Screen Shot

I have put this little tutorial for the people who are unsure on how to take a screen shot of their computer display to send to me to assist in the repair. There are 2 methods I recommend.

Method #1 – If you are running windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 – this is for you:

  1. On your keyboard, locate the Print Screen Button (usually found near the top right hand side of the keyboard). Depending on what manufacture of keyboard you have, it should say ‘Print Screen’ or ‘PrtSc’ or something close to that. Also locate the ‘Windows Key’ usually found beside the space bar on the bottom left hand side of the keyboard.
  2. Press the Windows Key and the ‘Print Screen’ buttons at the same time, it will take a full-screen shot of your display. When you do this, please make sure you don’t have any other windows or private information on the screen as it will capture that also. * Please note some newer keyboards, the Print Screen button is also the F12 button. If this is your case, to do the screen shot, you will need to press the ‘Function Key’ & ‘Windows Key’ & the ‘Print Screen Key’ *
  3. The picture will save in the ‘My Pictures’ folder under a directory called Screen Shots. When saving the file, please use your first and last name and this way it is easier to associate the computer with the picture.

Method #2 – This will work on all versions of Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 and 11 (except the Starter or Basic Editions). This feature is not available on Windows XP.

  1. To open the Snipping Tool, the short cut in located under Windows Accessories on the Start Menu. If you want a short cut or cant find it, click on the Windows Key on your keyboard, when you see the search bar, type in Snipping Tool and it should open it up.
  2. When the tool screen opens up, you should have 4 options under the Mode Tab (Free-Form Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip and Full-Screen Snip). The Rectangular Snip is the default selection.
    – Free-Form snip lets you draw any shape with your mouse. The area inside the shape will be snipped and saved.
    – Rectangular Snip lets you select a rectangular area, which will be snipped and saved.
    – Window Snip lets you choose a window to snip.
    – Full-Screen Snip snips the whole screen, with all windows included (except the snipping tool window).
  3.  To create a new snip, click the NEW button. Your complete screen will dim and then you can draw or select the area using your mouse. (If you have Full-Screen selected, when you press NEW, it will just capture everything without dimming).
  4. When you make your selection, a new window will open up with the area you selected. At this time you can Annotate the Snipped Selection. Use the pen tool to draw on it and makes notes. Use the highlight tool to bring attention to something. Use the erase tool to undo your markings on the snipped part.
  5. You must save the snipped picture before closing off the window. Click on the Floppy Disk Icon to open the Save Dialog box. Type in a name for the screenshot (Please use your first and last name). You can change the type of file it saves for different formats.
    – PNG File is the default for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. It’s a lossless compressed format, which means that it will take a high-quality screenshot at a small size. It is the recommended format for taking screenshots.
    – JPG or JPEG is the default format in Windows Vista. It is a lossy format, meaning that the screenshot will look slightly blocky and some colours may be a bit off. Its mainly designed for photographs, and not recommended for screenshots.
    – GIF is unsuitable for reproducing colour photographs, but well-suited for images such as graphics or logos with solid areas of colour, resulting in crystal sharp edges between colour areas.
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