I screenshot stuff. A lot. And it was only last week that I realised I’d been doing it all wrong.
Since the Windows 10 Creators Update rolled out a few months ago, users have had access to a new keyboard shortcut. That might not sound sexy, but once you realise exactly how damn useful it is if you screenshot a hell of a lot of stuff, you’ll change your mind.
Pressing the Windows key, Shift, and S simultaneously is a shortcut straight into Windows 10’s Snipping Tool, the screenshotting tool that’s been available as a far, far superior alternative to a simple Print Screen since Windows Vista. If you screenshot a lot, you’ll like this.
Now, this still isn’t quite as versatile as macOS’s Command key, Shift, and 3 (or 4) which will automatically capture a portion of the desktop or active window, and then save it straight to the desktop for you to share, but it’s 90 per cent of the way there. And if you’re screenshotting stuff to send it straight to Twitter or Hipchat or Messenger or email like I am, you don’t need that desktop save in the first place.
For what it’s worth, there are a few other hotkeys to keep in mind for your screenshotting needs as well: when you have Snipping Tool open in the background, Ctrl+Print Screen will bring it straight up and activate it. Alt+N will give you another go if you muck it up. And, of course, that ol’ reliable Ctrl+S will save the results of your labor. [Windows]