Operating System: Windows

Here's a simple tip on how to take screenshots on any Windows computer, even if you don't have Photoshop.

1. If you want to capture the entire screen, press the "Print Screen" button on the upper right corner of your keyboard. Mine says, "PrtSc". If you want to capture only a specific window, click on the window to select it. Then press Alt+Print Screen. The Alt button can be found on either side of the space bar.
   
   
2. Open the Paint program. By default, it should be located in Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories.
   
   
3. In Paint, go to the Edit menu and select Paste.
   
   
4. If you are happy with your screenshot, go to step 9. If you want to crop your screenshot, select the crop tool and select the area you want to crop.
   
   
5. Go to the Edit menu and select Copy.
   
   
6. Go to the File menu and select New. It will ask if you want to save your changes. Select No.
   
   
7. Go to the Edit menu and select Paste.
   
   
8. If your selection is smaller than the page, you can resize the page by pointing your mouse on the bottom right corner of the canvas area and drag it to the size you want.
   
   
9. Select the File menu and select Save. Change the "Save As Type" drop down to JPEG.

How to Capture a Screenshot from Windows Media Player

To capture a screenshot from Windows Media Player, just follow the instructions above. The only thing to note is that you need to change the Video Acceleration setting.

To change the Video Acceleration setting, right-click on the top bar in Windows Media Player. That will bring up the popup menu shown below.


Select Tools > Options. Then, select the Performances tab. Slide the Video Acceleration setting to half way, if it isn't there already. Decreasing the Video Acceleration will decrease the quality of your video playback. It may also cause occassional freezing during playback, so it is recommended that you change the setting back to Full once you are done making your screenshots.