How to take screenshots on PC, Mac, Chromebook and smartphone

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Guide for screenshots: here’s how to take pictures on the screen on Mac, Windows PC, Chromebook, iPhone, tablets and Android smartphones.

A screenshot is the photo of the screen or a part of it. Taking a screenshot of an Instagram photo or a Whatsapp conversation can quickly and effectively replace long explanations and stories. The screenshots, in fact, are a very popular means for young people to communicate via chat and on social media.

Knowing how to take a screenshot proves to be very useful also in all those cases where we need a file or an image that can not be saved, copied or have a format that can not be read by our device. Once you have taken the screenshot, then, you can send it by chat or email, post on social networks, crop and retouch as we please.

If you do not know what the procedure is for your device, do not worry: the following are the quickest and easiest ways to make screenshots on Mac, Windows PC, Chromebook, iPhone, iPad and major Android devices.

Let’s start with the “basic” screenshot, the one made with the classic method.

Screenshot with Windows PC

The best known and most ancient method to take a screenshot from a Windows PC is to press the “prt sc” button on the right side of the keyboard and then open any graphics editing program installed on your computer, such as Paint. Just open the Paint screen, click on Paste (or, alternatively, copy/paste with Ctrl + C/Ctrl + V ) and we will see the screen that we are interested in capturing appear. At this point you can save on your PC and cut or modify at will.

Alternatively there are 2 other methods to take screenshots from a Windows PC.

1) To capture a specific window and not the entire screen just click on the window that interests us, and then Alt + PrtSc. Finally we paste as above.

2) Even simpler than the traditional method, from Windows 7 onwards the Capture Tool was introduced . It is a small application installed by default that allows you to make the screenshot in a single gesture. We find it by going to Start > Windows Accessories > Snipping Tool.

At this point, four options are opened: 
Free format capture -> to cut with the mouse a portion of the display of the desired shape and size, drawing it freehand 
Rectangular capture -> you can select a rectangular portion of screen 
Capture window -> just click on the window to be scanned and the system will take a 
snapshot Free screen capture -> this option will take a picture of the entire screen

Once you have made the screenshot with the Snipping Tool, you can perform various operations such as taking a new screenshot, saving it, copying it to the clipboard, modifying it, highlighting some parts or sending it by email.

Screenshot on Mac

Predictably, taking a screenshot with a Mac is different than Windows. To make the screenshot of the whole screen using the Apple computer you have to press simultaneously Command (⌘) + Shift + 3.

To take the picture of only one part of the screen the steps to follow are as follows:

  • Press Command + Shift + 4. The pointer changes to a crosshair pointer
  • Move the viewfinder pointer to the point where you want to start capturing the snapshot
  • Drag the cursor to select the desired area. To change the way you move the selection, you can hold down Shift + spacebar while dragging the cursor
  • Once the desired area is selected, release the mouse or trackpad button. To cancel, press Esc before releasing the button.
  • The snapshot is saved on the desktop as a .png file.

For more details on the screenshot with Mac visit the Apple website at the appropriate section.

Screenshot with Chromebook

If you are using a Chromebook laptop, to make a screenshot you have to press the following keys simultaneously: Ctrl + Screen Switcher (the rectangle with two vertical lines on the right)

The first combination serves to capture the entire screen, the second to photograph a part of the screen. If your keyboard does not have the Screen Switcher button you can make the screenshot by pressing Ctrl + F5.

Screenshot iPhone X, iPad, iPod Touch

Taking a screenshot with iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch is even easier and more immediate. Just hold down the power/lock key and, without leaving it, press the Home key at the bottom center simultaneously. And with the iPhone X/Xs/Xr without a physical Home button, how do you take a screenshot? Simple mode even if not very convenient, you have to simultaneously press the volume + button and the right button to put the phone on standby.

Screenshot with Huawei: how to do it

We have two methods for taking a screenshot of our Huawei smartphone screen: either with the dedicated key combination or with an external app.

The keys to press are: power key + volume down key. You have to hold them together for a few seconds and release them at the same time until the “click effect” appears on the screen. The phone will save the image in the photo gallery.
This is the easiest way to make screenshots with Huawei, but there are also several free apps from PlayStore that allow us to take screenshots. Useful for all Android devices – from Huawei to Samsung – these apps are the ideal solution in case of physical key malfunction. In general, however, we recommend using the combination of keys to make screenshots from smartphones and tablets so as not to weigh down or slow down the device.

Screenshot with Samsung: how to do it

Exactly like on Huawei, even on Samsung Galaxy S8 and S9 to take a screenshot you have to press the left (unlock) and volume (-) keys simultaneously. On older models the method consists of a Home key + power button.

The second way to take a picture of our Galaxy screen is to make a simple swipe on the screen. If you prefer to use this method, you must first check that the function is active. Let’s go to Settings > Advanced Functions and enable the “Palm swipe to capture” function. Once this is done, every time we want to take a screenshot, it is sufficient to swipe the edge of the hand above the display.

The last method to take a snapshot of the Samsung display is by activating the “Smart Capture” function from the Settings. Just press the Home key + power button as usual and select, from the small menu that appears at the bottom of the display, the item “Capture more”. In this way we can select the amount of content you want to save, but keep in mind that the maximum size of this JPEG file can not be larger than 6MB.

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