How do I take a screenshot or record my screen?

Every platform has built-in capture that most people never learn beyond the full-screen version. Selecting a region and annotating it is what makes a screenshot actually useful for explaining a problem.

What you'll need

• Your device

Step by step

1. Windows: use Windows key + Shift + S.It dims the screen and lets you drag a selection. The capture goes to the clipboard and a notification lets you annotate and save it.
2. Mac: use Cmd + Shift + 4 for a region.Cmd + Shift + 3 captures the whole screen. Pressing space after Cmd + Shift + 4 captures a single window cleanly with its shadow.
3. Phones: press power and volume down together.On most Android phones and iPhones without a home button. Some phones also support a three-finger swipe or a gesture.
4. Capture the region rather than the whole screen.It makes the point clearer and avoids sharing the rest of your screen, which frequently contains things you did not intend to send.
5. Annotate before sending.An arrow or a circle around the relevant part. Both platforms include markup tools in the notification that appears after capture.
6. For screen recording on Windows, use the Xbox Game Bar.Windows key + G, then the record button. It works for any application despite the name.
7. For screen recording on Mac, use Cmd + Shift + 5.It offers screen and region recording with a timer. Recordings save to the desktop by default.
8. Check what is visible before sharing.Notifications, browser tabs, open documents, bookmarks. Screenshots leak more information than people intend.

Tips

• A screenshot of an error message is far more useful to anyone helping you than a description of it.
• On a phone, a scrolling screenshot captures a whole page rather than one screen. Most modern phones support it after a normal capture.
• Screen recordings are large files. Trim them before sending, or share a link rather than the file itself.

Common mistakes

• Photographing the screen with a phone — The result is skewed, reflective and hard to read. A screenshot takes the same time and is perfectly legible.
• Capturing the whole screen when sharing — It shares your notifications, tabs and anything else visible. Region capture avoids the problem entirely.
• Not checking what is on screen before recording — Recordings run for minutes and capture every notification that arrives. Turn on do-not-disturb first.

Questions people ask