Topic 8: Taking a Screen Shot

Taking a screen shot with Windows 7 is extremely easy and can be done two ways.  The first option is to copy the entire screen image to the desktop, and then paste it into a program (Paint, for example) for editing/saving.  This can be achieved by clicking the "Print Screen" key on the keyboard and the pasting in the program (CTRL + V or File-Paste).

However, with Windows 7  you have the option of using the "Snipping Tool."  This tool is accessed through the "Accessories" menu from the Start button at the bottom of Windows 7.

Once the "Snipping Tool" is clicked you're ready to go.  Your screen will dim to show that the Snipping Tool is the active window.  You now need to select the area you want to snip for a screen shot.  This is done by clicking and holding at the top left corner of the area you want to snip, then dragging to the bottom right hand corner of the area you want to snip.  Unfortunately, because the snip is an active screen shot tool it's impossible to show the drag from top to bottom happening, but the following screen shots are before and after shots of the snipped area.

Once the mouse is released a window will pop up of the area selected.  It is now possible to save the screen shot.  You can change the type of picture file that is saved, in addition to specifying where the file will be saved and the file name.