How do I create a screenshot of my problem?
Revision Information
- Revision id: 119942
- Created:
- Creator: AliceWyman
- Comment: added 2 methods for Android, linked to take-a-screenshot.org site
- Reviewed: No
- Ready for localization: No
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A screenshot is an image of your computer screen or portion of the screen. On the Mozilla Support forum, we don't want people to be shy about adding screenshots. A picture is worth a thousand words and can go a long way to help explain a problem.
Create a screenshot on Windows
Once you have the screen presented the way you want for the screenshot:
- Press the Print Screen or Prnt Scrn or prt sc key (depending on your keyboard). This key is usually found in the upper right section of your keyboard. To capture only the active window, hold down the Alt key at the same time.
- Go to the Windows Start menu and open up the Microsoft Paint program from the Programs list (look under Accessories).
- Once Paint is open, click Paste and your screenshot will appear.
- Save your image as a PNG file, in an easy-to-find location such as your desktop
You now have a screenshot that you can add to your forum question by clicking the Browse button below the Post a Reply box.
Tools
- Microsoft Paint (included with Windows)
- Snipping tool (included with Windows 7, Vista, Windows 8 and Windows 10)
- Irfanview (Free)
- Paint .NET (Free)
- XNView (Free)
- More screenshot software
Create a screenshot on Mac
Once you have the screen presented the way you want for the screenshot:
- To capture the screen, hold down the command key, as well as the Shift key, as you press 3.
- To capture a specific section, hold down the command key, as well as the Shift key, as you press 4; then select the area you want to copy.
- To capture a specific window, hold down the command key, as well as the Shift key, as you press 4; then press the spacebar. You can then click on a window to capture it.
As a result, there will be a PNG file on your desktop, called Picture 1. You now have a screenshot that you can add to your forum question by clicking the Browse button below the Post a Reply box.
Tools
- XNView (Free)
- More screenshot software
Create a screenshot on Gnu/Linux
Once you have the screen presented the way you want for the screenshot:
- On Ubuntu, click the menu, go to the folder, and select .
- In distributions using the KDE environment (Kubuntu, OpenSUSE, etc.), KSnapshot
- In distributions using the Gnome desktop environment (Debian, Trisquel, Fedora, etc.), Gnome-screenshot
- In most other distributions, depending on your desktop manager, you may also use the Print Screen or Prnt Scrn key to capture your screenshot as follows:
- Print Screen: whole screen
- Alt + Print Screen: current window
- Shift + Print Screen: selected rectangle on the screen
- Ctrl combined with any of the above will copy the screenshot to the clipboard
You now have a screenshot that you can add to your forum question by clicking the Browse button below the Post a Reply box.
Tools
- Shutter is powerful screenshot tool available as a standard package in most Gnu/Linux distributions
- XNView (Free)
- More screenshot software
Create a screenshot on iOS devices
Once you have the screen presented the way you want for the screenshot:
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button, then immediately press the Home button.
- Your screen will flash white for a second and the device will make a camera shutter noise (if the volume is on) to indicate that the screenshot has been taken.
- The screenshot is now stored in your photos app for you to view.
Create a screenshot on Android devices
How to take a screenshot on your Android phone or tablet depends on the particular device and Android version but here are two common methods:
- Press and hold the Sleep/wake button and the volume-down button simultaneously until the screen flashes.
- If the above did not work and your device has a home button, press and hold the home button and the power button simultaneously until the screen flashes.
Afterwards, find the screenshot image in the Gallery app.
If you need more help with your specific device, you can visit an Android forum such as forums.androidcentral.com or see these articles:
- How to Take Screenshots on an Android (WikiHow)
- How to take a screenshot on Android (Android Central)
- How to take a screenshot on Android phones, tablets (PC Advisor)
More help
The take-a-screenshot.org website has instructions for taking a screenshot on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android devices.