How to Do a Snapshot of a Page on a Computer

Capture a screen shot to receive a snapshot of your page.

To take a snapshot of a page on your computer, you must complete a common function usually referred to as a screen shot or screen grab. Windows and Mac computers offer different ways to accomplish this task using keyboard shortcuts. Windows computers save the screen shot to the clipboard, so you must paste the image into a program to save it to the folder in which you want to save it. Mac computers automatically save the image to your desktop.

Instructions

Capturing a Snapshot of a Page on Windows

1. Select the program from which you wish to capture a snapshot by either clicking the window or the toolbar icon that correlates with it.

2. Press "Alt" and "Print Screen" simultaneously. The "Print Screen" button may be abbreviated to "Print Scrn," "PRTSC" or something similar.

3. Open Microsoft Paint by clicking the "Start" button in the lower left corner of your desktop, selecting "Programs" or "All Programs" and "Accessories," then clicking "Paint."

4. Press "Control" and "V" simultaneously to paste the screen shot into the program. If you want to save only part of the image, press "Crop" and the click and drag to create a box around the part you wish to save, then hit "Enter."

5. Click the disk icon in the top menu bar of Paint. On some versions of Paint, you must click the "File" option in the top menu bar and select "Save As" instead. Type in a name for the file in the "File Name" field and choose a file type from the "Save as Type" drop-down menu, then choose the folder in which you want to save the file from the options in the left pane of the "Save As" window. Click "Save."

Capturing a Snapshot of a Page on Mac

1. Press "Command," "Shift" and "4" simultaneously, then hit the spacebar.

2. Click the cursor, which now resembles a small camera, on the window for which you want a snapshot.

3. Open Preview, Mac's built-in image viewer, by clicking "Applications" and selecting "Preview."

4. Click the PNG file of your screen shot the earlier process created on your desktop and drag it into Preview.

5. Click "File" in the top menu bar and select "Save As." Choose the file type in which you want to save the image from the "Format" pop-up menu, name the file and click "Save."

Tips & Warnings

• These directions are based on Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6. Most screen shots look best in GIF format with an RGB color profile. In Windows, press only "Print Screen" instead of "Alt" and "Print Screen" to obtain a screen shot of the entire screen instead of just a page in one window. On a Mac, press "Control," "Shift" and "3" simultaneously for a snapshot of the entire screen.

References

• Microsoft Support: How to Capture Screen Shots
• Mac Basics: Capture Screen Shots
• Mac 101: Preview