I received a question about creating screen-shots so I thought I'd give you some tips and tricks I've discovered over the years.
It is important to understand that when you create a screen-shot, you are taking a snapshot of the window you are looking at or your computer screen (depending on the command you use). This snapshot then sits on your clipboard until you either do something with it or replace it with another clipboard copy item.
After you have created your snapshot using the screen-shot option you have selected, you have to do something with it... insert it into some kind of document. You can insert it into graphic software - such as Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. You can insert it into office software, such as Word, PowerPoint, or Excel. Inserting it into the file you have opened for this purpose is accomplished in the same way you paste anything from your clipboard. Just select Edit>Paste or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V.
You can create two different kind of screen-shots in Windows:
- Capture your entire desktop (Ctrl+Print Screen)
- Capture a window (Alt+Print Screen)
Desktop screen print
Window screen print
Screen print in MS Word
Screen print in Photoshop document
Other:
- Sometimes your computer will cooperate if you simply just hit your Print Screen key (Prt Sc). This will print out your entire desktop.Since I have had some unevenness with this command, I have developed the habit to include the Ctrl key as well.
- If you are using a laptop, you will have to add the FN (function) key as well. Your commands will be FN+Ctrl+Print Screen or FN+Alt+Print Screen.
Mac commands:
| Key Combination | Result |
|---|---|
| Command+Shift+3 | Capture entire screen and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+3 | Capture entire screen and copy to the clipboard |
| Command+Shift+4 | Capture dragged area and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+4 | Capture dragged area and copy to the clipboard |
| Command+Shift+4 then Space bar | Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+4 then Space bar | Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and copy to the clipboard |
More:
There is software available that lets you get more specific with your screen-shots and save them as various file types. If you create a lot of tutorials, these software titles can be very helpful. I own SnagIt by Tech Smith and enjoy it quite a bit. But when I'm in a hurry, I always resort to the Print Screen key methods.
Screen print resolution and sizing tips:
- If you are going to use your screen-shots in a file you will print, you will want to put them in a graphics editor such as Photoshop and Photoshop Elements so that you can edit the image size. You can successfully change the resolution size to 300 dpi if you reduce your file height and width. (The default is 72 dpi.) A nice size is 3.75 wide.
- If you want to put your screen-shots in a blog (like I'm doing now), you want to keep the default resolution (72 dpi) and just resize the width and heighth to fit your blog.
