On a PC there is a key sometimes labeled “Print Scrn,” “Prt Src,” “Prt Scn,” “Prt Sc” or “Prtsc” and is usually located on the upper right hand side of the keyboard. Regardless to the various abbreviations PC manufacturers use, they all stand for “Print Screen.”
The two most common questions or comments about print screens are:
- What is a “print screen” and what does it do?
- Why is it when I push the key on the keyboard nothing happens?
A print screen is where the computer’s operating system captures (in an image format) all of the items and open windows that appear on the computer’s screen(s). In Microsoft Windows, pressing print screen will copy this image to the clipboard. This captured image in the clipboard can be pasted in an editing program such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, or an image editing software. The pasted image is known as a “screen shot.”
In cases where you have more than one monitor setup, a print screen will capture the contents from both screens. In Microsoft Windows, pressing the “alt” key in combination with the print screen key will capture only the currently selected, or active window. This is ideally done when you want to only take a screen shot of a particular application or window, as opposed to all of the windows and applications that you have open and visible desktop items.
On a Mac there is no print screen key on the keyboard. Mac users can do a print screen and create screen shots by pressing combinations of the “Command,” “Shift,” “Control,” and either the number “3″ or the number “4.”
For an operating system that is supposed to be more “user friendly” it sure sounds more complicated to me. However, after a short while multiple times looking up the sequences, it begins to become second nature. Following are the default keys required to do print screens or screen shots:
- Command-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the desktop
- Command-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screen shot of a window and save it as a file on the desktop
- Command-Control-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the clipboard
- Command-Control-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screen shot of a window and save it as a file on the clipboard
On a Mac you can change and disable the ability to do any of the combinations listed above and change the default keys to creating print screens or screen shots. Additionally, I like the ability to create screen shots based on an area that you select using your mouse so it can be just a portion inside of a window. That particular feature comes in handy and is probably what I use the most.
