In the digital world, taking screenshots is a routine task. Screenshots help us convey difficult concepts in a simple way. Nowadays, every operating system supports the screenshot feature and comes with a default screenshot tool, and Ubuntu is no exception.
Ubuntu 24.04, the current LTS release, offers a default screenshot and screencast utility that can be used to capture basic to advanced screenshots. Apart from this utility, Ubuntu also supports keyboard shortcuts, and if needed, we can install additional screenshot tools from the official Ubuntu repository.
How to Take Screenshots on Ubuntu 24.04 Using the Default Tool
Ubuntu offers a default screenshot tool that can be accessed using the “prt sc” key. You can also access the default screenshot tool from the “system menu”.This simple and user-friendly tool provides all the basic screenshot functionalities. Using this tool, you can capture a whole screen, a specific part of a screen, the current/focussed window, etc. Apart from capturing pictures/screenshots, this tool can also record and save screen activity as a video. Here is a step-by-step process of capturing screenshots using Ubuntu’s default screenshot tool:
- Launch the Default Screenshot Tool
To open Ubuntu’s default screenshot tool, simply press the “prt sc” shortcut key on your keyboard or navigate to the system menu, and click on the highlighted option:
- Select the Screenshot Area to Capture
When the default screenshot tool is launched, it shows you three options to capture a screenshot: “Selection”, “Screen”, and “Window”, as shown below:
- Capture the Selected Area Only
Select the “selection” option to capture only a specific area of your screen. Adjust the area to capture according to your preferences and then take a screenshot of the selected area by clicking the “capture” button:
Once a screenshot is successfully captured, you will be notified with the following message:
Note: By default, screenshots will be saved in the following directory: “Home/Pictures/Screenshots”. Apart from this, the captured screenshot will also be copied to the clipboard.
- Capture the Entire Screen
Select the “Screen” option to take a screenshot of the entire/full screen. After selecting the “Screen” option, simply click the “Capture” button to take a screenshot of the entire screen, as shown below:
- Capture a Specific Window
If you’ve opened multiple windows, you can select and capture any specific window. For this purpose, simply select the “Window” option, select the window to capture, and hit the “Capture” button, as shown below:
How to Take Screenshots on the Ubuntu 24.04 Using Shortcut Keys
We can use the following shortcut keys to take a screenshot using the default Ubuntu screenshot tool:
| Task | Shortcut Keys |
|---|---|
| How to Take Screenshots of a Specific Part in Ubuntu? | “PRT SC”. |
| How to Take a Screenshot of the Full/Complete Screen? | “SHIFT + PRT SC”. |
| How to Take Screenshots of a Specific Window? | “ALT + PRT SC”. |
| How to Take and Save a Screenshot of the Current Window? | “CTRL + ALT + PRT SC”. |
Apart from these shortcut keys, you can use the following keys to take a screenshot but they are applicable only when the screenshot tool is running:
| Task | Shortcut Keys |
|---|---|
| Select the Specific Part of a Screen. | “S” |
| Select a Complete Screen to Capture. | “C”. |
| Select a Specific Window to Capture From Multiple Windows | “W” |
After Selecting any of the given options, hit the “Enter” key to capture the screenshot.
How to Take Screenshots on Ubuntu 22.04 Using GNOME-Screenshot
Before Ubuntu 22.04, the GNOME-screenshot came by default within Ubuntu. Nowadays it is replaced with another screenshot utility (which is discussed above). However, we can still install and use it on our systems.
To use this tool on Ubuntu 24.04, simply go through the following steps:
- Update and Upgrade System Repositories
First, update and upgrade your system packages by executing the below-provided command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Once the packages are up-to-date, we install the latest version of the “GNOME-screenshot” tool.
- Install GNOME Screenshot Utility
The “GNOME-screenshot” utility is available in the official Ubuntu repository and can be installed using the command:
sudo apt install gnome-screenshot
The above screenshot shows the gnome-screenshot has been successfully installed on our Ubuntu 24.04.
- Capture a Screenshot Using GNOME-Screenshot
After installing the “GNOME-Screenshot” tool, go to the applications menu, search for it, and click on the highlighted option to open it:
Now you have three options: “screen”, “window”, and “selection”. Select a capture option according to your needs/preferences and click on the “Take Screenshot” button, as shown below:
After this, you will be asked to specify a name for the screenshot and a directory where screenshots will be saved. After specifying the screenshot name and directory, hit the “Save” button to save the captured screenshot in the selected folder:
- Take Screenshots Using GNOME-Screenshot via Terminal
The GNOME screenshot tool lets us capture screenshots via the terminal. For this purpose, we can execute the “gnome-screenshot” command with different options, as illustrated in the following examples:
We can capture the complete screen by executing the following command from the terminal:
gnome-screenshot
To capture the current window, type the “gnome-screenshot” followed by the “-w” option, and hit the enter button, as shown below:
gnome-screenshot -w
To take a screenshot of a specific part of the screen, execute the “gnome-screenshot” command followed by the “-a” option:
gnome-screenshot -a
Other Useful Tools to Capture a Screenshot on Ubuntu 24.04
| Tool | Features | How to Install |
|---|---|---|
| Kazam | It is a user-friendly screencast and screenshot tool.It is available on Ubuntu’s official repository.It can capture full screen, all screens, a specific window, or a specific screen area.It captures a screenshot after a delay of 5 seconds; however, you can change it according to your needs.It lets us include the mouse pointer and border to the screenshot. | sudo apt install kazam |
| Flameshot | It is an easy-to-use screenshot tool.This tool is available on Ubuntu’s official repository.It can capture the complete screen, specific area, or current window.It can capture a screenshot after a delay of specified seconds.It can add effects to the screenshot, such as including a pointer or window border.You can customize the screenshot by configuring the settings of the flameshot. | sudo apt install flameshot |
| Shutter | It is a feature-rich screenshot tool.It can capture the current window, a specific window, a rectangular area, the complete screen, a child window, a menu, or a cascading menu from an application.It can edit the captured screenshots.It can crop a screenshot, and add text or effects to a screenshot. | sudo apt install shutter |
| Scrot | It is an easy-to-use terminal-based screenshot tool.It can capture an entire screen, a specific area, an app, or a window.It can capture a screenshot with a delay (according to specified seconds).It can capture a screenshot with a specific name and directory.It lets us change the screenshot quality.It can create a thumbnail of the captured screenshot. | sudo apt install scrot |
| KSnip | It is a super quick and feature-enriched screenshot tool.It supports various capture modes.It can take screenshots via the terminal.It offers several editing options.It lets us blur the confidential/personal details from the captured screenshot. | sudo apt install ksnip |
That’s all about capturing a screenshot on Ubuntu 24.04.
Conclusion
There’s a famous saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”. This means a picture/screenshot can convey difficult concepts very easily. In Ubuntu 24.04, we can use the default screenshot tool to take screenshots of a specific window, complete screen, or the selected area. We can also use the keyboard shortcut keys to capture a screenshot according to our preferences.
Apart from the default screenshot tool, we can install and use the gnome-screenshot, or any other screenshot tool of our choice. However, the easiest and recommended way to capture the screenshots is to use the default screenshot tool or the keyboard shortcuts.
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