How to Take a Screenshot on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, and Android

Taking a screenshot is one of those things that should be easy — and on every modern platform it is, once you know the shortcut. This is the full reference: every shortcut, every gesture, every tool, organized by platform.

macOS (Mac)

macOS has the best built-in screenshot tool of any platform. The shortcuts below work on every Mac from 2018 onward.

The three core shortcuts

• Command-Shift-3 — full screen. Saves to the Desktop as a PNG.
• Command-Shift-4 — drag a region. The cursor turns into crosshairs; click and drag to draw a rectangle. Release to capture.
• Command-Shift-5 — the screenshot toolbar. Gives you options: full screen, window, region, screen recording, timer. This is the one to remember.

Capturing a single window

Press Command-Shift-4, then press Space. The cursor turns into a camera icon. Click any window to capture it (with or without its shadow — hold Option to toggle).

Copy to clipboard instead of saving a file

Add Control to any of the above shortcuts. For example, Command-Control-Shift-3 captures the full screen and copies it to the clipboard instead of saving a file. Then paste anywhere with Command-V.

Where screenshots go

By default, screenshots are saved to the Desktop with a filename like Screen Shot 2026-08-15 at 2.34.56 PM.png. You can change the location with the Options menu in the Command-Shift-5 toolbar (and pick "Other Location" or set a default in the Screenshot app in System Settings).

Scrolling screenshot on macOS

macOS does not have a built-in scrolling screenshot. The trick: open the screenshot toolbar (Command-Shift-5), choose "Window" or "Region", and use a third-party tool like CleanShot X or Xnapper for scrolling captures. CleanShot X is the gold standard; the free version handles the basics.

Annotating a screenshot

Click the thumbnail that appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen after a screenshot. The Markup editor opens with tools for arrows, boxes, text, signature, and cropping.

Windows (10 and 11)

Windows has two screenshot paths: the legacy Print Screen key and the modern Snipping Tool.

The Print Screen key (legacy)

• Print Screen (often labeled PrtScn) — copies the full screen to the clipboard. Paste into any app with Ctrl-V.
• Alt-Print Screen — copies the active window to the clipboard.
• Windows-Print Screen — saves the full screen to PicturesScreenshots.

The Snipping Tool (modern, recommended)

Press Windows-Shift-S. The screen dims and a small toolbar appears at the top with four shapes: rectangle, window, full screen, and (in Windows 11) freeform. Draw a region, and the screenshot is copied to the clipboard. A notification appears in the bottom-right; click it to open the Snipping Tool editor for annotation.

This is the path you want for most captures. It is faster than the Print Screen key and you can capture a region directly.

Snip & Sketch vs Snipping Tool

Windows has two tools with confusingly similar names. Snip & Sketch is the older app; Snipping Tool is the modern one (Windows 11). Both open with the same shortcut (Windows-Shift-S). The modern Snipping Tool has built-in text extraction (OCR) and a video recorder.

Scrolling screenshot on Windows

Press Windows-Shift-S, choose a region, then in the Snipping Tool editor click the "Capture more" or scrolling button (Windows 11). Older Windows versions do not have a built-in scrolling screenshot; ShareX (free, open source) is the best third-party option.

Linux

Linux is the most variable: every desktop environment has its own screenshot tool. The good news is the same tool usually handles scrolling screenshots and basic annotation.

GNOME (Ubuntu, Fedora Workstation)

• Print Screen — opens the screenshot tool with a region pre-selected.
• Shift-Print Screen — captures a region (you draw it).
• Ctrl-Print Screen — copies to clipboard instead of saving.
• Alt-Print Screen — captures the active window.

The built-in tool has "Grab the whole screen", "Grab the current window", and "Select area to grab" plus a 5-second timer. It does not have a built-in scrolling screenshot.

KDE Plasma (Kubuntu, Manjaro KDE)

Print Screen opens Spectacle, KDE's screenshot tool. Spectacle has full screen, window, region, and a "Take a screenshot after a delay" timer. It also has a "rectangular region" mode you can use to grab any part of the screen.

Flameshot (recommended for power users)

Flameshot is a free, open-source screenshot tool that works on every Linux desktop, plus macOS and Windows. The killer feature: a built-in annotation editor with arrows, text, boxes, blurring, and pixelation. Press the configured hotkey, draw a region, annotate, and save or copy. It is the closest Linux equivalent to CleanShot X on macOS.

iPhone and iPad

Full screenshot

On any iPhone with Face ID (X and later), press the Side button (right side) and the Volume Up button at the same time. On any iPhone with Touch ID (8 and earlier, SE), press the Home button and the Side button at the same time. On iPad, use Top button + Volume Up (or Home + Top for older models).

The screen flashes and a thumbnail appears in the bottom-left corner. Tap the thumbnail to annotate with Markup, or let it disappear to save to Photos.

Scrolling screenshot on iPhone

iOS does not have a built-in scrolling screenshot. The third-party options are limited because of iOS sandboxing. The common workaround: take multiple screenshots and stitch them, or use Tailor (a free app that auto-stitches screenshots).

Android (10 and later)

Full screenshot

Press Power + Volume Down at the same time. The screen flashes and a notification appears. Tap the notification to open the editor (Markup), or let it save to the Gallery / Photos app.

Palm swipe (Samsung, some others)

Samsung phones: enable "Palm swipe to capture" in Settings → Advanced Features → Motions and gestures. Then swipe the edge of your hand across the screen to capture.

Scrolling screenshot (Android 12 and later)

Take a screenshot, then tap "Capture more" or the scrolling icon in the editor. Android will scroll the screen and stitch the captures into one tall image. It works for most lists and web pages; some apps block it.

Common pitfalls

Screenshots that include notifications or private info

macOS and Android both have a setting to hide notification previews from screenshots. macOS: System Settings → Screenshots → "Show floating thumbnail" (toggle off) and "Save to" location. Android: Settings → Privacy → "Show clipboard content" (off) and "Hide sensitive content in screenshots" (some launchers). Always review the screenshot before sharing.

Screenshots that include metadata

PNG screenshots do not include EXIF. JPG screenshots sometimes do. If you are taking a screenshot for a sensitive document, save it as PNG to strip all metadata. The Uttir EXIF / Image Metadata Viewer shows what is embedded in any image file.

Scrolling screenshots that cut off text

Most scrolling-screenshot tools struggle with sticky headers, parallax effects, and dynamic content loaded after the page renders. The reliable approach: take a full-page screenshot using a browser tool (like Firefox's "Save full page" or Chrome's "Capture full size screenshot" in DevTools) rather than the OS scrolling capture.

Once you have a screenshot

Most screenshots need some adjustment before you can use them. Common follow-ups:

• Resize a screenshot for an email or document — Uttir Image Resizer handles this in your browser.
• Compress a large screenshot to share faster — Uttir Image Compressor runs locally.
• Crop out a button, dialog, or UI element — Uttir Image Cropper.
• Convert between formats (PNG to JPG for a smaller file) — Uttir JPG to PNG or Uttir PNG to JPG.

All of these run in your browser. The screenshot never leaves your device.

Bottom line

Every platform has a screenshot path, and the right shortcut depends on the platform. Memorize Command-Shift-5 on macOS, Windows-Shift-S on Windows, Print Screen on Linux, Side + Volume Up on iPhone, and Power + Volume Down on Android. That covers 90% of cases. For scrolling captures and annotation, add CleanShot X, ShareX, or Flameshot to your toolbelt.