How to Save and Print Your Computer Screen

The "Print Screen" button on a keyboard seems pretty obvious right? Well why does nothing happen when I press the button, like print? The print screen button was around before personal computers, when terminals connected to main frame systems and the key printed the lines of text that appeared on the screen. It's still possible to print the what's displayed on your Windows computer, but a few extra steps are required.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Printer

Instructions

1. Arrange the screen the way you want it to appear in the print out. Press the "Print Screen" key on your keyboard.

2. Open the "Start" menu and type "Paint" into the search box. Click on the MS Paint shortcut that appears. Any other image editing program will also work.

3. Press the "Ctrl" and "V" keys to paste the screen shot into Paint. Click "OK" to enlarge the canvas. Press the "Ctrl" and "P" keys to print.

4. Select the appropriate options from the Print window. Click the "Print" button.

Tips & Warnings

• I've found Paint to be the best program to use, Photoshop will not paste the image every time.

• This is a great tool to write eHow article, especially about how to do something on the computer.

• This is more effective than taking a Polaroid.

References

• Washington State University: Capturing a Screen Shot