What is the fastest way of capturing a screenshot?

a little program called snagit is about the quickest way I have seen. Honestly though it’s not much faster than printscreen directly to the clipboard then copy and save with paint.

Most recent versions of Windows has a little accessory called “Snipping Tool”. You can usually find it in your start menu. I love it and it’s by far the best screenshotting tool. I have it pinned in my task bar. The icon is a circle outlined in red with a pair of scissors. The cool thing about this is you don’t have to grab the whole screen.

You can grab custom sized shots of whatever portion of the screen you want.

Just pop it open and as soon as you click “New” on the mini-window that pops up, your screen goes opaque, and you can then click and drag a box around what you want to capture. As soon as you let go of the mouse button, the capture is shown in a new window and it has simple pen and highlight tools you can use on it if you want. Otherwise, just save it and you’re done.

If you can’t find the tool, just open your start menu and search “Snipping Tool” in the search bar.

I’m still using XP, and I love this one:

http://app.prntscr.com/

takes just a few seconds

mwsnap

free, works great, and much smaller than snagit.

It hasn;t been updated since 2005, but it works perfectly.

Fn + PrntScrn

I can’t imagine why anyone needs to install software to get a screenshot. This is a built in feature.

Thank you so much everyone. I didn’t add ”...without having to download anything”

I use a program you can download for free from here Once you start the program, it creates an icon on the bottom toolbar. To copy something, click on the icon and use you mouse to create a square outline around what you want. Once you click, you are given the options of copying to clipboard, saving to a file or printing.

@dappled_leaves Fn + PrntScrn That’s all?
@LostInParadise It is not about free.

Yeah, it might differ between computer models… if it doesn’t work for you, just google “screenshot” and your model. Someone will have posted how to do it. But it should just be two keys.

@dappled_leaves as an aside, if you want to post it here let’s say, how do you do it?

We can’t post pictures to Fluther.

I’ve been asked to post the screenshot of something I wasn’t describing adequately.

I use the windows key and the print screen button (same time). The folder it saves to is usually in the “shared files” section under photos.

@gambitking and @DWW25921 I got that done. Now how do I post it into an email attachment for example?

I usually crop it or resize it but you don’t really have to. Open up your mail like you’re writing an email. There should be a “paper clip” symbol in your email message somewhere. That allows you to upload your new screenshot. It should give you the option to “browse” and look for the file. Just click it and it should attack to the message. Sometimes, you can simply “drag and drop” your file into the email depending on what service you have.

@DWW25921 But in order to copy the url how do you remove the (cross?) from the Paint window? It remains there no matter where I move it to.

I don’t understand what you mean.

@flo If you want to save it as a picture, and you’re in Paint, go to File > Save As, then choose a name for it and pick whichever file type you desire from the dropdown menu (like .jpg). Then you can attach the file to an email, or post it to a site like Flickr, or share it however you wish.

The key thing is the cross thing.

Oh, you were in paint! That’s why I wasn’t sure what you meant. I use a free program by Pixarra called Twistedbrush open studio. I’ve used it for years… Here’s the link if you’re interested.

http://www.pixarra.com/download.html

I put screen shots here and crop out the bits I don’t need, resize or whatever.

DWW25921 I’m almost there I just want to know how to remove that cross. Downloading something new is not an option, I posted above before you came on.

I honestly don’t know. I don’t use the “paint” program. Ever. Sorry…

@DWW25921 thank you for taking the time.

@flo The “cross thing” is unimportant. It is simply your cursor in Paint. You can ignore it and save the image as I described.

@dappled_leaves thank you.

PrtSc is easy way to capture the screen shot, i don’t feel you require any software or app for it.

@archananair thanks.