### Author:  [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/1 "2003-03-20T11:24:42Z")
I have a window from a server program with lots of info I need to print, but there is no print button, tool bar etc for that window. On a mac I can simply print or capture the desktop with the window open, but I have no idea how to do it on a PC running XP. Googling didn’t help as it mainly came up with mac pages, or occasionaly pages which suggested right-clicking on the desktop which may have worked for earlier OSs, but doesn’t seem to help for XP. Any shareware or clever work-arounds? (the normal cut and paste option doesn’t seem to work in the window either)
thanks
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/2 "2003-03-20T11:33:34Z")
hit the print screen button, then launch the Windows Painbrush app (usually something like Start\>Programs\>Accessories\>Paint), then \V.
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### Author:  [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/3 "2003-03-20T11:57:17Z")
I am sorry I am very new to pCs. Where is the print screen button? I have been looking for one everywhere
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### Author:  [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/4 "2003-03-20T11:59:42Z")
It depends on the labels on your keyboard. Generally it’s towards the top right of the keyboard, and may be labelled “PrtSc” or something similar. To use it you should hold down CTRL and tap PRTSC, then open the paint program and paste it using CTRL and V (or the paste command in the program’s menu).
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### Author:  [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/5 "2003-03-20T12:03:39Z")
hey thanks - I never look at those buttons, on a mac they are generally useless. …
1 minute later
And it works!
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### Author:  [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/6 "2003-03-20T13:21:21Z")
ctrl P usually makes a printscreen
or you can press the print screen button, on a regular keyboard it is the buttonm that is right of the F12 button
hope this helps
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/7 "2003-03-20T15:52:36Z")
Or at [download.com](http://download.com) you can get programs that capture screens for you.
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### Author:  [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/8 "2003-03-20T15:57:30Z")
Pressing the Prnt Scrn button by itself will capture the entire desktop, or you can capture only the active window by using Shift-Prnt Scrn. This can be pasted into Word or other word processors if you need to include it in a document.
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### Author:  [@CheezyFryes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheezyFryes)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/9 "2003-03-20T18:23:11Z")
Actually, you must press ALT-PRINT SCREEN to capture just the active window. SHIFT and CTRL still copy the entire desktop.
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### Author:  [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2003, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/10 "2003-03-21T10:58:36Z")
thanks for all the help!
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### Author:  [@Tal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tal)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printing-the-desktop-in-xp/162780/11 "2003-03-21T11:54:43Z")
the ctrl P only works within a program that you would normally print from and will only print what you would normally see by printing that page (eg, in Word, if you went about the usual method of printing it would print your open document and not everything you see on the page - Ctrl P will do just that and NOT print everything you see on the screen) …useless for a dialog box or the windows desktop - you need to use the print screen button and then paste it from the clipboard to another program to do a REAL print screen