How to take a screenshot:

Windows 7 and 8

Windows 8.1 and 10

With a significant update to Windows 8.1 and following into Windows 10, Microsoft added some more modern tools. You can still use the Print Screen button to insert an image into an editor, but if you’d rather just quickly get an image file, you can press the Windows button and Print Screen at the same time (Win + PrtScn). The images will go to the “Screenshots” folder in your personal user’s Pictures folder (c:/Users/Your username/Pictures/Screenshots).

Want something even more specific? Press Alt+PrtScn to copy only the contents of your current window. This tool can’t be used to save a full image, but you can paste the contents of the window into an editor.

Windows also includes the Snipping Tool for more specific screenshots and annotations.

macOS

There are numerous ways to take a screenshot in macOS. To take a screenshot of your Mac’s entire screen, press Shift+Command+3. The image is saved directly to the desktop. To copy the image instead of saving it so that it can be inserted into an editor, Windows-style, press Command+Control+Shift+3. Your fingers will appreciate the workout.

For more specific screenshots, you can press Command+Shift+4 to open a built-in selection tool. Click and drag the selector across the area of the desktop you want to capture, with the covered area in transparent blue.

Chrome OS

iOS

On iPads and iPod Touches, press the Power button and the Home button at the same time. The contents of your screen will be saved to your Camera Roll folder.

On newer iPhones, use both buttons as shown in the picture.

The screenshots will be saved to a screenshot album.

Android

Starting with Android 4.0, the universal command for a screenshot in Android phones and tablets is Power+Volume Down. For almost every manufacturer, this will save a screenshot of the entire screen in either the main photo folder or /Pictures/Screenshots in the user storage area.

…Except for Samsung. For some reason, Samsung insists on using the same command as the iPhone for screenshots, Power+Home. This is true for hundreds of Samsung phone and tablet models…except some of the latest. Som Samsung phones like the Galaxy S8, S8+, and Galaxy Note 8 don’t have a physical Home button, they’ve switched back to the standard Android command, Power+Volume Down.

If you’re not sure of your manufacturer’s preference, try both Power+Volume Down and Power+Home. 99% of the time, one of them will trigger the screenshot command.