Summary
It is possible to capture an image of whatever is on your iPhone and iPad screen, with the exception of copy protected videos such as paid movies and streaming services.
The method of capturing the screen image may be different depending on your device.
iPhone and iPad with Home Button
Some iPhone and iPad designs have a Home Button. These are usually the lower cost or older devices. The Home Button is the round button that contains a fingerprint reader. It is found in the bottom or right of the screen (depending on how you are holding it).
You will also use the power button of the device. This is found on the top edge when holding the device in portrait mode (not on its side).
You can press and hold the power button and while doing so, press the Home Button once briefly. The timing of this takes practice. If you wait too long, the device will power off. So, once you are holding down the power button, immediately press the Home Button briefly. The screenshot will be saved to your camera roll where your pictures are saved.
Newer iPhone and iPad with Swipe Up for Home
On newer iPhones and iPads, there is no Home Button. Instead, swiping up with your finger, from off the screen onto the screen and upward, will take you to your Home Screen. For these devices, to get a screenshot, you will briefly press the Power Button and the Up Volume buttons at the same time.
The screen will flash and you will see a small rectangular representation of the captured image in the lower left corner of the screen. If you wait, the preview image will get saved and disappear from the screen. If instead you tap on that image, some edit options will be available.
Editing Screenshots
When you initially capture a screenshot image, it will show up in the lower left corner of your device. If you tap on that image, it will open and some editing tools and options will be shown.
Across the top of the screen you will see some options: Done (to save the image), Undo (curved arrow pointing left), Redo (curved arrow pointing right), Pen / Markup icon (toggle between drawing mode and crop mode), Trash (delete the option), Share (email, print, save to files, and other options). The share icon is often represented by a box with an arrow pointing upward.
If you tap the pen in a circle icon at the top of the screen, some drawing tools should show up at the bottom of the screen. You can select a tool and use it. The plus symbol in the lower right of the screen (while in draw mode) will give you options to assign a description to your image, add text, sign, change opacity, magnify, and draw pre-defined shapes such as square, circle, call-out quote box, or arrow.
The best way to learn the editing options is to explore and experiment with the tools.
Saving Screenshots
After capturing a screenshot, if you have edited or previewed the screen image, and then press Done, you will be given the following options.
- Save to Photos — This will save your image to the camera roll.
- Save to Files — This will give you an option to save the image to your iCloud Drive storage or any other cloud storage services you’ve activated on your device.
- Delete Screenshot — This will exit the preview/edit mode and delete the screen capture image.
- Cancel — This will go back to the preview/edit mode.
Special Keyboard Options
If you are using a bluetooth keyboard with your iPhone or iPad, these keyboard shortcuts will work:
- Holding Shift Command 3 briefly will take a picture of the full screen. A preview of the image will show up briefly in the lower left corner of your screen, and then it will be saved to the camera roll.
- Holding Shift Command 4 briefly will take a picture of the full screen and then display the image in the preview/edit mode.
Note that an Apple keyboard will have the command key identified with the word command and a cloverleaf icon. Other brands of keyboards may have the command key identified as cmd or alt. You may need to experiment to make the above key combinations work.
Apple Mac Computer Screenshots
To learn about screenshots on Apple Mac computers, read “Screenshots and Screen Capture Images for Apple Mac Computers.” [View]
Windows Computer Screenshots
To learn about screenshots on Windows computers, read “Screenshots and Screen Image Capture for Windows Computers.” [View]
