How to Screenshot on Windows Laptop?

Screenshot On Windows Laptop

When being productive on your Windows laptop (classes or working), you most likely need to take screenshots. Windows OS allows you to capture pretty much anything on your display and save it as a JPG or PNG image file.

Windows OS also allows you to screenshot your entire screen or a part of it. Your productivity can be limited if you don’t know the various ways to screenshot on a Windows laptop.

The screenshotting process varies depending on your laptop’s Windows OS version and the type of Windows laptop you have.

Windows OS comprises several ways via which you can screenshot on your laptop. In this review, we’ll look at five ways you can screenshot on your Windows laptop.

Power Button + Volume Up Method

The method only works on 2-in-1 laptops running Windows 10 or higher, like the HP Spectre X2 or the Microsoft Surface Pro.

To screenshot, hold down the ‘Power Button + Volume Up‘ buttons, and your device should screenshot and save the image in the ‘Screenshots‘ folder under ‘Pictures‘, which is situated on the left sidebar of the file explorer.

How to Screenshot On Windows Laptop

Print Screen (PrtScn) Button Method

Perhaps the simplest way to screenshot on a laptop running Windows 10 or higher is using the Print Screen (PrtScn) button on the keyboard.

To screenshot, press the ‘PrtScn‘ button in the top-right corner of your keyboard.

If your laptop is running Windows 10, the image will be temporarily saved on the clipboard. To save the image fully, paste the image into any app that supports images like Ms. Word.

If your laptop is running Windows 11, the image will be saved in the ‘Screenshots‘ folder under ‘Pictures‘ which is situated on the left sidebar of the file explorer. If you have set up OneDrive on your Windows 11 laptop, you can save it there.

Snip & Sketch Method

Snip & Sketch is only available on desktops and laptops running Windows 10 or higher and is widely considered the primary screenshot method for devices running this OS.

1. To screenshot, press the ‘Shift + Windows Key + S‘ keys on your keyboard.

2. Your screen will blur for a moment, and you should see a rectangular menu up top.

3. Click on whichever option you want to use; you can screenshot your entire display, a rectangular section, a freehand form, or a specific app window.

4. Once you’ve screenshotted, you should see an alert in the notification bar indicating ‘Snip Saved to Clipboard.’ Click on the alert to open the screenshot. Afterward, you can edit the screenshot using cropping and writing tools like a highlighter, pen, and pencil.

Snipping Tool Method

Snipping tool is a screenshot app available on Windows laptops running Windows 7 or higher, but in Windows 11, it has been overhauled to include more options.

1. To screenshot using this method, press ‘Windows Key + Shift + S‘ on your keyboard.

How to Screenshot On Windows Laptop

2. Your screen should blur momentarily, and then a menu with screenshot options should appear on the upper part of your screen.

3. Click on the option you want to screenshot with. Once you have screenshotted, the image will be saved on your clipboard, and you can share it with an app or website.

4. If you have a 2-in-1 convertible laptop like the HP Spectre X2 or Microsoft Surface Pro, you can double-click the button on the stylus to launch the snipping tool.

Xbox Game Bar Method

The Xbox Game Bar is not necessarily an app but an overlay that can be used on top of most Windows apps and games to screenshot or record the display.

1. To launch this overlay, press the ‘Windows Key + G‘ keys on your keyboard.

2. Press the camera symbol on the menu to capture your entire display. You can also record your display by clicking on the record button. If you want to record your display, you can use your laptop’s built-in mic to record audio.

3. Screenshots and clips captured using this method are saved in the ‘Captures‘ folder inside the video folder under the main user folder. You can also view screenshots and/or clips by clicking on ‘Show all captures‘ under the screenshot control.

4. Note: Xbox Game Bar might not open because it’s not activated. To activate it, search for ‘Xbox Game Bar Settings‘ in the search bar and activate it.

How to Screenshot On Windows Laptop

In conclusion, screenshotting on a Windows laptop is relatively easy, and you have several methods to choose from.

All these methods will capture your entire laptop display, but if you want options that allow you to edit the screenshot, use Snip & Sketch or the snipping tool.