In order to share with friends or colleagues what is happening on your computer screen, or contact technical support for an explanation of the problem, or simply capture another victory in your favorite computer game, users often take a so-called screenshot. In essence, a screenshot is a snapshot of a picture on the screen. There are several ways to take a screenshot of the screen.
How to take a screenshot on Windows
Those who take pictures of their computer screen occasionally from time to time use the Print Screen or PrtScr button located in the upper case of the keyboard to take a screenshot. After clicking Print Screen, the screen image is automatically saved in the computer's memory, and all that remains is to extract it from there. To do this, you can use any program that works with images, such as the Paint utility. Taking a screenshot with this program is very simple:
- on the screen at the bottom left find the "Start" button;
- in the list that opens, go through the following path: "All programs" - "Standard" - "Paint";
- in the toolbar of the Paint program, find the item "Edit" - "Paste", you can also use the "Paste" button.
Just a few clicks and your screen photo is ready. Now it should be saved as a file: "File" - "Save As" - "Ok". You can take a screenshot in this way in any version of Windows.
How to take a screenshot in Windows Vista or Windows 7
Operating systems Windows Vista or Windows 7 include a special "Scissors" utility that helps you take, save and edit a screenshot. To open it, click "Start" and follow the path "Programs" - "Accessories" - "Scissors" or "Shipping Tool". An active small window will open on the screen, and the cursor will change its appearance from an "arrow" to a "plus sign". To take a screenshot of the entire screen, drag the cursor along its contours while holding the left mouse button; if you need to take a photo of a small fragment, circle it. After releasing the mouse button, you will see that the picture has been cut and moved to the program window, all that remains is to save it to your computer in the standard way: "File" - "Save as..".
Free screenshot software
Special programs help not only to take a screenshot, but also to edit it, make the necessary edits. At the same time, the convenience of the user also lies in the fact that most of these utilities do not require special installation. For example, the Screeshot Maker program allows you to take screenshots of the entire screen or parts of a snapshot quickly, has many functions, thanks to which you can change the quality and save a screenshot in different formats. The program can be downloaded from the Internet, saved on a computer or on a flash drive and, if necessary, just open it to create a beautiful screenshot.
Floomby is a very handy program for active Internet users who create screenshots in order to upload them to social networks, blogs and forums. A screenshot taken with this program is not saved in the memory of your computer, but instantly "goes" to the Internet, after which you can post both a picture and a link to it in a blog, forum or social network.
Hot Key Screenshot is a favorite and popular program for creating screenshots among fans of computer games. You don't need to install it, and in order to take a screenshot, you just need to press one key that you assign yourself. The snapshot is saved to your computer in the pic subfolder. In the same folder where the program itself is located.
