Introduction

There are various instances in our daily computing life when we need to take a screenshot of something on the screen. It might be to share with others or as proof of something required later, such as an invoice, payment complete screen, etc.

It is very easy to take screenshots using Lenovo laptops, especially since they provide a dedicated ‘Print Screen’ key on their keyboard, generally abbreviated as ‘PrtSc’ on the keycaps. However, other methods are available on Windows computers from Lenovo that help you take screenshots of either the whole screen or a portion of the screen and even annotate them.

Let us take a look at these various methods:

Using Windows Snipping Tool

Microsoft introduced the ‘Windows Snipping Tool’ with Windows Vista in 2007. The tool is available on the latest Windows 10 and 11 operating systems too.

To take a screenshot with the Snipping Tool, you need to open the Windows Snipping Tool by opening the Start Menu and searching for it. Once open, you have four options for snipping or taking screenshots:

Free-form Snip

Draw a free-form shape around the area you wish to screenshot.

Rectangular Snip

Click and drag the cursor around an area of the screen to form a rectangle.

Window Snip

Click on the window that you want to capture.

Full-screen Snip

Click anywhere on the screen, and the entire screen will be captured.

Once you have captured the screenshot, it is automatically copied to the Snipping Tool window, in which you can edit it as well as share, save or even print it. You can also click on the ‘Copy’ button to directly copy the screenshot to the Windows clipboard.

Using Windows Snip & Sketch

Microsoft Windows 10 introduced the universal app version of the Windows Snipping Tool in the form of the ‘Snip & Sketch’ app. It has a modern user interface and intuitive performance. While Microsoft initially had plans to remove the Windows Snipping Tool for the more modern Snip & Sketch app, they merged both together in August 2021 for Windows 11.

To take a screenshot with the Snip & Sketch app, you need to open it from the Start Menu by searching for it. Once open, you have a button named ‘New’ to the top left corner of the app window.

Clicking on the ‘New’ button will darken the screen and provide five icons for snipping or taking screenshots:

Rectangular Snip

Click and drag the cursor around an area of the screen to form a rectangle.

Free-form Snip

Draw a free-form shape around the area you wish to screenshot.

Window Snip

Click on the window that you want to capture.

Full-screen Snip

Click anywhere on the screen, and the entire screen will be captured.

Close

You can click on this icon to close the application without taking a screenshot.

Once you have captured the screenshot, it is automatically copied to the Windows clipboard. You also receive a notification in the Action Center and clicking on it will open the screenshot in a new Snip & Sketch window. You can edit it as well as share, save or even print it using this interface.

Using Windows Shortcuts

In Lenovo laptops running on Windows 10 and 11, there are other options available to take screenshots apart form the ones mentioned above. If you wish to have a full-screen screenshot, simply click the ‘PrtSc’ button on your Lenovo laptop. It will take a full screen screenshot of your screen and copy it to the Windows clipboard. Once it is on the Windows clipboard, you are free to paste it anywhere as per your requirement.

Similarly, the Windows Snip & Sketch has its own dedicated screenshot button combination:

Win + Shift + S

Using this combination, you can quickly open the app without typing out and searching for it in the Start Menu.

Additionally, you can make the process even quicker by assigning the ‘Win + Shift + S’ combination to a single key: PrtSc.

To change the combination, follow the steps given below:

1. Open Snip & Sketch and click on the three dots menu to the top right corner of the app window.
2. Select the ‘Settings’ option and select the first option in the settings page: Use the PrtScn button to open screen snipping.
3. Clicking on it will open a dialog box asking you, ‘Did you mean to switch apps?’. Select ‘Yes’ to open the Windows Settings app.
4. Scroll down in the Settings app screen to find the toggle which says: Use the PrtScn button to open screen snipping.

Once you toggled the setting, you may have to restart your Lenovo laptop once to apply the setting. Later, whenever you need to take a screenshot, simply click on the ‘PrtSc’ button and it will open the Snip & Sketch app ready for taking a screenshot.

Conclusion

Taking screenshots on a Lenovo laptop is very easy. If you are using a newer Lenovo laptop running on Windows 10 or 11, you can assign the ‘PrtSc’ key on the keyboard to open the Windows Snip & Sketch app and take screenshots as per your requirements.

Lenovo keyboards usually have the ‘PrtSc’ key, whereas other laptop manufacturers generally assign it as a Function key wherein you would have to click on ‘Fn’ and some other key to which the ‘PrtSc’ key would be assigned as a secondary function. Such kind of attention to detail is what sets Lenovo apart from other laptop manufacturers.