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Technology Advice for Small Businesses

How to take screenshots with Windows

Windows_Jan13_AMicrosoft’s Windows operating system (OS) is unarguably the most popular system used by businesses. While Windows has a wide variety of features, there are some that aren’t used on a regular basis but are nonetheless useful. One such feature is the screenshot, which allows you to capture what is on your screen as an image.

Here is an overview of how you can take screenshots on both Windows 7 and 8.

Screenshots on Windows 7

If you are using Windows 7 there are two main ways you can take screenshots. The first is by pressing Print Screen on your keyboard. This will take a screenshot of your whole monitor as you see it and store it on your Clipboard. You will then need to open a graphic editing program, like MS Paint, and paste the image by pressing Ctrl + V. It should be pasted into the open window and you will be able to resize the image and save it.

The second method is to use the Snipping Tool. This can be done by:

  1. Opening the window you would like to take a screenshot of.
  2. Clicking Start and selecting All Programs.
  3. Hovering over Accessories followed by clicking onĀ Snipping Tool.
  4. Clicking New and clicking and dragging a square over the image or window you would like to capture.
  5. Editing the Snip in the window that opens.
  6. Saving the screenshot by pressing the floppy disk.

Screenshots on Windows 8 and 8.1

For those who are on Windows 8 or 8.1 there is a new keyboard shortcut that allows you to quickly capture a screenshot. If you have a window open e.g., a browser window, you can take a screenshot of that window by holding the Windows key + Print Screen keys down at the same time. This will take a shot of the window you have open and save the image in your Pictures Library on your Hard Drive.

If you would like to select a screenshot e.g., a picture from a window, the Snipping tool is also available on Windows 8. You can access it by opening the Start screen and typing Snipping tool. Once this has been searched for, click on the app and select New. This will allow you to select your screenshot and save it by following the same instructions as above.

Looking to learn more about using Windows? Contact us today to see how we can help.