Why doesn't the computer take a screenshot? Print Screen doesn't work, I can't take a screenshot

1) Create in the standard way.
Everyone should know about this and is well described in the article. In short, while playing your favorite game, press the Prt Sc (Print Screen) key on your keyboard:

or


If the color of the key name is blue, then press in combination with the Fn () button

So, after clicking, open any graphics editor, for example standard paint (Start - Standard) and select top menu icon


or press the combination on the keyboard Ctrl keys+V

Or you can open text editor Word and paste it there. This is written about in the article

2) Special programs.
It happens that a screenshot is not taken in the game using the standard method, and it turns out that either nothing is inserted at all, or a black screen. In such cases, special programs that “take” screenshots can come in handy. A lot is described about them in the articles linked above or below this one, so I won’t focus too much on them.
For example, using the famous one this is done like this:


The main thing in these programs is that it is launched and minimized.

3) When the game allows for the creation of screenshots.

Some games have settings just for screenshots. At the very least they set up a button to create. Look in the settings and you can reassign if anything happens. The resulting screenshot is usually stored either in a folder or subfolders of the game itself, or in documents current user. This is if the folder is not specified.
In the Steam community you can also create screenshots for all games. To do this in Steam you need to go to the settings:


and then on the desired menu item (1) specify the button to create (2) and the folder to save (3)

If you were unable to create a screenshot using any of the above methods, then try minimizing the game to windowed mode (Alt + Enter) and creating a screen using the first or second method.
As you can see, creating a screenshot is not that difficult.

Hi all! Marat Nauruzbaev is with you. In this article I will tell you and show you in a video how to take a screenshot on a computer. standard means Windows, and also consider seven popular programs to take screenshots.

Many people ask me how to take a screenshot on a computer, what programs are best to use for this, and how to make a screenshot without using third-party programs?

Screenshot(from English screenshot) or simply " screen” is a screenshot of your computer, simply put, a photograph of what is displayed on the monitor screen or a certain area on the screen.

A screenshot is taken for various purposes, mainly to communicate with support, send a screenshot to social media, publishing on the forum, capturing a still image in a game, in a movie, etc.

Guys, I looked at the main features of the seven most popular free programs for taking screenshots, and in this article I will show their main features and describe the pros and cons of using them.

Taking a screenshot using standard toolsWindows

First, let's look at the option of how to take a screenshot using standard Windows tools.

To do this, press the key “ PrtScr» on the keyboard (may appear as PrntScrn, PrtScn, PrtScr or PrtSc)

If on a laptop, then press two keys “ Fn» + « PrtScr»

To take a snapshot of only the active window, click " Alt» + « PrtScr", on the laptop press " Fn» + « Alt» + « PrtScr»

After pressing the " PrtScr" or " Alt» + « PrtScr"A snapshot of the monitor screen is saved to the clipboard, this is the so-called temporary memory of the computer. Now we need to save this image to a file on the computer for future use.

To do this, you can use any graphic editor. Windows 7, 8, 10 already have a built-in simple graphic editor “ Paint" To launch it, click menu " Start" and in the search bar " Find» enter: paint and click on “ Paint»

The graphic editor will launch. Paint»

Paste a screenshot from the clipboard. To do this, press the button “ Insert»

Note: To paste from a buffer, you can use cl. "Ctrl » + « V »

We see how our desktop snapshot was inserted in the editor “ Paint»

IN " Paint» can be used simple operations above the screenshot: draw with a pencil or brush, fill with color, enter text, apply various shapes

Next, save it on your computer this file screenshot. To do this, in the menu " File» select « Save as" and indicate in what format we want to save the file. In this case, I chose the JPEG format

As a result, our screenshot will be saved to a file on your computer. Now you can send it by mail, post it on social media. networks, forums, etc.

Scissors program

A more convenient way to take screenshots in Windows is to use the standard program " Scissors" It is more convenient because it allows you to photograph an arbitrary shape on a computer screen, but there are practically no image editing tools in it :)

To start the program, in the menu " Start", in the search bar enter: Scissors and click on “ Scissors»

The program will start " Scissors»

When you click the down arrow button " Create", you can select the area for creating the screen: rectangular shape, rectangle, window or the entire screen

Let’s say you have selected “ Rectangle", now when you press the button " Create", press the left mouse button and without releasing it, move the mouse around the area on the screen that you want to record, then release the mouse button

The selected area will be automatically photographed and appear in the program

Now we can do simple operations on the screen. I’ll just say that the capabilities in this program are very simple, including “ Paint"More opportunities...

Next, click on the button with a floppy disk to save this screenshot to a file

Give the file a name and click " Save»

The screenshot file will be saved in the location you specify on your computer or laptop.

Programs for taking screenshots

For those who often take screenshots, it will be much more convenient to use special programs for creating and editing screenshots.

I took away 7 free programs, which in my opinion are most intended for creating screenshots and their subsequent editing.

I will not describe how to install them and how to use them, I will describe only one program that I use myself, and for the remaining programs I will describe the main functions, pros and cons of each program.

PicPick(http://ngwin.com/picpick)

Tool " all in one" for each. Full featured screen capture, intuitive image editor, pixel ruler, protractor, crosshair, slate and much more.

A powerful program for creating and editing screenshots. There is a Portable version (portable version that works without installation). Free for home use.

I use it myself because free analogues I haven't found any possibilities yet. If you find it, write it in the comments.

I’ll briefly describe the process of creating and editing in the program “ PicPick"That's exactly how I do it.

IN " PicPick» you can take a snapshot of different areas of the screen: the entire screen, the active window, a window element, a scrolling window (very required function, not all programs have), dedicated area, fixed area and free area. Each of these functions has assigned hotkeys that can be changed at your discretion.

Using this program I take screenshots for...

Try to guess why?

To create screenshots for these articles that you are currently reading in this moment 🙂 .

So, when I take a screenshot (picture) of a window or a certain page on the Internet, I immediately put all sorts of explanatory frames, lines, arrows and text on the picture.

Now I’ll show you how I do this in this program.

First, I take a screenshot of the window or area I need in the browser. In this case, I took a screenshot of one of my blog articles in a browser. To do this, I pressed the key combination " Shift» + « PrtScr” and pointed the mouse at a specific area on the screen. The screenshot of the area I selected was automatically inserted into the program PicPick.

Then I selected under the button “ Figures", a certain shape, in this case a rectangle

And I move the mouse with the left button pressed over the area of ​​the screen that needs to be highlighted with a rectangle, and at the end I release the button. In this case, I highlighted the logo of my site

In this case, you can change the style, color and thickness of the frame, apply a shadow to it, etc.

I draw arrows in the same way

The arrow format can also be customized: change the style, outline, thickness, transparency and color. Look at the picture below, arrow 1 is made in the form of dots, arrow 2 is thicker and more transparent

You can also add text, a watermark, blur, rotate, change brightness, contrast, tone, resize, and much more on a screenshot.

Or upload directly to a web page, to the cloud, send to Facebook, Twitter, by mail or upload to an FTP server

You can also upload the screenshot to the cloud on Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, etc.

Besides, PicPick has a number additional tools, such as " color selection" (will help you find the exact color code of a pixel on the screen with a built-in magnifier), " ruler" (to measure the size of objects and place them in an exact location on the screen), " color palette», « magnifying glass», « crosshair», « protractor" And " slate».

Let's look at how these tools work using the example " Color under cursor" And " Ruler».

Sometimes you need to know the exact color of a certain object on the screen. To do this, right-click on the icon PicPick in the tray and select " Color under cursor»

Then we move the mouse pointer over the object on the screen whose color value you want to remove. In this case, I hovered the mouse over the program shortcut " PicPick" We see the color values ​​for a given pixel under a magnifying glass.

When you click the left mouse button, a window appears with the value of this color. We can select the value in HTML format, RGB(), C++, Delphi and click " Copy» for copying given value to the clipboard for future use

Tool " Ruler» You can measure the size of objects on the screen and the distance between them. To do this, right-click on the icon PicPick in the tray and select " Ruler»

A ruler will appear on the screen that you can use your mouse to move across the screen. Having placed the ruler where you need it, measure the distance in pixels

You can also rotate the ruler 90 degrees and change its length.

Program PicPick I liked it because of its capabilities. Of course, it has two minor drawbacks (where would we be without them 🙂), which I personally miss.

This is a normal straight line for arrows, I would like to be able to change the straight arrow style to cone-shaped And also, if you need to put a shadow on an object (for example, on an arrow), you have to point it all the time, that is, I would like to PicPick I remembered that the superimposed object should have a shadow, IMHO.

But these are all minor things compared to its advantages.

Pros and cons of the programPicPick:

+ capture scrolling window

+ multi-window interface

+ a lot of extras functions like ruler, color under cursor, etc.

- regular arrows

- the shadow on the arrow must be pointed at all times


Greenshot(http://getgreenshot.org/)


Greenshot is a program for creating screenshots with rich functionality for overlaying various objects and effects on the taken screenshot.

At the program good opportunities editing screenshots, sending a screenshot to “ cloud” (Imgur (direct links), Dropbox) or one of the applications Microsoft Office, the ability to print directly from the program, it is possible to apply effects, in addition to the effect of overlaying a frame and shadow, I especially liked the effect “ Torn edges»

The result of the effect " Torn edges»

Greenshot also knows how to capture a scrolling window (only in Internet Explorer)

Pros and cons of the Greenshot program:

+ capture scrolling window (Internet Explorer only)

+ effect “Ragged edges”

- regular arrows

Monoshap(http://monosnap.com/)

Monosnap - free program for Windows and Mac OS X. Monosnap allows you to take screenshots, add notes and send screenshots to “ cloud”.

The program has fewer features than PicPick, but some may find it more convenient due to the ease of creating screenshots. The program has a function to record your desktop in video format. It is possible to send a screenshot to your own cloud Monosnap(registration required), as well as on SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3.

Among the shortcomings of the program that I discovered when creating a photo: screen area, where the context menu given by the menu is not included in the screenshot.

Example of a context menu...

Also, I did not find the possibility of creating a screenshot of a scrolling window, for example, of sites in the browser that need to be scrolled.

Pros and cons of the programMonoshap:

+ it is possible to record desktop video

+ cone-shaped arrows

+ there is a small shadow near the arrows

— there is no capture of the object’s context menu when capturing a screen area



Joxi(http://joxi.ru/lander/)

Joxi– a cross-platform program for creating screenshots. Knows how to post screenshots on social networks (facebook, twitter, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki). There are also plugins for browsers (Chrome, Yandex, Opera).

IN free version can only post on his own “ cloud” (not direct links, disk space: 1024 MB, storage period: 90 days). In the paid version, restrictions are removed and it is possible to upload screenshots to FTP/SFTP and Dropbox.

Pros and cons of the programJoxi:

+ capture and edit on the fly (in the same window)

+ cone-shaped arrows + contour thickness adjustment

- no way to open separate file

- no scrolling window capture

- no arrow shadow

Clip2net(http://clip2net.com/ru/)

Clip2net– a standard program for creating screenshots. Knows how to post screenshots on social networks (facebook, twitter, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, google+). There is a version for iPad and Android.

Behind additional features programs (direct links (c2n.me) and no advertising, recording videos and uploading files to your servers) you will have to pay an annual fee (information about tariffs on the site).

Pros and cons of the programClip2net:

- no scrolling window capture

— arrows are normal, without shadows

Lightshot(https://app.prntscr.com/ru/)

Lightshotsimple program to take screenshots. Knows how to post screenshots on social networks (facebook, twitter, VKontakte, pinterest).

There are plugins for Chrome browsers, Firefox, IE, Opera. There is a function to search for similar images on Google.

Pros and cons of the programLightshot:

- no scrolling window capture

— arrows are normal, without shadows

Shotnes(https://shotnes.com/)

Shotnes is a cross-platform free program for creating screenshots. Able to send screenshots to your own “ cloud” (direct links).

Shotnes can record video from your desktop in format. mp4 And. gif(you need to register on their website). Among the disadvantages of the program, it is worth noting that at the time of writing, it could only save screenshots in the . png.

Advantages and disadvantages Shotnes programs:

+ record video from desktop

- no scrolling window capture

— saving the file only in .png format

— arrows are normal, without shadows

Conclusion

Well, I told you how to take a screenshot on a computer, we looked at all the ways to create screenshots on your computer or laptop. Were described standard methods creating screenshots, as well as the main features of free programs for capturing and editing screenshots.

Personally, I liked the multifunctional program PicPick, which I use for these purposes. This program has many features for the free version. The program is also quite good in its capabilities. Greenshot

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  • Often computer and Internet users are faced with the need to take a picture of what is happening on the computer screen, in other words, to photograph the screen or part of it. Such a picture is scientifically called a screenshot (from the English word screenshot).

    A screenshot is a screenshot, that is, an image (photograph) of what a person sees on a computer monitor.

    Here are a few examples of when and why it may be needed:

    1. You are faced with some kind of computer problem or question and decide to ask a friend for help. e-mail. Explaining everything that happens on your computer in words is too long and not always appropriate. But photographing and demonstrating the “problematic” moment is just right. It's both fast and convenient!
    2. You are writing instructions for working with a certain computer program. It will be simply wonderful if you add illustrations to it (as in this article, for example).
    3. You are a student and want your work in a computer discipline (essay, coursework, diploma) to be highly appreciated. In this case, illustrations will be a big plus.
    4. Do you like to play computer games and would like to “capture” interesting moments.

    How to take a screenshot in Windows. Print Screen button

    If you need to take screenshots from time to time, that is, not a lot and not often, then the easiest way is to use the Print Screen button (it can also be called “Prt Scr”) on the computer keyboard.

    As a rule, after pressing it, nothing happens - no clicks, no flashes. But the photographed screen will already be “fixed” in the computer’s memory.

    Then you should open some image processing program(Paint, Photoshop or other similar) or Microsoft program Word and insert the photographed screen inside.

    I'll show you how it's done in Paint program, since this is a standard program, and it is on almost every computer.

    Finally, open the Paint program (Paint.net).

    Click on the "Insert" button or on the "Edit" item and select "Paste".

    That's it - the screenshot has been inserted! Now all that remains is to save it on your computer (File - Save As...).

    In case you want to insert this image into the program Microsoft Word, place the blinking cursor in the desired place on the sheet, right-click and select “Insert”.

    Let's summarize. If you want to do full screenshot, need to:

    • press the Print Screen button on your keyboard
    • open Paint, Photoshop or Microsoft Word
    • insert a photo into it
    • save on computer

    In case you need to do a snapshot of just one window which is currently open, press the combination Alt keys and Print Screen, paste into the desired program and save.

    This method is universal, that is, it is suitable for any Windows versions.

    Screenshot via Snipping Tool

    If you have Windows Vista, Windows 7 or 8 installed on your computer, there is a more convenient way to “photograph” the screen. This is a small program called “Scissors” (Snipping Tool). Let's talk about it in more detail.

    Click on the Start button in the lower left corner of the screen.

    A list will open. Select “All Programs” (“Programs”) from it.

    A fairly large list will appear. Select "Standards".

    Finally, open the Snipping Tool.

    If you do not have such a program, it means that it is simply not “built-in” into your system. In this case, take pictures using the previous method.

    Most likely, a small window will appear, and the rest of the screen will seem to “fog up”.

    The cursor will be in the form of a plus sign. With this plus sign you need to select the desired part of the screen or the entire screen, that is, press left button mouse and, without releasing it, move over this part. As soon as you release the left mouse button, the part you selected will be “cut out” and “added” to a special small program.

    In it you can make some edits and save the resulting screenshot to your computer (File - Save As...).

    Programs for taking screenshots

    If you need to take screenshots often, it is better to use special programs to create and edit screenshots. There are a lot of such programs. There are great paid options, such as SnagIt or FastStone Capture. But there are no less wonderful free versions.

    I've tried many of them. I’ll tell you about those that I especially liked and that I use myself.

    Screenshot Maker - very convenient, fast program with many functions. You can “photograph” both the entire screen and part of it, change the resulting image, save it in different formats and with different settings quality.

    You can download this program (Free version) from the official website or by clicking on the link.

    Hot Key Screenshot is perfect for those who love computer games. It will quickly create a screenshot using the assigned key and save it to the computer in a special pic folder (located in the program folder). No installation required.

    This is not the first year I have been using screenshots in my work (for example, to maintain this blog), so I am sharing with you a modest, but still practical experience. I I recommend reading about all the solutions because everyone has their own unique advantages and by learning about them, you will find the most convenient way for yourself.

    How to take a screenshot on a laptop using PrtScrn?

    • For Mac OS X:

    The process is described in detail on macspoon; I see no point in copying it here. Thanks to the authors for the note :)

    • For Windows 8 and later:

    When you press two keys ( Win+PrtScrn) a screenshot of the entire screen will be taken, after which it will be automatically saved to the folder Documents/Images/Screenshots/ . Convenient, in my opinion.

    • For Windows 7 and earlier:

    Everything is a little different: pressing the PrtScrn key creates a screenshot, but it must be inserted into any graphic editor. For example, standard Paint. Open it, click CTRL+V(or "PEdit" - "Paste"), after which the screenshot will appear in the program and you can save it in a format convenient for you ( CTRL+S or “File” - “Save as...”).

    For all versions of Windows there is also a command: Alt+PrtScrn. It takes a screenshot not of the entire screen, but only of the active window (i.e., click the mouse on the desired window, and then press this key combination). Useful if, for example, you need to capture not the entire desktop, but only the contents of an open folder.

    How to take a screenshot using the program?

    If it so happens that you cannot take a screenshot of the screen on your laptop using the first method (It happens that you don’t have the PrintScreen key, or you just didn’t like this option), then there is a free program that I think is the best and I will try to show you, Why.

    Monosnap (Download for Windows/Mac)

    1. It has a built-in (albeit simple) image editor that automatically opens after you take a screenshot. Plus, you can load any images into it for editing (shading, cropping, markings, etc.), not just screenshots.
    2. This is the only free program that allows you to add shadows to the edges of an image. Not as beautiful as in Mac OS X, of course, but still. Yes, it doesn’t matter to some, but I’m one of those who appreciates such things.
      You can, for example, click on any image in this note: in my opinion, it looks beautiful with a shadow against the background of the site
    3. You can assign keys (or combinations thereof) that are convenient for you, with which you can take a screenshot of the screen on your laptop at any convenient time. For example, I take a screenshot by pressing PrintScreen, and you can set, say, the key combination CTRL+1, or some other one that you like. Standard methods cannot provide such flexibility. The following functions are available for configuration:

    How to take a screenshot of the browser screen on a laptop?

    If the previous 2 methods are so good, then why do I still suggest installing browser plugins? Because with their help you can take a screenshot of the entire page. Let's say we take a screenshot of a laptop screen with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels and want to “photograph” the browser window. When using the previous two methods, we will only save what we see ourselves now. What if everything you need doesn’t fit on the screen? This is where plugins come in!

    Compare for yourself:

    For Chrome/Amigo/Yandex.Browser/Nichrome/Opera and others made on the Chromium engine, excellent option there will be a plugin Nimbus Screenshot. Firefox is also supported.

    Conclusion

    I hope I was able to clarify the situation with the screenshots. I myself use the Monosnap + Nimbus combination, and I am very pleased. This allows me to prepare all the images for the notes on this blog, and for everyday needs these two solutions are even more sufficient.

    That’s probably all, but for you, friends, I wish to capture a lot of important and valuable things for you. Good luck! 🙂

    Well, proven folk wisdom does not age as quickly as our smartphones and laptops go out of fashion. “It’s better to see once than to hear 100 times”.

    We tried to explain to someone through correspondence how to set up WI-FI router? Then you probably understand that it would be better, indeed, for a person to see 1 time than to hear 100 times or read 100 messages! That's why many people ask how to take a screenshot on a computer.

    A few words of theory

    The word screenshot was exactly transferred into the Russian language from international English. It means an exact image of the user's screen, a screenshot. A shortened version of this concept, “screen,” is in common use.

    How to take a screenshot on Windows

    Actually, here are the main groups of solutions:

    • standard Windows tools;
    • online services that allow you to take a screenshot on a computer;
    • special programs.

    Method 1. Screenshot on Windows using system tools.

    If you look at the top left of your keyboard, you can find a button there PrtScr. The name of this button comes from English Print Screen- screen printing. Previously, by pressing this button, the printer would print the active screen. Now, when we click this button, the screen image goes to the clipboard. All that remains is to insert the image into some program from which it can be saved.

    Honestly, on a laptop, this button can be anywhere on the right side of the keyboard. Sometimes, as in the example below, for this button to work you need to start a button with it Fn(Functions - this is usually located on the lower left side next to the button Ctrl) and without releasing it, press the button labeled PrtScr.

    To action: press PrtScr, go to the Paint program, it is available in any operating system Windows and click “Insert”.

    You can access Paint through the Start menu → All Programs → Accessories → Paint.

    The Start menu differs depending on the version of Windows; the screenshot below shows how to open Paint in, because I use this particular operating system.

    In the Paint program you need to click "Insert" and our screenshot ends up here. If necessary, it can be edited using the program or simply saved using the button "File" and than "Save" or t.

    IMPORTANT. When you press just the PrtScr key, a screenshot of the entire computer screen is copied to the clipboard. When you press the Alt+ PrtScr combination, the active (selected) window is copied. If you use the Win+ PrtScr combination, the image of the entire screen is saved in the c:\Users\Username\Pictures\Screenshots\ folder. It can be easily found from the Computer menu. In the left column, click the “Images” menu item and then select the “Screenshots” folder.

    So, to take a screenshot on Windows means system, you need to press the PrtScr key, go to any image editing program, for example Paint, and click the “Insert” button.

    Method 2. How to take a screenshot on a computer using an online service

    It happens that a screenshot needs to be edited and it is often more convenient to do this using some kind of website than installed program. For example, let's take 2 such services. They are united by the general principle of how to take a screenshot. Press the button PrtScr(if you don’t know where it is, see the first method just above). We go to the site and click Ctrl+V.

    And, as we are advised, we press Ctrl+V.

    We see that the screenshot has been inserted into the site window. If you need to save it, then click on it, it opens in a new browser tab.

    Congratulations! The image is saved on the computer.

    So, to take a screenshot on your computer using online service you need to press the PrtScr, or Alt+ PrScr key, go to the service that we have chosen, press Ctrl+V to paste the image and save it to your computer.

    Method 3. How to take a screenshot on a computer using special programs

    It is worth saying that there are actually a huge variety of programs that allow you to take a screenshot of your computer screen. If you look at the Softportal service, the request “screenshot” returns 181 applications.

    Of course, each of them has its pros and cons, but often people use such programs out of habit. Once installed, figured it out and that’s it. There are especially powerful ones, even paid applications, which allow you to quickly not only create a screenshot, but also edit it. For example, you can add arrows, frames, and other effects.
    One of the decent and free options is the Joxi program.

    You can download it from the official website joxi.ru.

    After installation, an icon for this program appears in the taskbar. The first time you launch it, in the bottom right corner you'll be given the option to choose whether you want to capture the entire screen, a snippet, or other options. Subsequently, after clicking on the icon, you can select the area of ​​the screen that you want to save and after selection, the program looks like this:

    Notice the blue icon in the top right corner. By clicking on the small arrow on the right, you can select:

    Conclusions from our “screenshot production”

    If you make a resume, there are 3 main solutions that allow you to take a screenshot on a computer

    • Use Windows tools;
    • Online services;
    • Special programs.

    Here, as they say, who likes what and for what purposes. Try it, experiment.