A Windows laptop gives you several ways to capture the screen, and they differ in one important respect: some save a picture file, others only copy the image so you can paste it. Pick the one that matches what you want to do with the result. On many laptops the Print Screen key shares a spot with another function, so the keys below sometimes need Fn held down too.
Copy the whole screen with the Print Screen key
The key is usually labeled PrtSc or PrtScn. Pressed alone, it puts a picture of the whole display on the clipboard and saves nothing. On a laptop where the key doubles as something else, press Fn + PrtSc instead.
- Show what you want to capture, then press PrtSc (or Fn + PrtSc).
- Open Paint, or any app that takes pictures, such as a mail draft or a chat window.
- Press Ctrl + V to paste the capture.
- In Paint, save it as PNG or JPG.
Grab one window and find an earlier capture
To capture only the window you are working in, click it first and press Alt + PrtSc. It lands on the clipboard exactly like the full-screen version, so paste it the same way. If you took several captures in a row and pasted only the last one, press Win + V to open clipboard history and pick an older one. That list only fills up once clipboard history is switched on under Settings > System > Clipboard. On some Windows 11 setups, the Print Screen key may open the capture toolbar instead of copying the screen. To get the plain copy back, go to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and switch off the option that makes the Print screen key open screen capture. On Windows 10 the setting sits under Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard, in the Print Screen shortcut section.
Save a screenshot file automatically with Win + PrtSc
This is the one shortcut that writes a file for you, so there is nothing to paste. Press Win + PrtSc (add Fn if your key needs it). The screen flickers darker to confirm, and a PNG lands in your Pictures library.
- Open File Explorer with Win + E, then go to Pictures > Screenshots. You can also paste %USERPROFILE%\Pictures\Screenshots into the address bar.
- Each file gets a number in its name, so a later capture never overwrites an earlier one.
- To store them somewhere else, right-click the Screenshots folder, choose Properties, open the Location tab, click Move and pick the new folder. New captures go there from then on.
- If you use OneDrive, open its settings from the tray icon, go to Sync and backup and turn on Save screenshots I capture to OneDrive.
Capture part of the screen with Win + Shift + S
Press Win + Shift + S (Windows 10 uses Snip & Sketch for this, Windows 11 the Snipping Tool). The screen dims and a small toolbar appears along the top. Choose rectangle, freeform, window or full screen, then drag over the area you want.
- Press Win + Shift + S and select the area.
- The picture is copied to the clipboard, and a notification appears at the bottom right.
- Click that notification to open the editor, mark up the picture if you like, and press Ctrl + S to save it.
- Or skip the notification and paste straight into an email, document or chat with Ctrl + V.
When Win + Shift + S does nothing on your laptop
Work down this list and test the shortcut after each step.
- Check that the Windows key works at all: press Win + E or Win + R. If neither responds, the key is disabled, which a gaming mode or an Fn toggle on some keyboards does. A laptop's own keyboard is a quick comparison against an external one, and the on-screen keyboard (type osk in search) can stand in for a missing key.
- Turn on clipboard history under Settings > System > Clipboard, then press Win + V to see whether the capture shows up.
- Allow notifications from the Snipping Tool: Settings > System > Notifications, then switch it on in the app list. Make sure the master Notifications switch is on as well, and that Do not disturb is off.
- Fix the app with Repair: Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Snipping Tool, use the three dots beside it, choose Advanced options, then Repair. If that fails, use Reset on the same screen and restart the laptop.
- If Reset does not help, uninstall the app there and get it again from the Store app. Windows 10 calls it Snip & Sketch, and the Advanced options screen is the same.
- Open Settings > Windows Update and run Check for updates, then restart.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, find Windows Explorer on the Processes tab, choose Restart from the menu that opens when you right-click it. The taskbar flickers once, and you stay signed in.
- Look for keyboard-remapping or mouse-and-keyboard utilities, such as PowerToys Keyboard Manager or a manufacturer's keyboard app, that already claim Win + Shift + S. Remove that entry.
Use the Snipping Tool app and see where it saves
If the shortcut still refuses to work, or you prefer a window to click in, the app does the same job. As a stopgap you can also let the Print Screen key open the capture toolbar, using the Keyboard setting from earlier.
- Search for Snipping Tool and launch it.
- Click New or press Ctrl + N.
- Pick a mode: rectangular, free-form, window or full-screen. Window mode captures a window with one click, and full-screen mode captures every display.
- Drag over the area, then use the pen or highlighter to annotate if needed.
- Save the result as PNG or JPG using the disk icon.
If a screenshot is not in the Screenshots folder
Where a capture ends up depends on how you took it. PrtSc, Alt + PrtSc and Win + Shift + S copy to the clipboard only, so nothing is on disk until you save it. The Xbox Game Bar shortcut Win + Alt + PrtSc puts its pictures in Videos > Captures instead of Pictures. Snipping Tool can also save captures on its own. In the app, use the three dots at the upper right, open the settings and check that automatic saving of screenshots is on. The same screen shows which folder it uses. Open Snipping Tool and look at its recent captures; a capture you missed can still be saved from there. A capture taken with the Screenshot option in Edge's right-click menu, or with Ctrl + Shift + S inside Edge, looks like the Snipping Tool but goes to your Downloads folder, and changing the Screenshots folder does not affect it. Still nothing? Search for screenshot in File Explorer with the scope set to This PC, filter by date modified, or check the Recycle Bin and OneDrive.