How to Screenshot on Dell Laptop or Desktop

The Dell company been around for over a decade, making some of the best devices out there.

Dell laptops and desktops are robust workhorses, and they work without flaws most of the time. So, if you have a newly acquired Dell computer, then you might be wondering how to take screenshots on it.

Fortunately, taking a screenshot on an Dell desktop or laptop is a walk in the park, and we are going to show you how to do it now.

How to Screenshot on Dell Laptop or Desktop

Whether you have a Dell XPS or Dell Inspiron laptop, it runs on either Windows or Chrome Operating Systems.

Therefore, taking screenshots on Dell will always be a quite straightforward process regardless of the Operating System you use (yes, including good old Windows XP if you are still using it).

There are three main ways to take a screenshot on a Dell devices, and we are going to show you them all!

Method 1: Use the Print Screen Key

The most basic way to take a screenshot on your Dell device is to use the separate print screen key. You can find this shortcut key on your keyboard, also known as the PRTSC Key. 

Every simple keyboard has the print screen key, and you can use it to take a screenshot on a Dell like this:

  1. Go to the active window you want to screenshot on your Dell laptop or desktop computer;
  2. Press the PRTSC Key (Print Screen key) one time. A screenshot of your entire screen will be taken and automatically copied to your computer’s clipboard;
  3. Open an image editing program. You can use any tool, such as Paint or Photoshop;
  4. Here, select “Paste” and the image will be pasted on the white overlay of the program;
  5. At last, select the Save icon, and choose the image file (PNG or JPEG file) and the screenshots folder where you want your captured screenshot go.

Method 2: Use the Windows Key + Shift + S Shortcut

The previous method is really useful, but it just takes screenshots of your whole computer screen. If you don’t want to take a screenshot of your entire screen, and instead you need partial screenshots, then you need to follow another alternative.

  1. Go to the window where you want to capture the partial screen;
  2. On your keyboard, select the Windows Key + Shift + S;
  3. Select the desired area on this single window that you want to capture using the pointed cursor of your mouse;
  4. Open an image editing tool, whichever you want, and press CTRL + V to paste the screenshot;
  5. Go to the Save option and save the screenshot wherever you want!

Method 3: Use the Windows Snipping Tool

Last but not least, Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10 users have access to the built-in Windows Snipping Tool.

You don’t need to download the the Snipping tool – it is already integrated into the start menu of your Windows computer. Therefore, in order to use it, you just need to do the following:

  1. Click Windows logo to open the Windows Menu and look for the Window Snipping Tool. You can use the search bar to find it if you must;
  2. Open the app, and select “New” from the toolbar at the top row of the app.

Here, you will have multiple options:

  • Window Snip, where you can take a screenshot of your active Window and scrolling screen;
  • Free-form Snip, which allows you to take screenshots in free-form mode;
  • Full-screen snip captures, which take pictures of the whole screen;
  • Rectangular Snip, which allows you to make a rectangular outline of your portioned screen using your crosshair cursor;
  1. Take the screenshot with the tool, and it will be automatically saved to your documents.

Do You Need Third-Party Applications to Take Full-Screen Capture on Dell?

Not necessarily. There are third-party apps that include a camera icon or recorder icon where screenshotting and video grabbing are possible.

Nonetheless, for practical purposes, you don’t necessarily need to download them in order to take a screenshot.

Thankfully, Dell computers are already equipped with the aforementioned options, which means that taking a screenshot is something rather elementary that doesn’t need an extra step whatsoever.

Where Does Dell Laptop Save Screenshots?

Depending on how you take the screenshot on your Dell device, you have two ways to check where captured screenshots go:

  1. If you take a screen shot by using shortcuts or the PRTSCR key, then you are the one who decides where to find screenshots. Since you use image software to save them after pasting them, you will be able to access them by opening the desired folder you chose;
  2. If you take a screen shot using the Snipping Tool, you must go to the screenshot, open File Location, and it will most likely be placed in a folder named Screenshots.

Either way, most times you will be able to find saved all your screenshots in the My Documents folders. Now you can go ahead and enhance them with your favorite image editor.

How to Delete Dell Screenshots

Last but not least, you can delete those screenshots that were mistakenly saved or erroneously taken.

  1. Open the pictures folder where you decided to save the screenshots;
  2. Locate the screenshot you want to delete;
  3. Press the Delete key, or right-click on the screenshot and select the Delete option.

The files will be moved to the Trash Folder, where you can later entirely delete them by trashing them all out.

That’s all! To recap, in this article, you learned about:

  • How to screenshot on a Dell laptop, desktop & tablet;
  • Different ways to capture screenshots on a Dell computer & save them in desired location;
  • What to know about screenshots on Dell laptops.

FAQ

How to Take a Screenshot on an Dell Laptop Without Print Screen Button?

You have two options here: use the Windows + S + Shift shortcut, or use the Windows Snipping Tool. Both of these alternatives do not require you to use the Print Screen key, so you will be good to go!

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