Not quite the easiest information to locate, you can perform screen captures on the Microsoft Surface. I’ll break this up into three sections. How to perform the screen capture, where to find your captured images, and then how to manipulate them.
How to create a screen capture
Creating a screen capture is quick and easy, but even if you do it right you may not believe it actually happened because there’s no notification, only a darkening of the screen upon success. So, do this:
- On the Microsoft Surface, hold the physical Windows key (the slanted Window on the front of the Surface) while pressing the physical volume-down button (on the left-hand side of the tablet). NOTE: The keys on the keyboard do not perform this function. The keys you want to use are the ones on the actual tablet itself.
- The screen will darken for a second and the screen capture is complete.
How to find your capture images
When the screen is captured to an image, there’s no notification or even any type of “Save As…” dialog. Any screen capture you perform is automatically saved in the Pictures Library (accessed with the Photos app) under an auto-created “Screenshots”folder.
How to manipulate your screen captures
When you perform a screen capture, the Microsoft Surface captures the ENTIRE screen. For those used to working with other tools such as Snagit, this seems a bit old-school (which it is), since Snagit allows you to customize your captures. So, if you don’t want the entire picture created by the screen capture, you’ll need to modify it.
Without locating and installing another photo-related app from the Microsoft Store, you can use the stock Paint app that comes installed on the Microsoft Surface. You’ll immediately recognize this app since it looks no different than the same Paint app that has resided on Windows systems forever. You can locate the Paint app in All Apps and then under the Windows Accessories section.
Once you execute the Paint app, it works just the same as always — and even runs in the Windows 8/RT desktop mode — so, yes…nothing has really changed there. Open your screen capture from the folder “Screenshots” folder and edit to your heart’s content.
