Often, taking a snapshot of anything on your PC is the fastest method to remember it. Every computer user should be able to take a screenshot on a laptop quickly, whether it’s for sharing on social media or for tech support documentation. However, it can be a complex task given the numerous hardware variants among laptop models and the distinctions between Windows laptops and macOS.
Let us demonstrate how to quickly and effortlessly take a screenshot on a variety of laptops, including Apple Mac laptops, a Dell, Lenovo, or another Windows-based laptop.
How to capture a screen on any laptop
Requirements
Your laptop and, in some circumstances, some simple image editing applications are required. Depending on the technique and operating system you use, the complete process should take two minutes or less.
How to Take a screenshot on a Laptop: Windows-based laptop
Every laptop has a somewhat different technique for taking a screenshot on a laptop, but there are significant differences between Apple’s MacOS-powered laptops and those built by Dell, Lenovo, and others that run Windows. Let’s start with laptops that run Windows.
Option 1: The classic technique
Utilize the Print Screen key.
Using Windows’ built-in hotkey, the Print Screen Key is the quickest and most convenient way to record your entire screen at once. This key may be located in a number of locations due to the non-standard nature of laptop keyboards. On a full-sized keyboard, it is typically found in the upper right corner. However, it can also be found on the bottom, like in the case of the Lenovo sample below.
In any event, it ought to be simple to locate if you look for the key with the markings Prt, PrtSc, Print Scr, or something else. Simply tap it once you’ve located it. If it appears that nothing happened, don’t be concerned. You simply copied a screenshot on a laptop, albeit Windows laptops don’t display it very clearly.
Add your screenshot here.
The simplest approach to editing and saving a display capture is to paste it into an image editing program. If you have Photoshop, that will work, but since the majority of people don’t have access to such professional software, Microsoft Paint, a lot simpler, cost-free alternative, will also function.
Simply open this program, which has been a part of Windows since the dawn of time, then press Ctrl+V or the top-left clipboard button, then select Paste. In either scenario, the document will contain a screenshot on a laptop of the screen that was active when you hit the Print Screen button earlier.
From this point, you can modify, resize, crop, and save the image. The screenshot on a laptop has now been captured on screen.
Option 2: Win+Shift+S and the Snipping Tool
Open the Snipping Tool or hit Win+Shift+S to start it.
A single-point tool is also provided by Windows for taking a screenshot on a laptop of certain windows or sections of windows. By accessing your start menu and typing “snip,” you can access the Snipping Tool’s complete menu. Alternatively, you can press Win+Shift+S to go straight to the capture features it provides.
When you decide to launch the entire application, you’ll see a little menu with a + New option that will enable you to begin a screen capture just like you would with Win+Shift+S. You can design a marquee box or other freeform object to capture, or you can capture the current window or the whole screen using either type of access.
The primary distinction between using Windows+Shift+S and other shortcuts is that Windows laptops won’t always present the post-capture snipping tool interface. Alternatively, it will instantly copy your results to the clipboard for pasting AND save the final image to C: UsersUsernameAppDataLocalTemp (by default). If you’d like, you can choose to access the complete Snipping Tool interface by clicking the notification that appears in the lower right corner of your screen, and you can also choose to save the file somewhere else.
Taking a screenshot on a Laptop: Mac laptops
On Mac laptops, the procedure doesn’t require any software or pasting, although it does employ a less obvious hotkey.
Click with Shift+Cmd+3.
Simply press Shift+Cmd+3 on any Mac laptop, even MacBook computers, to snap a screenshot on a laptop. Unlike Windows laptops, this will save the screen capture as an image file with the name “Screen Shot [date] at [time].png” to your desktop instead of copying it to the clipboard.
Additionally, macOS provides a unique method for grabbing a section of the display. All you have to do to make your cursor into a crosshair is press Shift+Cmd+4. The next step is to click and drag to make a box. Whatever was in the box will be saved when you let go of the click. Last but not least, Shift+Cmd+4+Space will record your full active window.