How do I create a screenshot of my problem?

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 73566
  • Created:
  • Creator: Fabián Rodríguez
  • Comment: More accurate, complete instructions for Gnu/Linux. Still missing: Ubuntu Unity
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: heyjoni
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: Yes
  • Readied for localization:
  • Readied for localization by: user917725
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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.

Creating a screenshot on Windows

Once you have the screen presented the way you want for the screenshot:

  1. 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.
  2. Go to the Windows Start menu and open up the Microsoft Paint program from the Programs list (look under Accessories).
  3. Once Paint is open, click Paste and your screenshot will appear.
  4. 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

Creating 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

Creating a screenshot on Gnu/Linux

Once you have the screen presented the way you want for the screenshot:

  • On Ubuntu, click the Applications menu, go to the Accessories folder, and select Take Screenshot.
  • 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