Print Screen (often abbreviatedPrint Scrn,Prnt Scrn,Prnt Scr,Prt Scrn,Prt Scn,Prt Scr,Prt Sc,Pr Sc, orPS) is a key present on mostPC keyboards. It is typically situated in the same section as thebreak key andscroll lock key. The print screen may share the same key assystem request.
Undercommand-line basedoperating systems such asMS-DOS, this key causes the contents of the currenttext modescreen memory buffer to be copied to the standard printerport, usually LPT1. In essence, whatever is currently on the screen when the key is pressed will be printed. Pressing theCtrl key in combination withPrt Sc turns on and off the "printer echo" feature. When echo is in effect, any conventional text output to the screen will be copied ("echoed") to the printer. There is also a Unicode character for print screen,U+2399 ⎙PRINT SCREEN SYMBOL.
Newer-generation operating systems using agraphical interface tend to save abitmap image of the current screen, orscreenshot, to theirclipboard or comparable storage area. Someshells allow modification of the exact behavior using modifier keys such as thecontrol key.
Traditionally, inMicrosoft Windows, pressingPrt Sc will capture the entire screen,[1] while pressing theAlt key in combination withPrt Sc will capture the currently selected window.[1] The captured image can then bepasted into an editing program such as a graphics program or even aword processor. PressingPrt Sc with both the leftAlt key and left⇧Shift pressed turns on a high contrast mode (thiskeyboard shortcut can be turned off by the user).[2] Since Windows 8, pressing the⊞Win key in combination withPrt Sc (and optionally in addition to theAlt key) will save the captured image to disk (the default pictures location).[3] This behavior is therefore backward compatible with users who learned Print Screen actions underoperating systems such asMS-DOS. In Windows 10, thePrt Sc key can be configured to open the 'New' function of the Snip & Sketch tool. This allows the user to take a full screen, specific window, or defined area screenshot and copy it to clipboard. This behaviour can be enabled by going to Snip & Sketch, accessing Settings via the menu and enabling the 'Use the PrtScn button to open screen snipping'. In Windows 11, the behaviour of pressing thePrt Sc key is now pre-configured to open the 'New' function of the Snipping Tool as of 2023.[4]
InKDE andGNOME, very similar shortcuts are available, which open a screenshot tool (Spectacle[5] orGNOME Screenshot respectively), giving options to save the screenshot, plus more options like manually picking a specific window, screen area, using a timeout, etc. Sending the image to many services (KDE), or even screen recording (GNOME), is built-in too.[6]
Macintosh does not use a print screen key; instead, key combinations are used that start with⌘Cmd+⇧Shift. These key combinations are used to provide more functionality including the ability to select screen objects.⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+3 captures the whole screen, while⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+4 allows for part of the screen to be selected. The standard print screen functions described above save the image to thedesktop. However, using any of the key sequences described above, but additionally pressing theCtrl will modify the behavior to copy the image to the systemclipboard instead.
On theIBM Model F keyboard, the key is labeled PrtSc and is located under↵Enter. On theIBM Model M, it is located next toF12 and is labeled Print Screen.
| Esc | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | F6 | F7 | F8 | F9 | F10 | F11 | F12 | PrtScn/ SysRq | Scroll Lock | Pause/ Break | |||||||||
 | Insert | Home | PgUp | Num Lock | ∕ | ∗ | − | |||||||||||||||||
| Delete | End | PgDn | 7 | 8 | 9 | + | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ | 1 | 2 | 3 | Enter | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ← | ↓ | → | 0 Ins | . Del | ||||||||||||||||||||