How to Print Screen on Windows 11: Every Way to Take a Screenshot

The fastest way to take a screenshot on Windows 11 is Windows key + Shift + S: drag over the area you want, and the snip is copied to your clipboard and saved to your Screenshots folder. If you want the whole screen saved as a file in one keypress, use Windows key + PrtScn instead.

Windows 11 has several more ways to capture the screen, and they don’t all save to the same place. This guide covers each method, where your screenshots end up, and the differences on Windows 10.

Screenshot shortcuts at a glance

Shortcut	What it captures	Where it goes
PrtScn	Opens Snipping Tool by default on current Windows 11	Clipboard and Screenshots folder (as a snip)
Windows key + PrtScn	The full screen	Saved to Pictures > Screenshots
Alt + PrtScn	The active window	Clipboard
Windows key + Shift + S	A region, window or the full screen	Clipboard and Screenshots folder
Windows key + Shift + R	A screen recording of a region	Snipping Tool, ready to save
Windows key + Alt + PrtScn	A Game Bar screenshot of the game or app	Videos > Captures

Which method should you use?

• You want to paste a screenshot into a chat or email right now: Windows key + Shift + S, then Ctrl + V.
• You need a file for every capture: Windows key + PrtScn, which saves straight to Pictures > Screenshots.
• You only want one window, with nothing else showing: Alt + PrtScn.
• You need to capture a menu that disappears: Snipping Tool with a delay.
• You’re in a game or a full-screen app: Game Bar with Windows key + Alt + PrtScn.
• You need to show steps, not a still image: a Snipping Tool screen recording with Windows key + Shift + R.

Method 1: The Print Screen key

On Windows 11, what the PrtScn key does depends on one setting.

A Windows 11 update released in 2023 changed the default: pressing Print Screen now opens Snipping Tool, so you can pick the area to capture. Microsoft’s keyboard shortcut list for Windows 11 describes PrtScn the same way, as a way to select a region of the screen and capture it to the clipboard.

If you’d rather have the classic behavior, where PrtScn copies an image of the entire screen to the clipboard:

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Accessibility > Keyboard.
3. Turn off the Print Screen option that opens Snipping Tool.

Note: Microsoft’s announcement says that if you had changed this setting yourself before the update, your choice was kept. That’s why two Windows 11 PCs can behave differently when you press the same key.

After a classic PrtScn capture, nothing is saved as a file. Paste it with Ctrl + V into Paint, a document or a chat window.

Method 2: Windows key + PrtScn (save straight to a file)

Press Windows key + PrtScn to capture the full screen and save it as a file. Microsoft says the image goes to the Screenshots subfolder of your Pictures folder.

To find it:

1. Open File Explorer from the taskbar.
2. Select Pictures in the navigation pane.
3. Open Screenshots.

This is the best method when you need several full-screen captures in a row, because you don’t have to paste each one.

Method 3: Alt + PrtScn (just the active window)

Click the window you want, then press Alt + PrtScn. Windows copies only that window to the clipboard. Paste it wherever you need it with Ctrl + V.

Method 4: Snipping Tool with Windows key + Shift + S

Snipping Tool is the most flexible option. Press Windows key + Shift + S (or search for “snipping tool” in Start) and choose a mode:

• Rectangle: drag a box around the area you want.
• Window: click the window to capture.
• Full screen: captures the whole screen right away.
• Freeform: draw any shape around what you want.

Microsoft says that after you capture a snip, it’s automatically saved to your Screenshots folder, and it’s also copied to the clipboard. To change the automatic saving or the folder it uses, open Snipping Tool, select See More, then Settings.

Useful Snipping Tool extras

• Delay: Need to capture a menu that closes when you click away? In Snipping Tool, select Delay, choose a time such as 5 seconds, then select New.
• Mark it up: Use the Pen and Highlighter tools, and Eraser to remove lines you’ve added. Shapes, crop and undo are also there.
• Copy text from an image: Select Text actions to pull the text out of your screenshot. Microsoft notes that text recognition runs locally on your device.
• Edit further: Select Edit > Edit with Paint.

Tip: If you only need the text from a Command Prompt window, you don’t need a screenshot at all. Our Command Prompt shortcuts guide shows how to select and copy text directly.

Method 5: Game Bar (Windows key + Alt + PrtScn)

Xbox Game Bar is built into Windows 10 and 11 and is handy in games or full-screen apps.

• Press Windows key + G to open the Game Bar controls.
• Press Windows key + Alt + PrtScn to take a screenshot.
• Press Windows key + Alt + R to start recording, and press it again to stop.

Game Bar saves screenshots and recordings in the Captures folder inside your Videos folder. On Windows 11, Microsoft says screenshots are saved as PNG files and recordings as MP4 files.

Where are screenshots saved on Windows 11?

How you captured it	Where to find it
Windows key + PrtScn	Pictures > Screenshots
Snipping Tool (Windows key + Shift + S, or PrtScn by default)	Screenshots folder, and the clipboard
Classic PrtScn or Alt + PrtScn	Clipboard only, until you paste it
Game Bar	Videos > Captures

Tip: Lost something you copied a few screenshots ago? Windows clipboard history (Windows key + V) keeps a list of recent items once you turn it on. Our Windows emoji keyboard shortcut guide explains how clipboard history and the emoji panel work together.

How to record your screen with Snipping Tool

Windows 11’s Snipping Tool can also make short screen recordings:

1. Press Windows key + Shift + R, or open Snipping Tool, select Record, then select New.
2. Select the area of the screen you want to record.
3. Select Start.
4. When you’re finished, select Stop.
5. Save the recording, or select Edit in Clipchamp to add captions or audio.

No Print Screen key on your keyboard?

Some laptops and compact keyboards don’t have a PrtScn key. Microsoft says that, depending on your hardware, you may be able to use Fn + Windows logo key + Space bar instead. Windows key + Shift + S doesn’t need a PrtScn key at all, so it works on any keyboard.

Windows 10 differences

Windows 10 handles screenshots a little differently:

• PrtScn takes a screenshot of the whole screen and copies it to the clipboard.
• Windows key + Shift + S takes a screenshot of part of the screen.
• In Windows 10’s Snipping Tool, you choose Mode rather than Snipping Mode, and you save a snip yourself with Save Snip.
• Video snips (Windows key + Shift + R) and Text actions are Windows 11 features.

Note: Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, and recommends moving to Windows 11.

If it still doesn’t work

• PrtScn does nothing: Check the Print Screen setting in Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard, and try Windows key + Shift + S instead.
• No PrtScn key: Try Fn + Windows logo key + Space bar, which Microsoft lists for devices without the key.
• Can’t find saved files: Open Snipping Tool, select See More > Settings and check which folder it saves to.
• Game Bar won’t open: If Windows key + G does nothing, use Snipping Tool for screenshots and recordings instead.
• Still stuck: If no screenshot key works at all, the keyboard itself may be the problem. Our computer repair tips explain how to narrow down hardware faults.

For more everyday shortcuts like these, see our list of computer tricks, or browse all of Tech Tips.