Saving Screen Shots

When teaching, it is often helpful to insert a picture of the screen into your document. Here's how to take a 'snapshot' of the computer screen.

Take a Picture of the Screen

Set the screen up as you would like it to appear. Include any information you want the user to enter.

Hold down the Shift Key and the Command Key, then type the number 3. You should hear the 'camera shutter' click (if your volume is turned up).

Go to the Hard Drive. There is now an icon labeled Picture 1.

At this point it is a good idea to rename Picture 1 to something more meaningful. Picture 1 (and Picture 2, Picture 3, etc. as subsequent screen shots are called) quickly become confusing. It is also a good idea to move the file to the same location as the file it will be used with.

Double click on Picture 1. It opens in Preview. Print it if you like.

Take a Picture of Part of the Screen

Press Command Shift 4. Move the cursor over the screen. It will change to a +. Start at one corner of the box and hold down the mouse button and drag over the area you want. Now you have a moving dotted line outline. Release the mouse button.

Hint: If your screen shots or internet pages print a second page with just the rightmost inch of the first page showing you can get the entire page on one sheet of paper. Go to File, Page Setup and change the Reduce or Enlarge number from 100% to 80% and reprint the page.

Put a Screen Picture into the Clipboard

Press Command Shift 4, then press Control while selecting.

Take a Picture of the Selected Window

Press Command Shift 4, then press Spacebar

Alternative Screen Printing Options

To print a single window: Press the "Command," shift, 4, and "caps lock" keys simultaneously. The pointer should change to a strange icon that looks something like a donut with a dot in the middle. Click on the window you would like to print. (Your computer should make a sound like a camera taking a picture.) A picture file of that window will appear on the root level of your hard drive as Picture 1. You can print this file by double clicking on it and selecting "Print" from the "File" menu.

On a PC using the key combination Alt + Print Screen will save the screen to the clipboard. From the clipboard use Paste to paste the screen shot into your document. On some computer keyboards the print screen key is called prt scr. It is usually located to the right of the F1 - F12 keys on the top row.