Take a Screen Capture on a Windows or Mac Computer

Overview

This article details the steps to take a screen capture on a Windows or Mac computer.

Windows

  1. Locate the Print Screen key on the keyboard (PRT SC) (PRNT SCN).

  2. Press and hold the Print Screen key to take a full screen capture and save it the Windows clipboard.

  3. Press the Alt + Print Screen keys to capture only the selected, active Window and save it to the Windows clipboard.

  4. Alternatively, you can also use the Snipping Tool application to click and drag over selected areas.

To retrieve screen captures:

  1. Open your File Explorer.

  2. Navigate to the Pictures > Screenshots folder to locate all the screen captures taken using the Windows + Print Screen key combination.

Mac

  • Entire screen: Press the Shift + Command + 3 keys.

  • Part of the screen: Press the Shift + Command + 4 keys, move the crosshair to where you want to start, click and drag to select the area, and then release.

  • Window or menu bar: Press the Shift + Command + 4 keys, press the Space key, move the pointer over the window or menu bar, and then click.

  • Menu and menu items: Open the menu, press the Shift + Command + 4 keys and then drag the pointer over the menu items you want to capture.

  • Touch Bar: Press the Shift + Command + 6 keys.

  • Copy the entire screen: Press the Command + Control + Shift + 3 keys.

To retrieve screen captures:

  1. Locate the screen captures on your desktop. Screen captures are saved to your desktop by default. The file name is typically Screen shot [date] at [time].png.

  2. Locate the screen captures in the Screenshots folder.

  3. Use Spotlight to search for screen captures.

Additional Resources

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Contact Information

If you experience any issues following these steps, please contact the IT Help Desk by phone at 703-426-4141 or through the IT Help Desk NOVAnet Page.

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