photoshop, or send it to someone. To do this, pay attention to the right side of the screen. To save the screenshot on your computer, click on the checkmark icon.

    

   The program assigns specific names to all screenshots saved to the computer. Also, by default, shadows are added to all images that have undergone one or another processing in Ashampoo, which can be removed in the program settings.
   
   All screenshots will be saved to the system “Pictures” folder by default.
   
   To disable the program, pay attention to the right side of the “Taskbar”, where you need to click on the up arrow (called “Show hidden icons” in Windows). Among the icons, find and right-click on the Ashampoo icon. Select “Log Out” from the drop-down menu.

   
   
   

   Method 2: Lightshot

   
   
   Lightshot is a convenient free program from the service of the same name, whose users can share their screenshots with each other. In order to start using it, just download a special file on the official website of the service, run it and install it.
   
   The installation process is the most standard and only requires the user to click the “Next” and “Finish” buttons. However, be careful at the final stage, because if you do not uncheck all the boxes before clicking “Finish,” you can install various advertising products from Yandex and Mail-Ru on your computer.
   
   The instructions look like this:
   

   1. After installation, in the “Taskbar”, click on the arrow icon, which is responsible for showing hidden elements. Find and click on the Lightshot icon.

      
      

   2. Now select the area on the screen that you would like to capture.
      
   3. In the lower right part of the selected area there are tools for processing the screen. For example, you can write some text, paint over something, etc.
      
   4. In the lower right corner you can also find a panel where there are elements responsible for saving a screenshot. For example, you can save it to your computer, send it to a cloud service, copy it to the clipboard, or simply close it without saving.

      Method 3: Scissors

      
      
      This is a program built-in by default in Windows 10, as well as older versions. The software is fairly easy to use and has little functionality.
      
      The instructions look like this:
      

      1. Find this program. In Windows 10, you can search the system using the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the screen. In the same version of Windows and older ones, Snipping Tool can be opened through the Start menu. Just find them in the list of programs.

         
         

      2. In the program window that opens, you can select the screenshot creation mode, creation delay, configure additional parameters and proceed directly to creating a screenshot. In “Mode”, select the most convenient option for you, and in “Delay” you can leave everything as default.
         
      3. To start creating a screenshot, click on “Create”.

         
         

      4. Select an area on the screen.
         
      5. Afterwards, a window will open where you can edit the newly created screen. Unfortunately, the editing options are very limited; you can only draw or erase something. There is no tool that allows you to write text on a screenshot.
         
      6. When you finish working with the screen, save it in any convenient way. For example, you can copy it to the clipboard, send it by mail, or save it directly to your computer. In the latter case, you will be asked to select a folder to save.

         
         

      
      
      

      Method 4: Print Screen

      You can also make a screen using the Print Screen (Prt sc) button located on the keyboard. In this case, a full screenshot of the entire screen is taken and saved to the clipboard. You can paste it into a message on any social network/mail service or into any document using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V.
      
      If necessary, the taken picture can be opened in any editor, for example, in the standard Paint. To do this, open Paint and add a picture from the clipboard there using the Ctrl+V key combination. Once you've finished editing, you can save it in any way that Paint offers.

      Taking a screenshot in Windows 10 is very easy. In most cases, you don’t even need to download any specialized software for this, since almost all the necessary functionality is already installed in Windows 10 by default.