Tech Tip for Windows & Mac: Taking and Saving Screenshots

16 January 2004

Do you ever wish that you could take a snapshot of your computer screen?  This can be particularly useful if you are trying to record an error message.  Both Windows and Mac OS X let you do this pretty easily.

Windows and the "Print Screen" Key

Most versions of Microsoft Windows let you make a screen capture or "screenshot" using the "Print Screen" key.  This is usually located at the top of your keyboard above the Insert key.  Press "Print Screen" by itself to capture the entire screen.  Hold down the Alt key at the same time (Alt + Print Screen) to capture only the top window.

You can paste and save your screenshot into nearly any graphic editing program, like Paint or Photoshop.  You can also paste directly into a Microsoft Word document.  Paint is located in the Accessories program folder of your Start menu.

Mac OS X and Grab

Macintosh computers running OS X include a screen capture utility called Grab that is quite a bit more versatile that Print Screen.  Grab is located in the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder.  Use the menus to capture the whole screen or just a small section of it.  You can even set a 10-second delay so you have time to arrange things on the screen perfectly!

You can also use keyboard shortcuts to snag a screenshot with Grab.  At anytime, press Command-Shift-3 to capture the entire screen or Command-Shift-4 to drag with the mouse and select a smaller capture area.  Your screenshots will be saved as TIFF files on your desktop.  To save your screenshots to the Clipboard for pasting instead, hold down the Ctrl key as well (e.g. Command-Shift-Ctrl-3).