Capturing your screen on Windows 7 is a fundamental task, and you can do it easily using specific keyboard shortcuts.
Simple Methods for Taking Screenshots
Windows 7 provides built-in ways to capture your screen using just your keyboard, as highlighted in the reference. The captured image is then stored on your clipboard, ready to be pasted.
Here are the two primary methods:
-
Capture the Entire Screen:
- Locate the PrtScn key on your keyboard. It's often located in the upper-right section, sometimes labeled "Print Screen" or similar.
- Press the PrtScn key.
- Result: This captures an image of everything currently displayed across all your monitors and copies it to the clipboard.
-
Capture the Active Window:
- Make sure the window you want to capture is the one you are currently working in (it's the active window).
- Hold down the Alt key and press the PrtScn key (Alt + PrtScn).
- Result: This captures only the content of the currently active window and copies it to the clipboard.
What to Do After Pressing Print Screen
Pressing the PrtScn or Alt + PrtScn key combination copies the image to your computer's clipboard. It doesn't automatically save it as a file. To turn it into an image file, you need to paste it into an image editor.
- Open an Image Editor: The most common tool for this on Windows 7 is Microsoft Paint. You can find it by going to the Start Menu, then All Programs, then Accessories, and clicking on Paint. Other options include Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, or even Microsoft Word or Outlook (though saving as a dedicated image file is best done in an image editor).
- Paste the Screenshot: Once the editor is open, paste the image from the clipboard. You can do this by:
- Clicking the "Paste" button on the ribbon menu.
- Pressing Ctrl + V on your keyboard.
- Save the File: After pasting, you must save the image.
- Go to File > Save As.
- Choose a location, file name, and format (like JPG, PNG, or GIF). PNG is generally good for clarity, while JPG is good for smaller file sizes, especially for photos.
Summary Table
Here's a quick look at the basic methods based on the reference:
| Action | Keystroke | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Capture the whole screen | PrtScn |
Copies everything on screen to clipboard |
| Capture the active window | Alt + PrtScn |
Copies the active window to clipboard |
As the reference notes, these methods capture the visible screen area. Taking scrolling screenshots (e.g., a long webpage) would typically require using a third-party application designed for that purpose, as Windows 7's built-in tools don't natively support this feature.
