Taking Screenshots on your Windows PC

Screenshots are an effective way to capture a moment displayed on your PC screen and record words and images for future reference. If you need to contact Customer Support, screenshots provide helpful information, such as proof of purchase, error messages, and so on, that aid in troubleshooting.

You can take a screenshot in different ways, depending on your operating system and if you have a third-party image-capturing program.

This article describes how to take screenshots using the Windows native screenshot utilities for PCs running Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8. It also describes how to take in-game screenshots and how to attach screenshot files to support tickets.

• Copying window or screen contents
• Using the Print screen key
  • Using keyboard shortcuts
• Using the clipboard
• Using Snipping Tool
• Taking in-game screenshots
• Attaching screenshots to tickets

Note: This article contains screenshots that are for example purposes only. Actual text and visuals may vary.

Copying window or screen contents

While there are many ways of taking screenshots in Windows, the most commonly used are the Print screen key, in conjunction with the clipboard, and the Snipping Tool.

Using the Print screen key

Using the Print screen key copies your entire screen to your computer's clipboard. You can then paste (Ctrl+V) the screenshot to any app that allows you to insert images and save it to a folder.

The Print screen key is usually located toward the upper-right of your keyboard and the text is commonly abbreviated as PrntScrn, PrtScn, or PrtSc.

The key may also have additional text, such as SysRq, or symbols like or .

Note: Some keyboards do not have a Print screen key. For example, some Microsoft keyboards have a Snipping key labeled with the  symbol. If you need help using your keyboard, see the guide that came with it or contact the manufacturer for support.

Using keyboard shortcuts

In addition to using Print screen (PrtScn) for full-screen captures, you can use various keyboard shortcuts to capture a part of the screen or a particular (active) window.

Note: An active window is the currently selected window, which has primary focus within an application. Only one window can be active at a time.

Some commonly used keyboard shortcuts and their corresponding actions are listed in the tables below.

Windows 11 and Windows 10

Screenshot type	Keyboard shortcut	Action
Full screen	PrtScn	Copies entire screen to clipboard
Partial screen	Windows logo key+Shift+S	Automatically opens Snipping Tool Choose the snip mode (Free-form or Rectangular) Select area to snip
Active window	Alt+PrtScn	Copies active window to clipboard

 

Windows 8

Screenshot type	Keyboard shortcut	Action
Full screen	PrtScn	Copies entire screen to clipboard
	Windows logo key+PrtScn	Saves entire screen to the Screenshots folder in the Pictures library
Partial screen	NA	Manually search for and open Snipping Tool Choose the snip mode (Free-form or Rectangular) Select area to snip
Active window	Alt+PrtScn	Copies active window to clipboard

 

Using the clipboard

The clipboard is temporary storage for text and graphics that lets you cut or copy data from one place and paste it to another. Clipboard data is stored in live memory, instead of as a file on the hard drive.

As noted earlier, using the Print screen key to take a screenshot copies the image to your clipboard, and then you can paste (Ctrl+V) it into any program that allows you to insert images, like Microsoft Word or Paint.

When you copy data to the clipboard, the previous clipboard content is normally overwritten.

For Windows 11 and Windows 10, you can turn on clipboard history, which holds the most recent 25 copied or cut items.

Note: Anything larger than 4 MB is not held in history and your clipboard history is cleared each time you restart your PC, unless you pin the item.

For Windows 8, there is no native clipboard history. However, you can use a third-party clipboard manager.

To turn on clipboard history (Windows 11 and Windows 10):

1. Go to Settings > System > Clipboard.
2. Under Clipboard history, turn on the toggle.
   

Your clipboard history is now active and will hold the most recent 25 text, HTML, and image items that you copy or cut.

To paste images from the clipboard history:

1. Place your cursor where you want to paste the image.
2. Press Windows key+V to open the clipboard history panel.
3. Find and select the image from your clipboard menu.

The image now appears in the area you designated. You can edit and/or save the file.

For more information about the clipboard, see the Get help with clipboard article on the Microsoft Support site.

Using Snipping Tool

Snipping Tool captures all or part of your screen depending on the mode you select. After you capture a snip, it is automatically copied to the tool.

To capture a snip:

1. Open the tool.
   • Windows 11 and Windows 10
     Press Windows logo key+Shift+S.
   • Windows 8
     Open Search, enter snipping tool in the search box, and then select Snipping Tool from the list of results.
2. Select the snip mode.
   • Free-form Snip
   • Rectangular Snip
   • Window Snip
   • Full-screen Snip
3. If using Free-form or Rectangular, select the area that you want to capture.
   The image is automatically copied to the Snipping Tool window.

You can now edit and/or save the file.

For more information about Snipping Tool, see Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots, or go to the Microsoft support site (https://support.microsoft.com/) and search for snipping tool.

Taking in-game screenshots

Certain Nexon games have a built-in screenshot feature that automatically captures images while you are playing and saves them to a specific location.

To take an in-game screenshot, see the table below for the keyboard shortcut specific to your game. The table also lists where the screenshot files are usually saved.

Game title	Keyboard shortcut	Save location
Mabinogi	PrtScn	…\Documents\Mabinogi\Screenshot    Example:    C:\Users\user-name\Documents\Mabinogi\Screenshot
MapleStory	Scroll Lock	The game's installation folder    Example:    C:\Nexon\Library\maplestory
Vindictus	PrtScn	…\Documents\Vindictus\Screenshot    Example:    C:\Users\user-name\Documents\Vindictus\Screenshot

 

Attaching screenshots to tickets

When contacting Customer Support, providing screenshots is a helpful way to illustrate your issue.

To attach a screenshot to a ticket:

1. From the Submit a Request form, go to the Attachments section.
2. Drag your file to the dropzone or click Add file to browse for and select your file, and then click Open.
   After the file uploads, it appears toward the bottom of the Attachments section.
   
3. Repeat the steps above to attach other files, as needed.
4. To remove an attachment, click the remove  icon next to the file that you want to remove.