What is a screenshot and how do I take one?

What is a screenshot?

Screenshots are pictures of "what you see on your device/computer". A screenshot can be very useful if you're trying to tell us about a problem you're seeing on your device/computer, since it helps us to visually understand anything you're trying to describe to us. Here are a few examples of screenshots:

How do I take a screenshot?

The process for taking a screenshot is different depending on what kind of device or computer you have. Below are the instructions for some common platforms (if your platform isn't listed, a quick internet search should tell you how to do it on your platform):

iOS Devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)

If your device has a "home button" (the main button on your device)

• Press and release the "home button" and "power button" simultaneously. The screenshot will be taken and saved. It can be accessed via the Photos app on your device.

If your device doesn't have a "home button"

• Press and release the "side button" and "volume-up button" simultaneously. The screenshot will be taken and saved. It can be accessed via the Photos app on your device.

Google Play devices

Android 4.1 and higher

• Press and hold the "volume-down button" and "power button" simultaneously for about a second. The screenshot will be taken and saved. It can be accessed via the Gallery or Photos app (depending on which version of Android you have) on your device.

Below Android 4.1

• Unfortunately there is no built-in way of taking screenshots on these versions of Android. There are a number of apps that will allow your device to take screenshots. You can download these from the Google Play store. Some are free and some cost money.

Kindle Fire family of devices

Fire Phones, and 3rd Generation and higher Fire Tablets

• Press and hold the "volume down" and "power" buttons simultaneously for about a second. The screenshot will be taken and saved. It can be accessed via the Photos app on your device, possibly in a folder named "Screenshots."

1st and 2nd Generation Fire Tablets

• Sorry, this is complicated (and, to be honest, might not be worth your time)--these devices came out before screenshot functionality became standardized. Please see this Amazon FAQ for instructions. https://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-tablets/ft-screenshots.html

Mac computers

1. Press Command-Shift-3 (in other words, hold down the Apple key ⌘ and Shift key on your keyboard, then press the 3 key), then release.
2. That should create a new file on your desktop. The new file is the screenshot. The file name is probably something like "Screen shot 2015-12-24 at 11.59.59 PM.png"

Windows computers

1. Press and then release the "Print Screen" key on your keyboard. (This key is usually located near the F12 key, and might be abbreviated "Prt Sc" or something like that.) After you've done this, the image is temporarily remembered in the computer's clipboard--you still have to paste it somewhere to make it more permanent.
2. Launch the Paint program, which comes standard with most versions of Windows.
3. Press Ctrl+V (in other words, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, then press the V key), then release. This will paste the image from the Windows clipboard into the Paint program.
4. In the Paint program, press Ctrl+S to open the Save dialog. Name the file, then choose to save it as a .JPEG or .JPG file (either will work).

Steam

1. If you haven't already done so, you must first enable screenshots in the Steam application. To do this,
1. Bring up the Steam application.
2. From the menu choose Steam..Settings.
3. The Settings screen will come up. Choose the In-Game tab.
4. Check the checkbox for "Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game".
   
5. Take note of the "Screenshot shortcut keys" so you know which key to press when taking the screenshot.
2. Play the game and, when you want to take a screenshot, press the "screenshot shortcut key" that was configured in the prior step. By default, this is F12.
   
3. Exit the game so that you're back in the Steam application.
   
4. Click on the tab for your name.
   
5. Click the "Upload screenshots" button.
   
6. The "Screenshot Uploader" window will come up. Click the thumbnail of the screenshot that you want to share. You might have to use the Show dropdown to find it. (Also, I'm not positive, but I think Steam may discard screenshots that are older than the most recent session, so you should do this as soon as possible after taking the screenshots.)
   
7. Enter a caption for the picture, check the checkbox if your picture might reveal some important secret that spoils the game for someone else, and then click UPLOAD.
   
8. Set your visibility options, then click UPLOAD. Note that you should choose Public if you want Spry Fox Support to see your screenshot.
   
9. The screenshot you selected should now be visible on the Screenshots tab.
   
10. Click "Manage screenshots".
    
11. Check the box of the screenshot you want to share, then click "Make Public".
    
12. On the Update Privacy screen, click Continue.
    
13. Your screenshot is now available on the internet. BUT, you still have to share the URL with people or they won't know how to find your screenshot.
    
14. Click the screenshot.
    
15. The screenshot comes up in another window. The URL is visible here. You can copy this URL and send it to other people so they can use it to find and view your screenshot.