How to take a screenshot on a Chromebook

Grab visuals of your display with this simple shortcut
By Kimberly Gedeon  on 
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How to take a screenshot on a Chromebook
How to take a screenshot on a Chromebook Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

Curious about how to take a screenshot on a Chromebook? You're not alone. On your own, it's not easy to figure out how to grab a snapshot of what's on your display. However, once you know this simple, two-key shortcut, you'll be taking screenshots in no time.

Follow the easy-to-follow instructions below to take screenshots on your Chromebook with ease.

How to take a screenshot on a Chromebook

Total Time
  • 2 minutes
What You Need
  • Chromebook

Step 1: Find the Ctrl key as well as the 'rectangular' icon

The Ctrl key should be on the left side of your keyboard; the rectangular icon should be the fifth key from the left on the function row.

The shortcut for taking a screenshot on a Chromebook
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

Step 2: A preview of the screenshot will appear on the bottom-left corner.

You can click on "Edit" if you want to make additional tweaks to it.

Screenshot preview on a Chromebook
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

Step 3: You can access your screenshots in the "Downloads" folder.

Navigate to the "Downloads" folder by clicking on the "Files" icon on the taskbar.

A red arrow pointing to the "Files" icon on a Chromebook
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

Now that you've got your screenshots, you have a wealth of options available to you.

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Circled options for editing screenshot on a Chromebook
Circled options for editing screenshot on a Chromebook. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

You can share it, crop it, rotate it, add filters, and annotate it. And if you're done with it, you can delete it, too.

Note: We used the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 for this how-to.

Topics How-To

Mashable Image
Kimberly Gedeon
East Coast Tech Editor

Kimberly Gedeon, at Mashable since 2023, is a tech explorer who enjoys doing deep dives into the most popular gadgets, from the latest iPhones to the most immersive VR headsets. She's drawn to strange, avant-garde, bizarre tech, whether it's a 3D laptop, a gaming rig that can transform into a briefcase, or smart glasses that can capture video. Her journalism career kicked off about a decade ago at MadameNoire where she covered tech and business before landing as a tech editor at Laptop Mag in 2020.


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