How to Take a Screenshot on a Chromebook

Whether you use a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, you’re probably constantly taking screenshots to quickly share information with friends, colleagues, or the Internet—and that’s no exception when you use a Chromebook. If you’re just getting used to one of these computers, you know that taking a screenshot is a little different from what you do on Windows and Mac. Fortunately, this is easy to do.

Screenshots using keyboard shortcuts

To take a screenshot of part of your Chromebook screen using your keyboard, press Ctrl + Shift + Show Windows . (This button looks like a rectangle with two lines next to it.) If your Chromebook’s keyboard doesn’t have a Show Windows button, or if you’re using an external keyboard, press Ctrl + Shift + F5 .

To take a screenshot of the entire screen, press Ctrl + Show Windows to capture everything visible on the Chromebook screen.

Some Chromebooks even have a dedicated screenshot key. If you have one, it looks like a rectangle with a circle inside, resembling a camera.

Screen capture tool in quick settings

Another option is to use the built-in Screenshot tool in Quick Settings. To use it, open Quick Settings by tapping on the time, then tap Screenshot.

From here, a toolbar will open that gives you the option to take a screenshot of the entire screen, a portion of the screen, or a single window. You can also record your Chromebook screen by tapping the video icon.

Where to Find Chromebook Screenshots

Once you take a screenshot or screen recording, it will automatically appear on your device’s clipboard. The clipboard will store the last five pictures you saved.

To see where the rest of your pictures are, open the Files app . For screenshots, open the Pictures folder , and for screen recordings, open the Videos folder .