How to take a screenshot on Windows 11

Applies to: Windows 11 desktops, laptops and tablets with a keyboard. Most of these shortcuts also work in Windows 10, though the Print Screen behavior and some Snipping Tool features depend on how up to date Windows and the app are. If you want a video of the screen rather than a still image, our screen recording guide covers that in more detail.

Which screenshot method to use

Each shortcut does something slightly different. The main difference is whether you get a file on disk or only a copy on the clipboard that you have to paste somewhere. Microsoft’s keyboard shortcuts page and its Snipping Tool page describe the behavior summarized here.

Shortcut	What it captures	Where the image goes
Win + Shift + S	An area you pick: rectangle, window, full screen or freeform	Clipboard, and Snipping Tool, which saves a copy by default
PrtScn	On current Windows 11, an area you pick (same tool as above); with the setting off, the full screen	Clipboard
Win + PrtScn	The full screen	A file in Pictures > Screenshots
Alt + PrtScn	The active window only	Clipboard
Win + Alt + PrtScn	The game or app in front (Xbox Game Bar)	Usually Videos > Captures
Win + Shift + R	A video of an area you pick	An MP4 file in Videos > Screen Recordings

If you take screenshots now and then and want to mark them up, Win + Shift + S is the most flexible. If you need a pile of full-screen images with no prompts, Win + PrtScn is quicker because nothing opens and each one is saved as its own file.

Win + Shift + S and Snipping Tool

Snipping Tool is built into Windows 11 and handles most screenshot jobs. You can call it up from anywhere with the shortcut:

1. Press Win + Shift + S. The screen dims and a small toolbar appears at the top.
2. Choose a mode on the toolbar: Rectangle, Window, Full screen or Freeform.
3. Drag over the area, or click the window you want. The screenshot is copied to the clipboard, and a notification usually pops up in the corner.
4. Click the notification to open the image in Snipping Tool, where you can crop it, draw on it, highlight it or save another copy with Save as.

Microsoft says snips are saved automatically to the Screenshots folder, and that you can change the folder or turn auto-save off under See More > Settings in Snipping Tool. If you only ever paste screenshots into chats or documents, turning auto-save off stops the folder filling up.

A few features in the app itself are easy to miss:

• Delay: open Snipping Tool from Start, pick a delay (Microsoft lists Alt + D for 1 to 5 seconds), then select New. This is the way to capture a menu or a tooltip that disappears when you press a key.
• Text actions: after taking a snip, select Text actions to copy text out of the image, or use Quick redact to hide email addresses and phone numbers before you share it. Microsoft says this text recognition runs on the device.
• Edit with Paint: for resizing or rotating, use Edit > Edit with Paint.
• Copilot+ PCs: these get extra options such as Perfect Screenshot, which fits the capture area to what’s on screen. Other PCs won’t show them.

Inside Snipping Tool, Alt + N starts a new snip in the same mode as the last one, Ctrl + C copies it and Ctrl + S saves it.

The Print Screen key

What PrtScn does depends on a setting. On current versions of Windows 11, Microsoft’s keyboard shortcuts page describes it as selecting a region of the screen and copying the screenshot to the clipboard, in other words the same overlay as Win + Shift + S. The same page notes that you can turn this default off in the Accessibility keyboard settings.

If you prefer the older behavior, where one press copies the entire screen to the clipboard with nothing popping up:

1. Open Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.
2. Find the option about using the Print screen key to open Snipping Tool (the exact wording has changed between versions) and turn it off.
3. Press PrtScn, then paste with Ctrl + V into Paint, a document or a chat.

With the setting off, PrtScn only copies to the clipboard. Nothing is saved, so if you copy something else before pasting, the screenshot is gone.

Laptops without a separate PrtScn key: on many laptops Print Screen shares a key with another function, so you may need to hold Fn as well. Microsoft’s own print screen page also mentions Fn + Win + Space for devices without a PrtScn button, but which combination works depends on the hardware, so check the maker’s manual if neither does.

Win + PrtScn: save the full screen as a file

Press Win + PrtScn and Windows captures the full screen and saves it as a file in the Screenshots subfolder of Pictures, according to Microsoft. On many PCs the screen dims for a moment to show it worked. Files are usually numbered in sequence, so you can take several in a row and sort them out later.

With more than one monitor, this shortcut usually puts every display into one wide image. If you only want one screen, crop the result in Snipping Tool or Paint, or use Win + Shift + S with Full screen mode instead.

Alt + PrtScn: copy one window

Click the window you want so it’s in front, then press Alt + PrtScn. Microsoft describes this as capturing the active window and copying it to the clipboard. Paste it with Ctrl + V.

This is handy for error messages and dialog boxes, because you don’t have to crop out the rest of the desktop. Like plain PrtScn, it doesn’t save a file. On some laptops you may need Fn + Alt + PrtScn.

Xbox Game Bar for games and apps

Game Bar is aimed at games, but it works in many ordinary apps too. Press Win + G to open it and select the camera icon in the Capture widget, or use its screenshot shortcut directly; by default that’s usually Win + Alt + PrtScn, and you can check or change it in Game Bar’s settings under shortcuts.

Game Bar captures generally go to Videos > Captures in your user folder. It has limits: it captures the game or app in front rather than the whole screen, and it won’t open over the bare desktop or in apps such as File Explorer. For those, use Snipping Tool.

Record the screen instead

Press Win + Shift + R, drag over the area to record, select Start and then Stop. Microsoft says the recording opens in Snipping Tool and is saved by default as an MP4 in the Screen Recordings subfolder of Videos. Sound options, Game Bar recording and other tools are in our Snipping Tool recording steps.

Where screenshots are saved

Open File Explorer, select Pictures and then Screenshots. That’s where Win + PrtScn files and Snipping Tool auto-saves end up unless you’ve changed it. If the folder is missing or empty, work through these:

• You used a clipboard-only method: PrtScn with the setting off and Alt + PrtScn don’t create a file. Paste the image somewhere and save it from there.
• Clipboard history: if you’ve turned on clipboard history, Win + V shows recent items you copied, which can include a screenshot you forgot to paste.
• OneDrive backs up Pictures: when OneDrive backup is on for your Pictures folder, the Screenshots folder may be inside your OneDrive folder rather than on the local drive. Our OneDrive guide explains how to stop backing up Desktop, Documents and Pictures if you want them stored locally. Some versions of the OneDrive app also have their own option to save screenshots to OneDrive.
• Auto-save is off in Snipping Tool: check See More > Settings in Snipping Tool and turn automatic saving back on, or note the folder it points to.
• Game Bar captures: look in Videos > Captures, not Pictures.

When a screenshot shortcut doesn’t work

Start by pressing Win + Shift + S. If that works but another shortcut doesn’t, the problem is that shortcut or its key. If nothing works at all, look at the keyboard and Snipping Tool.

• PrtScn opens Snipping Tool when you don’t want it to: that’s the default now; turn the option off in Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard as described above.
• PrtScn does nothing on a laptop: try it with Fn. Some keyboards have an F Lock or Fn Lock key that swaps the top row between functions; toggle it and try again. Our laptop keyboard fixes cover keys that stop responding.
• Every Windows key shortcut fails: gaming keyboards often have a Win Lock or Game Mode key that blocks the Windows key, which kills Win + Shift + S and Win + PrtScn too. See how to turn off Win Lock or Game Mode.
• Another app has taken over the key: screenshot tools, cloud storage apps and some keyboard utilities can claim PrtScn for themselves. Close them or check their settings for a Print Screen or hotkey option.
• Win + Shift + S does nothing: Snipping Tool may be missing, out of date or damaged. Update it from the Microsoft Store. If that doesn’t help, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Snipping Tool, and use Advanced options to repair or reset it if those buttons are offered. Reset clears the app’s settings.
• The screenshot comes out black: some apps, such as streaming video services and certain protected windows, block screen capture on purpose. That’s expected and not a fault with Windows.
• Work or school PC: an organization can turn off Snipping Tool or screen capture with policy. If the app won’t start or says it’s been blocked, ask IT rather than trying to work around it.

Known issues

As of November 2026, Microsoft’s Windows 11, version 25H2 known issues and notifications page (last updated November 5, 2026) lists no issue with Snipping Tool, Print Screen, Game Bar or screen capture. Its one open item concerns USB audio devices. If screenshots stopped working right after an update, check that page in case something new has been added.

Related guides

• How to record video on screen in Windows (free, built-in tools)
• Windows key not working: how to fix it in Windows 11 and 10
• Keyboard not working in Windows 11: how to fix it
• How to stop OneDrive from syncing (without losing files)
• Snipping Tool not working: how to fix it on Windows 11

Official sources

• Microsoft: Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots
• Microsoft: Keyboard shortcuts in Windows
• Microsoft: Windows 11, version 25H2 known issues and notifications