So you want to save an image of the current computer screen? The image depicting the visible items on a computer monitor is called a screenshot or screen capture. There are many standalone applications which can help you take screenshots. Even Mozilla Firefox browser has several screenshot add-ons. But if you are using Microsoft Windows XP, you can take screenshots without using any of those applications. Wondering how? Just use Print Screen key! It is stupidly simple, quick and effective. Find below more about taking screenshots on Windows just by using Print Screen key.
Steps to take Screenshot in Windows XP without using other software:
- If you want to capture the entire visible desktop, Press Prt Sc key on your keyboard. And if you want only the active window or a dialog box, press Alt+Prt Sc (hold down the Alt key and press the Print Screen key).
- Now go to Start, open All Programs link, locate Accessories folder and click Paint from the drop-down menu.
- Microsoft Paint will start with a new window. Click Edit on the top menu and select the Paste option.
- Now the image of your full desktop or the active window will appear in Paint window. Click File on the top menu and select Save As option.
- The Save As dialog box will appear. From the Save in: drop down menu, select the desired location. In the File name box, enter a name for your screenshot. Optionally you can choose the image type from the Save as type box.
- Finally, click the Save button to save the image to the desired location on your hard disk.
That’s it. You have just taken a screenshot without using any additional software or screenshot application.
Screenshot using Print Screen:
When you press the Print Screen (Prt Sc) or Alt+Prt Sc key on your keyboard, Windows places the screenshot of the desktop or active window in the Clipboard. Once in Clipboard, you can paste it on any separate program supporting Copy/Paste. As we are yet to see out screenshot, we need to paste it to Paint. Using Paint is not mandatory. I mentioned Paint above only because it comes packed with Windows XP. You can use any image editor such as Paint, GIMP, Irfan View or even Photoshop. When we use the Paste option or Ctrl+V keys, the screenshot from Clipboard is loaded in the image editor. Then you can preview the image in the image editor window and if needed apply modifications such as cropping or resizing. The next thing to do, is to save the image.