Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Capturing a Screen.

Capturing a Screen

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 17, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007 and 2010


10

There may be times when you need to include a screen shot within your Word document. The easiest way to do this is as follows:

  1. Set up your screen to look the way you want it to.
  2. Press the PrintScreen key. This copies the whole screen to the Clipboard.
  3. Position the insertion point in the document where you want the screen capture inserted.
  4. Press Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the Clipboard.

This action results in the entire screen being pasted in your document. If you wanted to only copy and paste a single dialog box or the active window, simply use Alt+PrintScreen in step 2.

If either of these methods still does not fit your needs (for instance, you want to include only a small part of the screen), you can use the following:

  1. Set up your screen to look the way you want it to.
  2. Press the PrintScreen key. This copies the screen to the Clipboard.
  3. Start your favorite graphics editing program and maximize the screen.
  4. Press Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the Clipboard into the graphics program.
  5. Use the editing tools in the graphics program to change the image as desired.
  6. Use the editing tools to crop the image so that it contains only the portion you want within Word.
  7. Select the entire image in the graphics program and press Ctrl+C to copy it to the Clipboard.
  8. Start Word (if it is not already started) and position the insertion point where you want the image inserted.
  9. Press Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the Clipboard.

You should note that instead of pressing Ctrl+V to paste an image into Word, you can also use the Paste Special option from the Paste control in the Home tab, Clipboard group. This option gives you greater control over what image file format is used to insert the image in your document.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8697) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Capturing a Screen.

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. ...

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Comments

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What is 2 + 8?

2023-07-17 08:57:22

Erik Eilertsen

Capturing a Screen
If you want to copy a part of a screen or photo or a whole photo or a whole screen you can also use the SNIPPING TOOL in 2016 and later. I find this tool invaluable.


2023-07-17 05:18:10

Andrey

Win+Shift+S - much more better and convenient. Allows you capture any part of the screen. Works on Windows 10/11


2019-12-10 22:44:05

Karl Gregg

Windows 10 now has made capturing a screen or part of it a snap.
Try holding Shift then Windows key then the letter S.
You can use the mouse to capture a part, a freeform, a window or the whole screen.


2019-12-09 21:40:42

Bud Telchin

On Capturing Screenshots, you left out the very important next step after Pasting the image into the Word doc:
to use Crop to get rid of extraneous parts of the image.
Click on the pasted image, then click on Format, then Crop , and use the crop-handle in opposing corners to get rid of unwanted screen components.


2019-12-09 06:07:07

Surendra Bhanot

@Tony
That tool is in the <Illustration> Group now!!


2019-12-09 05:09:59

Patrick Verhaeghe

The snipping tool is indeed a handy and fast way to take and us a (partial) printscreen. I can only recommand the use of that tool.


2014-03-02 08:06:03

Tony

Surendera, what tool in the text group are you referring to?


2014-02-26 14:39:43

Carolyn

If you want just the top window anywhere in windows Ctrl-Alt-Print Screen.


2014-02-26 12:26:37

Surendera M. Bhanot

On the insert tab, in the text group there is a tool which allow you to capture part of the screen.


2012-07-13 08:29:00

Judi Morningstar

I use the snipping tool to copy the part of the screen I need to copy then paste into word. In fact I use it so much I have it pinned to my task bar. I haven't explored the paste special option like you show here - would that give me more control as well?


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