I noticed something last night and there are some here that are so knowledgeable about Win 11, I thought I might get some help here.
How do you do a screenshot in Win 11 of an app while it's running FULL SCREEN rather than Windows?
The new "print screen" app pulls up a little window to use to select what and how to "print". If you're running full-screen, it promptly minimizes the app you're running so you can't get the screenshot of what it is doing.
How do you do it?
Never mind - I found it - ALT PrtScn bypasses the window selection option and does it the "old-fashioned" way.
gergn
Member
To take a screenshot of a full-screen app in Windows 11 without minimizing it, you can use one of the following methods:
1. Use the Print Screen Key (PrtSc)
Press the PrtSc key on your keyboard. This will capture the entire screen, including the full-screen app, and save it to your clipboard. You can then paste it into an application like Paint or Word using Ctrl + V.
2. Windows + PrtSc Shortcut
Press Windows + PrtSc. This will automatically capture the entire screen and save the screenshot to the Screenshots folder in your Pictures library.
3. Alt + PrtSc for Active Window
If you want to capture only the active full-screen app, press Alt + PrtSc. This captures just the active window and saves it to your clipboard for pasting.
4. Disable Snipping Tool Triggered by PrtSc
If pressing PrtSc opens the Snipping Tool instead of capturing directly:
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.
Toggle off "Use the Print Screen key to open Snipping Tool".
After this, pressing PrtSc will revert to capturing screenshots directly.
5. Third-Party Tools
Use tools like Snagit, Greenshot, or ShareX, which allow you to capture full-screen apps without interruptions. These tools often provide more flexibility and advanced features for capturing screenshots. My personal favourite is the paid version of FSCapture. But it has an old free version, too.
These methods ensure you can capture a full-screen app without it minimizing or triggering unwanted behavior from the Snipping Tool.
With Win 11 - just plain PrtScn doesn't work in a full-screen application. Win 11 pops up a little window to let you choose still camera, video and a shape drop-down menu. It's the same as you see with Windows+Shift+S. That minimizes the full-screen you're trying to take a screenshot of! That does not work.
Alt-PrtScn does what I wanted - what you said -- your current full-screen.
I use IrfanView after that to save the clipboard.
Again - your first option does NOT work in Win 11!
gergn
Member
It works on my W11 24H2 laptop. When I press only the PrtSc key, the cursor turns into a cross. I also see that little pop up window, but I just disregard it. I move the cursor to the upper left corner, press the left Shift key, keep it down, and move the cursor to the lower right corner to get a full screen screenshot. Next, I can paste that with Ctrl-V in e.g. Word.
If I know beforehand I just want a full screen copy, I press the Windows and the PrtSc keys together.
If I press Alt and PrtSc together, I get the option to save the screenshot to One Drive. I disregard that and paste the screenshot with Contrl-V.
In practise, I use FSCapture. Because its behaviour is consistent in every MS Windows release. And I can use it to edit the screenshot. E.g. blurr or wipe things I do not want the viewer of my screenshot to see. And to add arrows and text and save it as a pdf, png or something else. With the resolution, number of colours, size, add texts, etc.
A combination is possible: press the Windows and PrtSc keys, open a new document in FSCapture and press the Import button. But using the small permanent FSCapture menu box is simpler. That FSCapture menu box itself is not part of the screenshot.
If I want just a part of the screen, OR I'm working in windowed mode, either just plain PrtScn or using Windows+Shift+S give the exact same result - the little snipping tool option window at the top middle of the screen.
The ONLY problem is when I'm in full-screen mode. Both PrtScn AND Windows+Shift+S give the exact same results -- that snipping tool option window. As soon as that comes up, the full screen app I've been looking at goes away (minimized) and I can't do the screenshot I need.
I am also running W11 24H2.
IrfanView has been my basic graphic product for years through multiple versions of Windows and it does have the editing features I need. It also has all the various save options. And - its free! I don't remember who recommended it to me but it had to have been at least 15 years ago.
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