How to take screenshots on different devices (Windows, iPhone, Android, MacOS)

It’s important to know how to take a photo or “screenshot” on your computer, phone, or tablet. Here are a few examples of why you would want to take a screenshot:

1. This can be helpful for anytime you need a record of what’s on the screen. Perhaps you need a copy of a purchase receipt.
2. It can also be helpful when you need to show a tech support person some error message or anything else you have a question about.
3. Screenshots are also very helpful if you are creating your own instructions for certain tasks. They provide a helpful visual when describing steps and processes.

Below are instructions for how to take a screenshot on various devices.

Apple iPhone or iPad

The Apple iPhone and iPad have similar methods of taking screenshots. For older devices that have a home button, you’ll press the power and home button to take a photo of your screen. For newer devices without a home button that use face recognition, you can press the power and volume up buttons to take a photo of your screen. The screenshots will be stored to your camera roll.

Android Phones

Some Android photos include a special screenshot app. For Motorola and other brands of phones, you can press the power and volume down buttons to take a screenshot.

Apple MacOS Computers

Apple computers have several simple methods for saving an image of the screen.

1. Full Screen. Press the Shift, Command, and 3 keys simultaneously and a screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
2. Selected Area. If you press Shift, Command, and 4 you will see that the mouse turns into a cross hair which you can use to draw a box around anything and it will be saved.
3. Selected Window. You can also press Shift, Command, and 4 then use the crosshair to point at a window, then press the spacebar to select that window. Then click the mouse on the selected window or press Enter to save the selected window.

Windows 10

1. Click on the Start Menu in the lower left corner.
2. Begin typing Snipping Tool and you’ll notice by the time you’ve typed a few letters the Snipping Tool app will appear.
3. You may want to pin the Snipping Tool program to your Start Menu and Task Bar. These options should be visible in Step #2 above.
4. Click on the Snipping Tool icon to launch the program. If you didn’t do so in Step #3, with the program launched you can right click on its icon in the task bar and choose Pin to Taskbar if you’d like to have it easily available there in the future.
5. The Snipping Tool offers various options. You’ll want to click on the menu options to explore what it can do. There are potions to capture a full screen image, select a specific area, or select a program window.