Apple, Google, and Microsoft have different ways you can take screenshots on a laptop. Third party apps can also help you in this task. But you can also easily take screenshots just by using the internal mechanisms of your computer.
In this article we will give you step by step guide to take screenshot on laptop. These instructions are designed for Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS, so you'll be able to easily take screenshots regardless of your device model.
How to take a screenshot on a Windows laptop
First of all we are telling you how to take a screenshot on Windows laptop. Microsoft has provided a PrtScn button for this for some time. But graphical interfaces are being used in modern computing. In which Snip & Sketch app comes preloaded inside Windows computer. It provides rectangular Snip option with which you can select the cursor in a rectangle around that object (screen, image). You can easily take a screenshot by selecting the part of it that you want to take a screenshot of. In this, through free-form Snip, you can take a screenshot in the desired shape, whereas in Window Snip, you can take a screenshot of a specific window. This app also has Fullscreen Snip option with which you can capture the entire screen. Below are some steps to take a screenshot on a Windows machine. You can skip these steps and proceed to see the guide on taking screenshots on MacBook or any other Mac machine.
On your computer keyboard, press Windows logo key + Shift + S simultaneously. After this you will see the snipping bar on your screen.
From here you can choose any one option among Rectangular Snip, Freeform Snip, Window Snip, or Fullscreen Snip.
For Rectangular Snip and Freeform Snip, use the mouse cursor to select the area you want to capture.
Once captured, the screenshot will be automatically saved to your clipboard. After the screenshot is captured, click on the notification received and open it in Snip & Sketch app.
Here you can adjust the screenshot with the help of zoom or crop tool.
Now click on save option on your app to save the edited screenshot.
If you are using an older Windows, you can capture the entire screen to your clipboard by using the PrtScn button. After this, you can take it to MS Paint app or any other photo editor app and edit it as per your wish. After that you can save this image in your computer. You can also take a screenshot by pressing the Windows logo key and the PrtScn button simultaneously. This saves the picture directly in your computer's picture gallery.
How to take a screenshot on a MacBook or other Mac computer
Unlike Windows computers, Mac machines do not have any preloaded app or dedicated button for taking screenshots. Screenshots can also be taken in a native way in Apple's macOS. For that follow the steps given below.
First of all, press Shift + Command + 3 together and take a screenshot.
A thumbnail will appear in the corner of your screen confirming that the screenshot has been captured.
Now click on the preview to edit the screenshot. If you don't want to edit it, wait until it is saved on your computer.
If you don't want to capture the entire screen, press and hold Shift + Command + 4 buttons simultaneously. When you do this you see a crosshair pointer. Using this you can select the part of the screen that you want to capture. You can also use the space bar while dragging to change the position of the selection. If you want to cancel it then use Esc key.
In Apple, you can take a screenshot of a window or menu on a Mac by pressing Shift + Command + 4 + Space bar simultaneously.
macOS naturally saves screenshots to the desktop. But you can also change its save location in macOS Mojave and later. You can do this by going to the Options menu inside the Screenshot app.
How to take a screenshot on a Chromebook
Google's Chrome OS also offers some shortcuts for taking screenshots inside a Chromebook. You can capture the entire screen by pressing Ctrl + Show Windows. You can take a screenshot of a particular part by pressing Shift + Ctrl + Show Windows simultaneously and then clicking and dragging to the desired part.
On tablets, you can take a screenshot on Chrome OS by pressing the Power button and the Volume down button simultaneously. Once captured, screenshots in Chrome OS are copied to the clipboard, just like in Windows. After that you can paste them in any app and use it in future.