How to Take Screenshots on a Chromebook

Lee Stanton September 4, 2021

Working on a Chromebook is usually a breeze, as it has been designed to be compact and easy to use. This compact design however has changed what’s familiar to most. Taking screenshots, for example, are no longer done with the push of a button because the Print Screen key is no longer there.

This function, along with many others, still exists of course, and we’re about to show you how you can take screenshots on a Chromebook and show all the other useful shortcuts that your Chromebook has.

Taking Screenshots

Taking screenshots on the Chromebook may be done in several ways, either a full screenshot of the entire screen or a selection shot where you get to choose which part of the screen to copy. The steps for each are described below:

Full screenshot on the netbook – Press Ctrl + Show All Open Windows key. If you’re using a standard keyboard, this would be the F5 button.
Full screenshot on a detachable screen or tablet – Press and hold the Power and Volume down buttons at the same time.
Partial screenshot – Hold Shift + Ctrl + Show All Open Windows key. The screen will display a cursor that you can then click and drag over the area of the screen you want to capture. Chromebook takes a screenshot the moment you release your mouse button (or release your finger from the trackpad). Don’t release the button or your finger until you’ve properly selected the area of the screen you want to capture.

Once you’ve taken a screenshot, a small window showing the capture will appear on the lower right side of the screen. This is both to confirm that the screenshot has been taken and to show you how it looks like. You can then decide if you want to take another screenshot.

Screenshots are saved in the Files app on your Chromebook. This can be accessed by pushing on the circle icon on the lower left of your screen, then choosing files, or using the shortcut Alt + Shift + M.

Printing Your Images

Printing on Chromebook is quite different than printing on a computer or a normal laptop. Chromebooks use Google Cloud Print to connect to printers. If you have a traditional printer that doesn’t support Google Cloud Print, you’ll have to use a computer with Chrome installed to enable Cloud Printing.

If you’re printing on a Chromebook with a cloud-ready printer, all you have to do is to set it up so that your device recognizes it. To do this, follow these instructions:

Click on the lower right where the time is displayed. This will open a menu.
Choose Settings by clicking on the cog icon.
Scroll down and select Advanced Settings.
Now, select Printers.
Find your printer under the Available printers to save menu. Click on it.
If your printer appears under the Saved Printers menu then you’re all set.

For classic printers, you’ll have to set them up using a desktop or a laptop that has Chrome installed. To do this, go through these steps:

Open Chrome on your computer that has the printer installed.
Open Settings by clicking on the three dots icon on the upper right corner of your browser.
On the menu on the left click on Advanced.
Click on Printing.
Within the Printing menu, choose Google Cloud Print.
Click on Manage Cloud Print Devices.
Under Classic Printers, click on Add Printers.
From the list, choose which printer you wish to add then click on Add Printer.

This connects your printer to your Google account and can be used to print images by any device signed in to your account through Google Cloud Print.

Other Popular Shortcuts

See All Keyboard Shortcuts – Ctrl + Alt + /
Caps Lock on/off – Search + Alt
Open a new window – Ctrl + n
Open a window in incognito mode – Ctrl + Shift + n
Open a new tab – Ctrl + t
Close current tab – Ctrl + w
Close current window – Ctrl + Shift + w
Page Up – Search + Up or Alt + Up
Page Down – Search + Down or Alt + Down
Go to Top – Ctrl + Alt + Up
Go to Bottom –Ctrl + Alt + Down
Open the Files app – Shift + Alt + m
Show hidden files Ctrl +
Undo – Ctrl + z
Redo – Ctrl + Shift + z

Versatility Over Processing Power

The Chromebook is an affordable, compact, and stable device designed for those that prefer versatility over processing power. Because of its compact nature, some functions that have become familiar to most computer users aren’t where they usually are. Knowing how the different shortcuts to these functions work is essential to get the most out of your Chromebook.

Do you know of other ways to take screenshots on Chromebook? Are there other Chromebook shortcuts that you find useful? Share your thoughts in the comments below.