How to screenshot part of your computer screen
Lisa Du is director of ReadyTechGo, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology.
Screenshot is the term used to describe the action of capturing an image of what is on the screen of your device. You can screenshot on smartphones, tablets and computers
Why would you want to screenshot?
Screenshots are a great way to capture part of your screen for:
- Future reference, and saving part of your screen
- Capturing part of your screen so you can show/demonstrate something which is hard to explain in words
For example, let’s say you have an error message pop up on your computer screen. You may decide to call us for advice, but it may be difficult to explain what this error is.
You could take a screenshot of this error, and email it through to us. A picture is worth 1,000 words right?
Now, you might have lots of items opened on your computer, and only want to capture the error message.
Here's how to capture part of the screen:
This is a screenshot of the entire screen. However, I only want to capture the "Getting to know your iPad" section.
How to screen shot part of your screen
For Mac:
- On your keyboard, press "Command," plus "Shift," plus "4"
- This will bring up the tool - Then you drag the cursor to cover the area you want (Tip: I usually draw a square or rectangle, starting at the top left corner, then drag to cover the area of the screen I want to capture)
For Windows:
- Go to "Start" and then "Snipping Tool."
By capturing part of the screen, I can now email this image off to a friend!
What can I take a screenshot of?
- After I have paid for something online, I take a screen shot of the confirmation screen (until I receive the email confirmation)
- Error messages that appear
- Pictures of webpages
Were you aware of this trick?