3 Ways to take screenshot on windows without software

Sometimes we run into issues with our computer, maybe a program or something and you may want to take a screenshot so you can show someone to help you or upload it to fix your problem and then ??? you dont know how.

Well good thing you are here today because I will quickly show you 3 ways you can take screenshot on your windows without the use of a third-party software.

Lets get to it then...

Method 1: Taking a screenshot of the entire window (full screen)

1. Press the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. This will snap your entire screen and copy it to your clipboard so you can paste it in a program, the size of the image captured will be the same as the resolution of your desktop.

• The "Print Screen" button may be labeled "PrtScn", "Prnt Scrn", "Print Scr", or something similar. On most keyboards, the button is usually found between the "F12" and "Scroll Lock" keys. On laptop keyboards, you may have to press the "Fn" or "Function" key to access "Print Screen". 

Note: You will not receive any confirmation that the screenshot has been taken.

2. Paste and save your screenshot: you will need a program like paint where you can paste and see your screenshot.

To open paint click on Start then All programs then Accessories then paint.
press Ctrl + V on your keyboard to paste on a new blank canvas.

Click File, then Save to set the name and file type of the image. The most common file types are JPG and PNG. The recommended format for screenshots is PNG, due to the high quality and small file size.

You can also paste screenshots on other programs such as photoshop, word or even the body of an email.

In windows 8 pressing the Windows key + Print Screen will save a full-screen screenshot directly to a file, without having to paste it into another program first. The file is saved to the Screenshots folder in your Pictures folder. If the Screenshots folder does not exist, Windows will create one. 

• The picture is saved in PNG format.

• Screenshots are automatically labeled "Screenshot", and a number will appear in parentheses for each consecutive screenshot.

Method 2: Taking a screenshot of the active window (one window screenshot)

1. Click the window that you want to capture an image of. The One Window screenshot function will take a picture of the "active" window on your screen. This means that it should be in front of all your other windows.


2. Press and hold the "Alt" key and press "Print Screen". An image of the window will be copied to the clipboard. The size of the image will be determined by the size of the window when the screenshot is captured.

3. Paste and save the image in a program just like in the first method above.


Method 3: Using the Snipping Tool

The snipping Tool is available in Windows Vista, 7 and 8


1. To open it in Windows Vista and 7, click the Start button, select All Programs, then Accessories. Select the Snipping Tool from the list.
In Windows 8 simply start typing “snipping tool” while on the Start screen and select it from the Search results.

2. Choose the shape of the Snip. "Rectangular Snip" is chosen by default. Click the Arrow button next to the New button to change the Snip shape.

• "Free-form Snip" lets you draw any shape with your mouse. The area inside the shape will be snipped.

• "Rectangular Snip" lets you select a rectangular area, which will be snipped.

• "Window Snip" lets you choose a window to snip.

• "Full-screen Snip" snips the whole screen, with all windows (except the Snipping Tool window) included.

3. Take a snip and then save with any format you like.

Thats it, so if you ever need to take a quick screenshot now you know how. :)

Check out 5 best softwares you can also use to take screenshots