How to Take a Screenshot on Windows, Mac, and Chromebook
Taking a screenshot is one of those things everyone needs to do, but the exact keys are different on every device and easy to forget. This guide covers how to capture your screen on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, and mobile — and then how to share that screenshot instantly with a link.
Windows
Windows gives you several ways to capture your screen, depending on what you need.
- Whole screen: Press the
PrtScn(Print Screen) key. The screenshot is copied to your clipboard. On many keyboards you can also pressWindows + PrtScnto save it automatically to your Pictures > Screenshots folder. - Active window only: Press
Alt + PrtScnto capture just the window you are currently using. - Select an area: Press
Windows + Shift + Sto open the Snipping Tool overlay, then drag to select any region of the screen. This is the most flexible option and works on Windows 10 and 11.
Once captured, you can paste the screenshot into any program with Ctrl + V, or open the Snipping Tool to annotate and save it.
Mac
macOS has a clean built-in screenshot system based on keyboard shortcuts.
- Whole screen: Press
Cmd + Shift + 3. The screenshot saves to your desktop by default. - Select an area: Press
Cmd + Shift + 4, then drag to select the region you want. - Specific window: Press
Cmd + Shift + 4, then press the spacebar. Your cursor turns into a camera — click any window to capture just that window with a clean shadow. - Screenshot toolbar: Press
Cmd + Shift + 5for a full toolbar with capture options, including screen recording and a timer.
Chromebook
Chromebooks use their own shortcuts, which can be confusing if you are coming from Windows.
- Whole screen: Press
Ctrl + Show Windows(the Show Windows key looks like a rectangle with two lines and sits in the top row). - Select an area: Press
Ctrl + Shift + Show Windows, then drag to select the region. - On Chromebooks with no Show Windows key (like when using an external keyboard), use
Ctrl + F5andCtrl + Shift + F5instead.
Phones and tablets
- iPhone (Face ID): Press the side button and volume up button at the same time.
- iPhone (Touch ID): Press the home button and the side or top button together.
- Android: Press the power button and volume down button at the same time. On most phones the screenshot then appears as a preview you can edit or share.
How to share a screenshot with a link
Taking the screenshot is only half the job — usually you want to send it to someone. Pasting an image into a chat works for some apps, but a link is more universal: it works in forums, support tickets, emails, Reddit, Discord, and anywhere else.
To turn a screenshot into a shareable link, upload it to IMGBS. Drag the screenshot onto the page, or paste it directly with Ctrl + V (no need to save it as a file first), and you get an instant link you can copy and share anywhere. No account required.
The fastest way: a desktop screenshot tool
If you take screenshots all day — for work, support, tutorials, or streaming — the manual capture-save-upload cycle gets tedious. IMGBS offers a free desktop screenshot tool for Windows that combines all three steps. Press a hotkey, select your region, and the shareable link is already copied to your clipboard. It can also record short GIFs of your screen. Power users can set up the same instant workflow with ShareX.