A screen shot or screen capture is a photo of a desktop screen or window on a computer.  A screen shot can be of a web page, software application or even a mouse movement.  Screen shots are a great way to create instructional documents.

Capturing a Screen Shot

To capture a screen shot on a machine using the Windows operating system.  Press the Print Screen or Prt Sc key on your keyboard (located in the upper right hand corner of your keyboard to the right of the function keys).  This will take a screen shot of your entire desktop screen.  The size of this image depends on your monitor resolution.  Hence if your monitor resolution is set to 800 x 600 then your image will be 800x600.

Because this type of screen shot captures the whole screen, you may get sections you do not want, such as the task bar or other open windows.  To capture only the active window (window you are currently working in) press and hold the ALT key and then press Print Screen.

If you are using a machine with the Macintosh operating system, simultaneously pressing the Command, Shift, and number 3 keys will allow you to capture a screen shot.

 

Pasting in a Screen Shot

Once you have captured a screen shot using the keystrokes described above, the image is now saved on your Windows clip board. To place a screen shot in a Word or Microsoft Office application, simply Open the document you would like to place the screen shot in. Select EditàPaste to place the image into the file. The image can now be manipulated just like any other image in these applications.

 

Saving a Screen Shot

To save the image by itself, or use the image on a web page, you will need to create an image file such as a jpeg, gif or bitmap (popular image formats).  Open any image manipulation program, such as Photoshop or Paint Shop. 

If you are not familiar with these programs, Microsoft Paint (located under StartàProgramsàAccessoriesàPaint) works just as well. In the image program select FileàNew to open a new file.  Once you have opened a file, select EditàPaste to place the image in the file. The image can now be manipulated and cropped to your liking. When you are finished select FileàSave As to save the image.  If the image is going to be used on the Web save it in the jpeg or gif format.