How to do a Print Screen With a Compact Laptop

Extra keys such as "Print Screen" may not be on smaller keyboards.

Compact laptops conserve space by eliminating keys that are common on standard keyboards. The "Print Screen" key may be a casualty of this minimalism, but even some compact laptops---otherwise known as mini laptops or netbooks---still have it available. Contrary to its title, the "Print Screen" key does not actually print anything. Instead, it captures an image of your current window or screen and sends it to the clipboard. From there, you can open it in another program and edit, save or print the image.

Instructions

1. Check for the "Print Screen" key on your compact keyboard. This key often shares functions with another key and the label may be different, so it is not always immediately recognizable. Check for a key labeled "PRSC," "PRTSC" or a similar combination of letters.

2. Press the "PRTSC" screen key to capture your full display or press "Alt" along with "PRTSC" to capture the active window. If "PRTSC" is the lower label on a combined key, press "Fn" and the key to activate the print screen function.

3. Hold down "Fn" and press "Ins" to see if this key combination works for your mini-laptop if there is no "Print Screen" key. After you have pressed this combination to capture the screen image, open the Paint program by clicking "Start," then "Programs" or "All Programs," then "Accessories" and then "Paint." Press "Ctrl" and "V" simultaneously to paste the copied image. If no image is pasted, this key combination isn't valid for your laptop.

4. Visit your laptop manufacturer's website if the preceding methods do not work. Click on the "Support" option on the website, and then navigate to product support to find the user's guide for your laptop model. After you have downloaded the user's guide in PDF format, use the built-in PDF search box to locate "print screen" within the guide text. Follow your model's instructions for this feature.

Tips & Warnings

• On Windows Vista and 7, you can use the Snipping tool under the "Start" menu to capture screen shots instead of using the print screen command.

References

• Windows: Take a Screen Capture (Print Screen)