How to Print a Screenshot

Click here to download an Acrobat pdf version that you can save.

Print an Image of a Single Window

This is useful if you have a dialog box with an error message or want to show what a specific window looks like on your computer.

1. Click in the window you want to make an image of to select it.
2. Hold down the Alt key on the keyboard.  Press and release the Print Screen (or PrtScr) key on the keyboard.  Release the Alt key.
3. This has copied an image of that window to the Clipboard.
4. If you want to just print or save the image, open Paint
5. If you want to add the image to a document and add some text, then open Word, Wordpad, or other word processor. Use a new, blank document.
6. To paste the image into the document, click the Edit menu, then click Paste, or use the Paste button on the Toolbar.
7. You should now have the image of the window in the document.  You can resize the image to fit on the page, or rotate the page to Landscape format, if necessary.
8. To print the document, click the File menu then click Print. Select your printing properties and click the OK button.
9. To save the document, click the File menu then click Save As.  Select the folder, type in a name for your document and click the Save button.

Print an Image of the Entire Screen

If what you want to show is not part of a window, you can capture an image of the entire screen. Sometimes what you want to show changes when you press the Alt key. This is also useful for showing your Windows desktop.

1. Press and release the Print Screen (or PrtScr) key on the keyboard, without holding down the Alt key.
2. This has copied an image of your entire screen to the Clipboard.