Where is the Print Screen key on a Dell laptop?

On most Dell laptops it is in the top row near F12, Insert or Delete, marked PrtScr or PrtSc. If it shares a key, press Fn with it.

Where is Print Screen on an HP laptop?

Usually in the top row near the right end, marked prt sc. If it does nothing alone, try Fn + prt sc.

What is the Print Screen key on a Mac?

Macs do not have one. Use Cmd + Shift + 3 for the whole screen or Cmd + Shift + 4 for a selected area.

How do I print screen on a Chromebook?

Press Ctrl + Show windows for the full screen, or Ctrl + Shift + Show windows for a partial screenshot.

Where does Print Screen save on Windows?

PrtScn alone copies to the clipboard on Windows 10. Win + PrtScn, and PrtScn on Windows 11, save to Pictures\Screenshots.

Why does Print Screen open Snipping Tool?

Windows 11 made it the default. Turn it off in Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard.

The Print Screen key: what it does and where to find it

The Print Screen key takes a screenshot. On Windows 10 it copies the whole screen to the clipboard; on Windows 11 it opens the Snipping Tool bar by default. It is labelled PrtScn, PrtSc or Print and sits near F12. Macs and Chromebooks have no Print Screen key and use shortcuts instead.

10 September 2026

What Print Screen does on Windows

The key no longer prints anything. It dates back to early PCs, when it sent the text on screen to a printer. Today it captures the screen, and what happens depends on the keys you hold with it.

PrtScn on Windows 10: copies the whole screen, every monitor, to the clipboard. Nothing appears; paste with Ctrl + V.
PrtScn on Windows 11: opens the Snipping Tool bar so you choose an area, window or full screen. The result is copied and saved to Pictures\Screenshots.
Win + PrtScn: saves the full screen as a file in Pictures\Screenshots on Windows 10 and 11.
Alt + PrtScn: copies only the active window.
Win + Alt + PrtScn: saves a screenshot of the active app to Videos\Captures through the Xbox Game Bar.
Windows 7: PrtScn and Alt + PrtScn copy to the clipboard. Paste into Paint to save a file.

Where is the Print Screen key?

On a full-size desktop keyboard, Print Screen is at the top right, just after F12, usually beside Scroll Lock and Pause. It may be labelled PrtScn, PrtSc, Prt Sc, PrtScr, Print Scrn or Print, sometimes with SysRq underneath.

On laptops it moves around. Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus and Acer laptops usually put it in the top row near F12, Insert or Delete. On some models it shares a key with another function, printed in a different colour. On some Lenovo ThinkPads it sits in the bottom row near the right Alt and Ctrl keys. If you cannot find it, look for any key with PrtSc printed on it.

How to use Print Screen on a laptop

Some laptops have an Fn Lock, often on the Esc key, that swaps the top row between function keys and media keys. If Print Screen only works with Fn, or never works with it, try toggling Fn Lock.

Find the key marked PrtScn or PrtSc.
If the label is a different colour from the main key label, hold Fn and press it.
On Windows 10, open Paint, Word or a chat and press Ctrl + V to paste the screenshot. On Windows 11, drag over the area you want in the bar that appears.
To save a file straight away, press Win + PrtScn, or Fn + Win + PrtScn on a laptop.

When Print Screen does nothing

It did work, silently: on Windows 10 the screenshot is on the clipboard. Paste it with Ctrl + V.
Windows 11 behaviour changed: PrtScn opens the snipping bar by default. To get the old clipboard behaviour, go to Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard and turn off the setting to use the Print screen key to open screen capture.
Another app owns the key: OneDrive, Dropbox and screenshot tools such as Greenshot or Lightshot can claim Print Screen. Check their settings.
Function lock: hold Fn, or toggle Fn Lock.
No key at all: use Win + Shift + S, which does the same job. The On-Screen Keyboard, opened with Win + Ctrl + O, also has a PrtScn key.
Remap a spare key: Microsoft PowerToys includes a Keyboard Manager that can turn another key into Print Screen.

Print Screen on one monitor only

PrtScn and Win + PrtScn capture every connected monitor in one wide image. To capture a single screen, press Win + Shift + S and drag over that monitor, or click a window on it and press Alt + PrtScn to copy just that window.

Print Screen on Mac, Chromebook, Linux and Android

Mac: no Print Screen key. Cmd + Shift + 3 saves the whole screen to the desktop, Cmd + Shift + 4 captures an area, and Cmd + Control + Shift + 3 copies the screen to the clipboard like PrtScn on Windows.
Chromebook: press Ctrl + Show windows for the full screen, or Ctrl + Shift + Show windows for the screen capture bar. With an external keyboard, Ctrl + F5 does the same as Ctrl + Show windows.
Ubuntu and other GNOME Linux desktops: PrtScn opens the screenshot tool, Shift + PrtScn captures the full screen and Alt + PrtScn the current window. Files go to Pictures/Screenshots.
Android: press Power and Volume Down together. Phones have no Print Screen key.

Print Screen for an entire web page

Print Screen only captures what is visible, so a long page is cut off at the bottom of the window. Chrome's own full page option is hidden in developer tools, while Edge and Firefox open a screenshot tool with Ctrl + Shift + S that can capture the full page.

The free NeoReader Full Page Screenshot extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox captures the whole scrolling page in one click or with its keyboard shortcut. You can crop, annotate and blur private details, then save PNG, JPG or PDF or copy it. Screenshots are not stored and there is no account.

To turn a pile of screenshots into one file, the free Screenshot to PDF tool combines them in your browser, with no sign-up.

Print screen a whole web page Free, no sign-up, private by default. Open the tool