5 Simple Ways to Take a Full-Page Screenshot

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An in-depth guide to taking full-page screenshots of your computer or mobile device

Co-authored by Chiara Corsaro and Rain Kengly

Last Updated: January 24, 2024 Fact Checked

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Using Windows

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Using Mac

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Using a Chromebook

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Using iPhone or iPad

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Using Android

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Expert Q&A

Are you trying to capture a screenshot of your entire screen? Whether you're using a PC or Mac, you'll be able to save your screen's contents with a few clicks. You can even take a Scrolling Screenshot on Android or a Full Page screenshot on iOS. This wikiHow will show you how to take a screenshot of the entire screen using your Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPhone, iPad, or Android device.

Things You Should Know

On Windows, press "PrtSc". Open Paint (or another program) and paste the screenshot. Click "Save".
On Mac, press "Shift" + "Command" + "3". Find your screenshot on your desktop.
On Chromebooks, press the Screenshot key, or press "Shift" + "Ctrl" + "Show windows" key.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Using Windows

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1
On your keyboard, press ⎙ PrtScr. This can also look like PrtScn. This stands for "Print Screen," and pressing this button saves an image of your screen to your clipboard. This is similar to clicking "copy" on a picture.^{[1]
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Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

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- The button is usually in the upper-righthand corner of your keyboard, above "Backspace."
- If you want to take a screenshot of just your active window, hold Alt as you press PrtSc.
2
Open Microsoft Paint. This can be found in your list of applications. If you don't have this program, you can easily download it from the Microsoft Store.
- You may use any program that allows you to paste images, such as Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Word, but Paint is the simplest and fastest way to save a screenshot.
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3
Click Paste. This will be in the upper-left corner of the window, but you can also press the CTRL + V keys to paste.
- Your screenshot will appear.
4
Save your screenshot. Click the floppy disk icon to save, or click File and Save as. You can rename the screenshot and select a save destination.
- You can now view and share your screenshot.
5
Use the Snip & Sketch tool (optional). This is also known as the Snipping Tool. You can find this in your list of applications.
- Open Snip & Sketch.
- Click New in the top-left corner.
- Click the Fullscreen Snip icon. This looks like a square with four right angles in the corners.
- Click the Save icon. This looks like a floppy disk.
- Choose a save location.
6
Use ⊞ Win+PrtScn (optional). Depending on your device's hardware, you may be able to use this shortcut to quickly take a screenshot of your entire screen. Press the Windows key and PrtScn key at the same time. A screenshot will be taken.^{[2]
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Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

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- If you don't have a PrtScn button, press Fn + Windows key + Space Bar at the same time to take a screenshot.
- Locate your screenshot in the File Explorer → Pictures → Screenshots.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Using Mac

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1
On your keyboard, press ⇧ Shift+⌘ Command+3. This will take a screenshot of your entire screen. If you see a thumbnail in the corner, you can click it to make edits to the screenshot. Otherwise, it will save to your desktop automatically.^{[3]
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- Find the screenshot on your desktop with the name Screen Shot [date] at [time].
2
To capture a selected area, press ⇧ Shift+⌘ Command+4. This will turn your cursor into a small cross. Once the cross pops up, you can click and drag over the image as you wish to save.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
3
To capture a window, press ⇧ Shift+⌘ Command+4+Space bar. The cursor will change into a camera icon. Click the window or menu to take a screenshot.
- If you want to cancel, press the Esc key.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Using a Chromebook

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1
Press the Screenshot key. This looks like a camera.^{[4]
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- If you don't have the Screenshot key, skip to the next step.
2
Press ⇧ Shift+Ctrl + Show windows key. The Show windows key looks like a square with two vertical lines on the right side.
- If you don't have the Show windows key, skip to the next step.
F5 can be found at the top row of the keyboard.
This will be in the menu at the bottom of the screen.
5
Click Take a full screen screenshot. The screenshot will be taken.
- Find your screenshots in your Downloads folder.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Using iPhone or iPad

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1
Press the Side button and Volume Up button at the same time. With most devices, this will take a screenshot.
- iPhones with a Home button: press the Home button and Side button.
- iPads with a Home button: press the Home button and Top button.
- Other iPad models: press the Top button and either Volume button.
- Full page screenshots on iOS can only be saved as a PDF document.
This will be in the corner of the screen.
This will be the tab next to Screen. If you don't see this option, you'll need to update your iOS version.
You can find this in the top-left corner. A pop-up menu will open.
You can choose a new save destination; otherwise, it will automatically be saved to Downloads.
You can now find your full page screenshot in the Files app.

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Using Android

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1
Press the Power button and Volume down button. This will take a scrolling screenshot.
- This method will only work on devices running Android 12 and newer, so be sure to check your version.^{[5]
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This will be at the bottom.
Make sure everything you want to screenshot is within the crop guidelines.
4
Tap Save. This will be in the top-left corner.
- You can find your screenshots in the Screenshots folder of your Gallery.

Expert Q&A

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Question

Why are there two shortcuts for taking screenshots on Macs?

Chiara Corsaro
Phone & Computer Repair Technician
Chiara Corsaro is the General Manager and Apple Certified Mac & iOS Technician for macVolks, Inc., an Apple Authorized Service Provider located in the San Francisco Bay Area. macVolks, Inc. was founded in 1990, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A+ rating, and is part of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN).

Chiara Corsaro

Phone & Computer Repair Technician

Expert Answer

One of them is for the entire screen, and the other is for taking smaller screenshots of a specific area. Shift + 3 is for the whole screen, and Shift + 4 is for taking screenshots of part of the screen.

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Question

When printing the puzzle, the print too small. How do I enlarge?

Community Answer

Look for the same picture, but in a different size if you found it off of the internet. If you made the image, you can just try to remake it larger.

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Question

On the iPad, how can I copy an entire screen to a file?

Community Answer

Take a screenshot and send the image to a desktop or laptop computer. Then, email the photo back to the iPad.

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