Screenshots are great for saving on-screen information or sharing such with other people. You can take a representation of any information that interests you from your PC screen without missing the tiniest detail. This article includes a detailed guide on How To Screenshot On A ThinkPad Laptop?
It is also easy to take a screenshot, and you will learn how it works on a Thinkpad Laptop.
What are the Methods To Take Screenshots On A ThinkPad Laptop?
There are three options for taking screenshots on a ThinkPad laptop; you can screenshot the entire screen, an active screen, or a desired section of the screen. Keep reading to discover the different steps to apply in each case.
How To Screenshot The Entire Screen On A ThinkPad Laptop?
You can screenshot every piece of information on your screen, including the taskbar, in two ways;
Option 1: Press The Windows Logo + PrtSc Keys
To use this option, locate the Windows logo key at the lower left and the PrtSc between the Ctrl and Alt keys at the lower right of the keyboard. Press the two keys simultaneously, and the image will save to the pictures folder on your PC.
The location of the PrtSc key may depend on the laptop model, and you may find it at the upper right part of the keyboard close to the delete key.
Pressing the Windows logo + PrtSc keys is an easy and fast way to screenshot your ThinkPad laptop screen, but it may not be the best in some cases due to its limitations.
When you take a screenshot with this option, the system will capture everything on the screen and automatically save it in the picture folder, which you may not prefer. Also, you cannot review or edit the image before saving it.
Using this option also copies the screen to the clipboard so you can edit it with Paint or other third-party applications and save it in your desired folder, but you will save a duplicate copy of the image that way.
Therefore, it is best to use it if the:
- You want an easy and fast way to take screenshots without wasting time, saving them manually.
- You do not want to edit the screenshotted images.
- You prefer saving the screenshotted images to the picture folder.
Option 2: Use the PrtSc Key
Pressing the PrtSc is a better way to take a screenshot on your ThinkPad Laptop. It is best if you prefer to choose a different folder to save a screenshotted image or edit it before saving it, but you may spend more time using this option.
This method will only copy all the on-screen information to the clipboard, and you must paste it into an image editor like Paint before saving it to your desired folder.
Here are the steps to use this method:
- Press the PrtSc key at the lower or upper right of the keyboard to copy the image to the clipboard.
- Paste the image to Paint or other image editors and save it. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to do this.
How To Save A Screenshotted Image Using the Paint App?
- Press Windows + S keys to open the Windows search box.
- Type Paint in the search field, and click the Paint icon from the search results page.
- Press Ctrl + V to paste the image into the Paint interface.
- If you choose to, you can edit the image with the tools within the Paint app.
- Press Ctrl + S to save the screenshot, and you can click the File tab at the top left corner and select Save.
- Customize the file name and choose your preferred folder to save it.
- Click Save to complete.
Note that you can use a different image editor if you do not prefer using Paint. You will have the same result, but the process may differ.
How To Screenshot Your Current Window On A ThinkPad Laptop?
You may not want to screenshot your entire screen if you need to save information from a window on a split screen. Instead, you can use the option for screenshotting an active window.
To do this.
- Click on the window you want to screenshot to ensure it is active at the time.
- Press Alt + PrtSc keys to copy the window to the clipboard.
- Paste the image to Paint or your preferred image editor before saving it. You can refer to the section on saving a screenshotted image using the Paint app discussed above.
How To Take A Custom Screenshot On A ThinkPad Laptop?
You can save a part of your screen or an active window by taking a custom screenshot on your ThinkPad laptop. This method may not be the easiest, but it is best if you omit unnecessary parts of the screen or active window.
There are two ways of taking a custom screenshot on a ThinkPad laptop which are:
- Using keyboard shortcut keys.
- Using the system’s Snipping tool.
Option 1: Take Custom Screenshot Using Keyboard Shortcut Keys
You can take a custom screenshot using keyboard shortcut keys if your ThinkPad laptop runs Windows 10 version 1809 operating system or higher. Otherwise, consider using the snipping tool.
Here are the steps to follow if your laptop runs a compatible operating system version:
Step 1: Navigate to the section to screenshot.
Navigate to the part of the screen you wish to screenshot. This step should come first before any other because you can no longer navigate once you activate the screenshot tool.
Step 2: Activate The Snip & Sketch Tool
Press the Windows logo + Shift + S keys together to activate the Snip & Sketch tool.
The toolbar will appear on your PC screen with five options at the top of the screen.
The first tool is the rectangular snip which lets you take a screenshot in the rectangular form, while the next is the Freeform snip which can take a screenshot in your preferred shape. The following two tools are the Window snip and the Fullscreen snip, which lets you take a screenshot of your entire screen.
You can click the fifth tool to close the Snip & Sketch if you change your mind or you need to re-navigate to your desired area.
Step 3: Take The Screenshot
- Click on any tool you prefer to use from the toolbar.
- Click and hold on an area on the screen to activate the selection, then drag the mouse till you have selected the part of the screen you want to screenshot.
- Release the mouse when you have selected the whole area.
The screenshot will save to the clipboard, but you must take a final step to save it permanently to your computer.
Step 4: Save the Screenshot
A snipping tool notification will appear in the Windows notification bar at the bottom right corner. Click on Notification to open the snipping tool with the screenshotted image. Next, press Ctrl + S or click the Save icon at the top area of the window to save the screenshot.
Choose a preferred file name. Then select a folder to save the image from the Save As prompt, then click the Save button.
You can also refer to the section on how to save a screenshot image using the Paint app.
Option 2: Take a Custom screenshot Using the Snipping Tool
This option requires you to take a custom screenshot using the snipping app rather than the keyboard shortcut keys, as in the section above. It will not be necessary to go through these steps if your PC runs Windows 10 version 1809 or a higher version.
However, it may be the best alternative for you if your ThinkPad laptop runs an older operating system version.
Here are the steps to use the snipping tool:
- Press the Windows logo + S to open the Windows search feature.
- Type snip in the text field, and click the Snipping tool icon from the search results.
- Click on the mode bar beside the New button at the top of the window to select a preferred snipping mode – rectangle, free form, window, or fullscreen.
- Click on the New button at the top left of the window.
- Left-click and hold an area on the screen to activate the selection.
- Drag the mouse till you select all the parts you wish to screenshot.
- Release the mouse to save the image to the clipboard.
- Refer to the last step of the first option above for saving the screenshot permanently to your computer.
Conclusion
The four methods in this guide are sufficient to screenshot on a ThinkPad laptop, but your choice may depend on what you need. However, using the Snip tool offers more options than the other methods.
You can also learn How Do I Force Shutdown My ThinkPad?
