How to Use Print Screen in Windows XP

There are times you are looking at your computer screen and see something that has to be shown to someone else. This could be an error message that needs to be sent to customer support, a cool something that happened in a video game you need to send to your friends, or whatever that interests you and needs to be sent to someone. This is when the Print Screen feature can come in handy.

Instructions

1. Open the window you want copied.

2. Press "Print Screen" if you want to take a picture of your entire desktop. If you want a picture of just the window you opened then press "Alt + Print Screen."

3. Open the "Paint" application.

4. Choose "Edit."

5. Select "Paste." This will paste your screen shot into paint.

6. Save the picture as a bitmap or jpeg. Jpeg produces smaller files and is one of the more desired formats.

Tips & Warnings

• You cannot print screen during the bootup cycle or when video is playing in the Windows media player.