A screenshot is a photograph of the screen that can be taken during any operations on

computer. For this purpose, the keyboard has a special “Print Screen” button. But where then can I find this picture, where are the screenshots saved? If you don’t know about this yet, then in this article we will tell you.

How the function and its analogues work

So, in order to take a screenshot, you just need to press one button on the keyboard. In this case, you will not be able to select a specific area, that is, the entire screen and everything that was on it when you pressed the key will be captured on the clipboard. To save a specific area of ​​the screen, it is wiser to use other programs that give you the opportunity to choose what exactly you want to save. For example, a utility built into Windows operating systems called “Scissors”. You can find it on your computer through a search, or in the “Standard Tools” section. How to use it? We launch the program, in the window that opens, click the “Create” button and specify on the screen the area that needs to be saved. Where are screenshots saved after these manipulations?

The answer is quite simple: wherever you point her. Immediately after selecting an area, the program will prompt you to set a location on your computer to place the photo you just took.

But let’s return to the “Print Screen” button and the standard function of saving screenshots. After clicking it, the file is not saved on the disk itself, but is only located in the computer’s memory. You need to go to any editor program, for example Paint, and save a screenshot through the program. What exactly needs to be done, and where are the screenshots saved in this case?

Where can I find screenshots?

If you are interested in the question “where are screenshots of Skype and other programs saved,” then this section is for you. Most often, the location of the files is in the program folder. That is, you need to go to the folder where it is installed (by default it is “Program Files”) and find the “Downloads” folder (or “Downloads”). Also, when saving images, programs ask where to save them. Everything is simple here; you can specify the location where it is more convenient for you to store the file. Please note that even if you took a screenshot of a program, but used the “Print Screen” key, you can only save the image in the way we discussed earlier. We hope that you have received the answer to the question “where are screenshots saved” and now you can easily find them yourself.

In the modern world, computer technology is so developed that not every user can understand it. Some people still don’t know about the existence of the Print Screen key and take pictures of the screen. In different operating systems, screenshots are saved in different places. This article will discuss where screenshots are saved on the Windows 7 operating system.

Saving screenshots in Windows 7

To take a screenshot of your computer screen, you need press the Print Screen key. It's quite simple. If you don't know where this key is, you can find it to the right of the f12 key.

To take a screenshot of only the active window, you need to click Alt + Print Screen key combination. Many users are unaware of this and take a screenshot of the entire screen. And then, in a graphics editor, they cut out the area of ​​the image they need.

Pressing these keys alone is not enough. After clicking them, the screenshot is already saved to the operating system’s clipboard. For those who don't know, the clipboard is an area of ​​RAM. It stores not only screenshots, but also other copied information. The screenshot will be recorded in RAM until other data is copied there.

What to do next? It depends on what purpose you are taking the screenshot for. If you need to send it to someone, for example, on a social network, then you can immediately copy it in the message entry line. This is available for all browsers except Enternet Explorer.

If you need to save it, or correct something in it, then you should open the built-in system graphic editor Paint, and copy it there. Next, you should save the image in the folder you need. Please remember that only one screenshot can be stored on the clipboard. Therefore, it is necessary to save it, and only then make a new one.

In addition to the Print Screen key, there is another tool that has appeared quite recently. It is provided on the latest versions of the Windows operating system. These are scissors. You can find it in the standard Start menu programs. If you are too lazy to look there, you can use the search by entering the word scissors in the search bar.

Instead of opening Paint and cutting something out in it, you can cut using scissors the screen fragment you need and save it. The image appears when you click the Create button. Next, the image of the computer screen can be sent to someone, or saved in the folder you need.

Other ways to take a screenshot in Windows 7

In addition to the methods listed above, you can use another one - special programs for creating screenshots. So why install any programs if you can just press a few keys and save an image of the computer screen. As a rule, they are used by those users who quite often need to take new screenshots.

The peculiarity of such programs is that the settings indicate the folder in which you want to save screenshots. You can also come up with your own key combination that is convenient for you, which will record the screen image to the clipboard, just like Print Screen.

List of programs that take images of the computer screen:

1. Magic Screenshot.
2. FastStone Capture.
3. Snageet.
4. GreenShot.
5. Fraps.

All these programs can be downloaded on the Internet for free.

Let's consider saving a screenshot in the most used Magic Screenshot program. This program weighs only a few megabytes. So there shouldn’t be any difficulties downloading it to your computer. The program has a fairly simple and understandable interface for any user.

To record a screenshot, you need to go to “Settings”. Then you need specify the following parameters:

1. The folder where the screenshot should be located.
2. Screenshot name.
3. If needed, a key combination that will perform the same functions as Print Screen.

Next, select the “Screen” or “Fragment” item, and then select the area of ​​the screen we need with the mouse. Then you need to click on the “Save” button. After selecting an area of ​​the screen, you can draw something in it, or make some changes to the images. We can say that this program contains the functions performed by the Print Screen key and the Scissors program.

If you cannot decide in what format to save the screenshot, then choose jpeg. This is the most popular graphics file format. It is least susceptible to distortion.

To keep your files organized, save all screenshots in one folder. And then, you won't have to look for the lost screenshot.

Where are screenshots from computer games saved in Windows 7?

Nowadays quite a lot of people are keen various computer games. The most popular of them:

Some gamers will save screenshots of games in order to brag to someone about their achievements in this game. Or, for example, they keep some of their own game statistics.

To find screenshots from computer games, you need to do the following steps:

1. Go to My Computer.
2. Go to the hard drive on which the game is installed.
3. Go to the “Saved Games” folder. It is located in your user folder.
4. In the My Games folder, go to the folder of the game you need.
5. Go to the Screenshots folder.

Screenshots from your game will be saved in this folder.

Now you know where screenshots are saved in the Windows 7 operating system and how to work with them.

In the modern world, people are surrounded by a flow of information that inundates us from the top of our heads to the soles of our feet. We simply need to instantly remember some part of it, and that’s what screenshots were invented for. In particular, the creation of such pictures is necessary when writing manuals and step-by-step instructions for something, playthroughs of games and when working with many other materials.

A screenshot is a picture that shows what the user sees on the screen of their device at the moment. This screen can be obtained in several ways:

• If an operating system or other program was involved.
• Rarely, but there are pictures taken using a photo-video camera.
• By intercepting the video signal from the device to the monitor (even less often).

The downside of all the above technologies that make our lives easier is that they are not always easy to use for people not related to computers, namely ordinary users with uncertain capabilities.

This article will talk about what to do when such a picture is taken? Where are screenshots saved? In particular, if Windows 7 was used.

So, we will gradually answer the questions asked. Let's start with the simplest option.

Where are Windows 7 screenshots saved?

The picture you see is saved when you press Print Screen. The file has been saved. Where to look for him now? Where are screenshots saved on Windows? And why do you need to look for it at all? The fact is that a screenshot is a temporary file that is stored in a place specially designated for it - on the clipboard. So what's important here? The important thing is that such files are not simply stored en masse, but are interchanged according to the principle of letting new ones go first.

And if you forget about it, you may no longer see the image of your screen at the moment. Conclusion - don't forget to save these images and always remember where the screenshots are saved!

How to take screenshots in Windows

This begs the question: “How to save screenshots?” If you look into this, then this is a very simple matter. To perform this task, you can use a program that is required in every operating system. This application is Paint. Where can I find it?

In the start menu, find the palette icon and click on it with the mouse. When we entered, we saw the “Edit” tab at the top left. Now the “Insert” function will come in handy. You've done it - found where the screenshot is saved. And now you can save your photo in any format in any folder.

What should those who do not use a Microsoft operating system do?

For those using Linux system

Here, as before, you can see that this is not at all difficult. With a minimum of effort, press the Print Screen key and, as it were, enlarge our image. And to your surprise, a dialog box immediately pops up where you can see your screenshot. The operating system itself insists that you name it and save it in the right place where it is most convenient for us. This makes your work more productive, and you won't just forget where the screenshots are saved.

How does this work for Macintosh users?

Now let’s talk about where screenshots of the Mac OS X system are stored. This is a fairly popular platform created by Apple these days. To store monitor snapshots, an application built into the OS is used, which saves the required image automatically to the desktop. There are several necessary key combinations:

1. SHIFT and 3+COMMAND - allow you to maintain full visibility of the monitor.
2. SHIFT and 4+COMMAND - saves the selected area.
3. SHIFT and 4+COMMAND -SPACE - saves windows as a separate file.
4. Screenshot Plus - Useful for all types of screenshots.

These were very detailed instructions on where the screenshots were saved and how to take them. In addition, you can press the Ctrl key simultaneously with the above combinations, and the screen will be saved to the clipboard. Subsequently, it can be opened in any program designed for image processing. All that remains is to select a folder, disk or other means to save the finished file. The method of saving pictures itself is quite simple, and you will probably be convinced of this after your first try. And finding where the screenshot is saved will take you a minimum of time.

As you can see, the process of creating screenshots in any operating system is not difficult. And which one is right for you, your work and other pastimes depends only on your needs, on how it will be more convenient and time-efficient for you.

Instructions for taking a screenshot of the screen and where to look for it later

Computer technology allows the modern user to solve many problems. We do not use all the functions of a computer, and we are not even aware of some of its capabilities. Today we will learn about how to take screenshots, in other words, how to save the image on the monitor unchanged, and also where screenshots are saved by default.

Why do you need a screenshot?

Often users find themselves in a situation where they need to take a photo of what they see on the screen, in other words, take a photo of the entire screen or part of it. In the language of computer technology, such a picture is called a screenshot.

Let's look at some examples of when and why a screenshot in Visibles 7 can be useful:

• You have encountered a computer problem and decided to contact support or the forum. Explaining everything that happens on the screen in words takes a long time and is not always clear. But taking a screenshot and showing the problem is the ideal way out of this situation.
• You are writing an instructional article on methods of working with a specific computer program. Images of work progress using screen prints are an integral part.
• You are a connoisseur of computer games and would like to “capture” interesting moments.

These are not all cases when it may be necessary to take a screenshot in which the image is saved.

First, let's figure out how to take the desired screenshot from your computer screen

A special key on a computer keyboard, usually located in the section with the Break and Scroll Lock keys, helps you take a screenshot of an image.

So, to take a screenshot in Windows 7, you need to decide what kind of image we want to get: it can be a screenshot of the active window or a screenshot of the entire screen area, taking into account all the windows that fall into it.

To copy the active window, press two Alt keys + print screen in order.

To create a screenshot of the entire screen area, press the Print Screen button.

After this operation, our image is temporarily saved to the device’s clipboard and the Windows 7 markup window and remains there for some time until it is moved with a special Paste command to another folder selected for it. It is advisable to save the image in the near future so as not to forget and accidentally erase the information the next time you press the print screen key.

Why are screenshots only on the clipboard for a while?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to take a series of pictures using the print screen button. Each new image will be replaced by the previous one.

Temporary storage in the clipboard is explained by the fact that this section refers to RAM, which automatically clears itself when the device is turned off or when a new amount of information appears when the command is used again.

To make it clear, we can draw an analogy with copying text into Microsoft Word. By copying part of the text in the program, we then subsequently paste it into another place in the document, and until the text is pasted it is impossible to see it in any other file.

What to do next and how to extract the resulting screen from the clipboard?

To further save the screen, you can use several programs that are available in Windows 7. These can be raster-type graphic editors, such as:

• Paint
• WordPad
• Adobe Photoshop

Or vector-type graphics programs such as:

• CorelDRAW
• ACDSee

Or a standard text editor that is available on any computer.

Paste the screenshot from the clipboard into the selected editor using any method. The simplest and most convenient ways:

• the Paste command in the program menu or in the context menu that appears when you right-click on the screen;
• one-time combination of Ctrl + V on the keyboard.

After inserting the screen into the selected editor, you can save the image without changes or optimize and edit it, for example, cut out a specific part of the screenshot using the crop tool.

Thus, the images are saved with the already received file in the specified format. If Adobe Photoshop was used, then this could be the JPEG or TIFF format, which allows you to store raster graphics with minimal reduction in image quality through the use of special compression algorithms, PNG or GIF, which support optimal image compression without loss of quality, and BMP, which also supports compression . However, for those purposes for which screenshots are most often used, it is more rational and best when the resulting image is saved in jpeg format. This format is the most economical.

If the screenshot was pasted into the Microsoft Word text program, the image will be saved as an inclusion in a doc or newer docx file. To preserve the original image quality when choosing this method, you need to know one trick. You need to save the Word file in html format. Next to the received file, a folder will appear with various additional file elements, which will contain images.

Screenshots, when inserted into one of the above programs and then saving the file, are by default placed in the My Pictures folder, located in the My Documents folder. However, you can independently set the path of the image to the desired folder or save it on your desktop.

Are there alternative ways to save screenshots in Windows 7?

In Windows 7, in addition to the above-mentioned print screen button on the keyboard, screenshots can be created with a special program called Scissors. When using it, the image is saved not only in the clipboard, but also placed in the Markup window of the program itself.

What is the main advantage of saving a screenshot in Windows 7 directly from the Markup window?

This is a faster and more convenient way to save than the same operation through graphic editors. In addition, in this window it is possible to create signatures and explanations for the screen

To summarize, it is worth emphasizing once again that screen screens in Windows 7 made using the Print Screen key are not automatically saved to the hard drive. After the button is pressed, the image is written to the clipboard - a special area of ​​RAM. Therefore, do not forget that you should save the image using any convenient method.

The magic Print Screen button on the keyboard will allow you to take a frame from a movie, computer game or any other necessary screenshot. A series of subsequent simple actions can seriously help in solving some tasks or problems.

Very often you need to show a screenshot to your interlocutor, friend or work colleague. Usually called a screenshot, this is an image ( snapshot), taken from the screen at a certain period of time. In this article I will demonstrate how to take a screenshot on a computer or laptop with Windows 7, 8 or another installed. The actions are identical for everyone.

Typically you need to take a screenshot when:

Now about how to make it.

How to take a screenshot on a computer

The easiest and fastest way to do this is to use a special key - Print Screen (translation - screenshot). It is usually located at the top right of the keyboard on both a computer and a laptop. The inscription can also be written in abbreviation - Prnt Scrn.

After pressing this key, no notifications will occur. The screenshot will be saved to the clipboard ( computer temporary memory) until you copy something else or press the key again. Then the snapshot will be “overwritten” with new data.

After following the steps above, open any image processing program ( paint), place the cursor in it and press the key combination Ctrl+V ( insert). The image will appear in the program. Then you need to save it, and then use it.

By the way, you can press the Print Screen key and immediately load ( Ctrl+V) images on social networks ( for example, in contact), without the need to use an editor. Below is a demonstration of how this happens on the social network VKontakte.

Screenshot of a separate Windows window

There are situations when it is necessary to capture not the entire computer screen, but only a separate window. In this case, third-party programs will not be required. Now you just need to do it a little differently:

1. Select ( make it active, in the foreground) window to be captured.
2. Press the key combination Alt + Print Screen.
3. Paste the resulting image into a graphics editor or somewhere else.

A very convenient and simple solution for creating a screenshot of the desired window.

System utility scissors

This utility was created specifically for creating screenshots of individual areas of the screen. It appeared with Windows 7 and is present in newer ones. Go to the start menu and find it. Or go to Start >> Programs >> Accessories.

After launching, you need to select an area on the screen and save the result.

This method will avoid installing third-party software.

Taking screenshots with a third-party program

The free screencapture program provides more advanced screenshot capabilities. Its functionality:

1. Uploading pictures directly to online storage.
2. Save to any location on your computer.
3. Built-in editor.
4. Setting up keys for taking a screenshot.

Download it and install it. After launch, a settings window will appear on the right where you can:

1. Select image quality.
2. Where to save.
3. Format.
4. Photo history.

And other settings. Perfect for those who do not have enough standard tools for creating a screenshot in Windows.

There are quite a lot of similar programs. There are both paid and free ones. I liked this one the most. You need to choose based on your own goals. Additionally, you can watch a video example.

I hope you don’t have any questions about taking a screenshot. If so, I’m always ready to answer in the comments.