How to Copy a Screenshot

This wikiHow teaches you how to take a screenshot and paste it into a document, message, or post on a computer, phone, or tablet.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Using Windows 10

  1. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 1
    1
    Click the Notification icon. It's the square chat bubble icon that's usually at the bottom-right corner of the screen. If you have any notifications, a small number appears at its bottom-right corner.
  2. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 2
    2
    Click Screen Snip. It's at the bottom-right corner of the Notification panel. If you don't see the "Snip" option, click "Expand" to see more options in the Notification panel. An icon bar with three icons (and an X at the end) will appear at the top-center part of the screen.
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  3. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 3
    3
    Click the third icon from the left to capture the entire screen. It's the icon that says "Fullscreen Clip" when you hover the mouse over it. This copies the whole screen to your clipboard.
    • If you only want to capture a rectangular section of the screen, click the first icon (the one that says "Rectangular Snip" when you hover the mouse over it), then click and drag to select a part of the screen to copy.
    • If you'd prefer to draw a freehand line around the part of the screen you want to capture, click the "Freeform Clip" icon (the second from the left), then click and drag to select an area.
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    4
    Open the file to which you want to paste the screenshot. You can paste your screenshot into a Word document, into an MS Paint or Photoshop image, into the body of an email, and often into the body of an online post or message.
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    Press ⌘ Command+V to paste the screenshot into the file. This pastes a copy of the screenshot into the document or message body.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Using macOS

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    Press ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+4. This opens the screenshot tool.[1]
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    2
    Hold down the Control key as you select an area to capture. Click and drag the mouse to select the part of the screen you want to capture. Once you've made the selection, release the Control key and your finger from the mouse to save the screenshot to the clipboard.
  3. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 8
    3
    Open the file to which you want to paste the screenshot. You can paste your screenshot into a Word or Pages document, an image editing app like Photoshop or GIMP, into the body of an email, and often into the body of an online post or message.
  4. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 9
    4
    Press ⌘ Command+V to paste the screenshot into the file. This pastes a copy of the screenshot into the document or message body.
  5. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 10
    5
    Right click on the screenshot and select Copy. If you need to copy a screenshot after you first take it, locate the screenshot, right click it, and select Copy. You can then paste the screenshot into a document, email, or photo editor.
    • You can also select Duplicate after you right click on the screenshot to make a copy of the screenshot if you don't want to edit the original.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

iPhone or iPad

  1. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 11
    1
    Press the Power and Home buttons simultaneously to capture a screenshot. If you're using a model without a Home button, press the Power and Volume Up buttons instead.[2] This takes a screenshot and shows a preview at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 12
    2
    Tap the screenshot preview to open it. If the screenshot preview disappeared from the bottom-left corner of the screen, skip this and the next step.
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    3
    Crop the screenshot and tap Done. Cropping the screenshot is optional, but if you'd like to, drag the blue bars to surround only the part of the image you want to keep before tapping Done. This saves the image.
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    4
    Open the Photos app. It's the multicolored flower icon typically found on the home screen.
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    5
    Tap the screenshot to open it. It should be at the bottom of the list.
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    6
    Tap the
    iPhone Blue Share
    icon.     It's at the bottom-left corner.
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    7
    Tap Copy. It's at the bottom-left corner of the menu. This copies the screenshot to the clipboard.
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    8
    Open the app or file to which you want to paste the screenshot. You can paste a screenshot into any app that allows you to paste in an image (such as a messaging app, social media post, or email message).
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    9
    Tap and hold the place where you want to paste the image. A menu will appear.
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    10
    Tap Paste. This pastes the copied screenshot into the file or message.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Android

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    1
    Press the Power and Volume Down button at the same time to take a screenshot. While this is usually done by holding down the Power and Volume Down buttons for a few seconds until the screen flashes. Some phones and tablets have a different combination (such as Power and the Home button).
  2. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 22
    2
    Open the Photos app. It's the multicolored pinwheel icon typically found on the home screen or in the app drawer.
    • If you're using an older version of Android, open the Gallery app that came on your phone or tablet.
  3. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 23
    3
    Tap the screenshot to open it. If you're using Google Photos, a list of icons should appear at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Image titled Copy a Screenshot Step 24
    4
    Tap the Share
    Android Share
    icon.     It's at the bottom-left corner of the image. A menu will expand.
    • If you're using a different Gallery app, the Share icon may appear somewhere else.
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    5
    Share the screenshot in another app. It's not possible to copy and paste an image into a file, but you can share it using Android's sharing tools. Tap a social media or messaging app to share the screenshot in a post or message.
    • You can also share the photo by opening the app you want to use to share it with (such as Gmail or Facebook), creating a new post or message, and then using that app's attachment or upload tools to insert the image into a message.
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References

  1. ↑ https://www.macobserver.com/tips/quick-tip/macos-directly-paste-screenshots-documents/
  2. ↑ https://www.imore.com/screenshot-iphone

About This Article

Nicole Levine, MFA
Written by:
Nicole Levine, MFA
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 44,423 times.
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Co-authors: 8
Updated: March 13, 2023
Views: 44,423
Categories: Screenshots
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