Printing a Screen without the Print Screen Key

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 11, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


Steven wonders if there is a way to do a Print Screen when you don't have a Print Screen key. He is legally blind and uses a very helpful keyboard with large keys. The keyboard, however, to implement the large keys required the sacrifice of the Print Screen key; it just isn't on the keyboard.

This is more of a Windows-based question than a Word-based question, so any answers could be done outside of Word entirely. There are two approaches you could use. One involves using a rather esoteric feature in Windows—the on-screen keyboard. You can learn more about the keyboard here:

https://tips.net/T11563

Basically, it puts a keyboard on your screen, one that includes the Print Screen key that is missing from the physical keyboard. You could then use your mouse to click on the Print Screen key that is, well, on screen.

The second approach is to use some sort of utility in Windows to do the screen capture for you. For instance, you might install a "key mapper" program that allows you to remap your keyboard. This would allow you to assign the task normally done by the Print Screen key to a different key that does exist on your keyboard. There are any number of such programs available; a quick search on the Web will locate them for you.

Of course, you may want to simply use the utility built into Windows. You can use the built-in Snip & Sketch tool (it used to be called the Snipping tool) which can grab screens quite easily. The quickest way to pull up the utility is by pressing the Windows key and, while holding it down, press Shift+S. It may take you a bit of detective work to figure out how to use Snip & Sketch, but the same could be said for any other utility you might choose.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13723) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Seeing Full File Names in the Files Menu

Wouldn't it be great if you could look at the files in the MRU list and see the full path and file names? Excel condenses ...

Discover More

Adding Drop Shadows to Cells

Want to draw attention to what is in a cell? What better way than to add a drop shadow to that cell! Here's how you can ...

Discover More

Disabling the Insert Key

Tap the Insert key and you can start overwriting information already in a cell. If you don't want to do this, one way to ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Avoiding the Update Links Message

Word allows you to establish links from one document to another. When you open a document containing these links, you may ...

Discover More

Shortcut for Show/Hide

Hate to take your hands off the keyboard? Here's a handy keyboard shortcut you can use to display (or not display) the ...

Discover More

Ruler Disappears when Entire Document Selected

The rulers in Word can be quite helpful when formatting your document. The rulers may not be displayed all the time, ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 8 - 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.