How to Take a Screenshot on Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS/iPadOS

Demonstrate things that are difficult to capture in words by showing your screen from Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS

Screenshots, or screengrabs, can be helpful when you want to demonstrate something that would be difficult to explain in words. There are multiple ways to take screenshots on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.

Instructions in this article apply to various operating systems, but some steps may differ depending on the model of your device.

How to Take Screenshots on Windows

To capture the screen on a Windows PC:

  • Press the Print Screen key to take a screenshot of the whole screen.
  • Press Alt+Print Screen to screenshot the active window.
  • Press Windows key+Print Screen to take a screenshot that includes the entire Windows interface (only available in Windows 8 and later).

The Print Screen key is abbreviated as PrintSc, PrtSc, or some similar variant on some keyboards.

How to Take Screenshots on Mac

To capture the screen on a Mac:

  • Press Command+Shift+3 to capture the entire screen.
  • Press Command+Shift+4 to take a picture of the window the mouse cursor is currently hovering over.

How to Take Screenshots on Android

To capture the screen on an Android phone or tablet, press Power+Volume Down simultaneously.

How to Take Screenshots on iOS or iPad

To take a screenshot on an iOS device:

  • On the iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone 8 or earlier, press Home+Sleep/Wake.
  • On the iPad Pro and iPhone X or newer, press Volume Up+Sleep/Wake.
  • iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini, and iPad models with iPadOS 13 or higher: Press Home button +top/side button simultaneously. You can also do it without the home button: Press Power button + volume up button simultaneously.

Screen Capture Programs

Many graphics programs, such as Photoshop, also have built-in screen-capture capabilities. Dedicated screen capture software might offer several benefits:

  • Automatically name and save screenshots to a specific folder.
  • Auto-scroll functions to capture long documents like web pages that don't fit on the screen.
  • Timed captures to add a delay while you prepare the workspace before capturing.
  • Markup tools that add callouts, arrows, shapes, and text annotations to screenshots.
  • Options to include or exclude the mouse cursor.

There is screen recording software available that captures all of the activity on a computer monitor and turns it into a video file. Such options include:

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