How to capture a screenshot

Things look different on different screens, especially when it comes to the Web: your precise combination of computer or mobile, operating system, browser, browser version, preferences, network, screen brightness and many other factors can mean that a website looks different to you than it does to us.  So if you report an issue you’d like us to look at, we will often ask you to send us a screenshot so we know we’re looking at the same thing as you.

Windows 7 or Vista: using the Windows Snipping Tool

1. Go to Start > Search > type Snipping and you should see the Snipping Tool appear in the search results.  You may like to drag it to your taskbar so that it is always in view and easy to find in future.  Open it up.
2. You can now drag a rectangle across a portion or all of the screen – whatever you want us to look at.
3. If you’re making a screenshot of a website, please include the address bar which shows the URL of the webpage (e.g. http://www.yourdomain.com/specific-page.aspx).
4. Let go of the mouse button and your screenshot will be instantly opened in the Snipping Tool.
5. You can now copy it to memory (Ctrl-C),  save it to disk (as a PNG, GIF or JPG) or send it straight to us by clicking the email button on the toolbar.
6. You can also use the “pen” or “highlighter” buttons to draw attention to specific parts of the screenshot, before emailing.

Windows (any version)

1. Hit the Print Screen (PrtScr) key to take a screenshot of your entire screen, OR hit Alt-PrtScr to capture the current window.
2. Put your cursor in the body of an email, and hit Ctrl-V to paste the screenshot in.

Mac: to capture your entire screen

1. Press Shift-Command (⌘)-3.
2. Find the screenshot as a .png file on your desktop.

Mac: to capture a specific part of your screen

1. Press Shift-Command-4. The pointer changes to a crosshair.
2. Move the crosshair to where you want to start the screenshot, then drag to select an area.
   While dragging, you can hold Shift, Option, or Space bar to change the way the selection moves.
3. When you’ve selected the area you want, release your mouse or trackpad button. To cancel, press the Esc (Escape) key before you release the button.
4. Find the screenshot as a .png file on your desktop.

More tips for Mac users here.