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How to take a screenshot on Linux

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Menu names differ between software versions. If a path here does not match your phone, search your Settings app for the setting named in bold — it is the same setting under a different label.

What Print Screen does depends on your desktop environment rather than your distribution. The two most common behave like this.

GNOME

Press Print Screen to open the screenshot interface, then choose a selection, a window or the whole screen, and take it.

Shortcuts that skip the interface:

  • Shift + Print Screen — select an area
  • Alt + Print Screen — the current window

Captures are saved to Pictures → Screenshots.

KDE Plasma

Press Print Screen to open Spectacle, which offers the full screen, the active window, a region, or a specific monitor, and can save, copy or open the image directly in another application.

Other desktops

XFCE ships xfce4-screenshooter on the same key. If nothing happens at all, no screenshot tool is bound — install one (flameshot, gnome-screenshot, spectacle) and bind it to Print Screen in your keyboard settings.

Attaching one to an email

Note where your tool saves — most default to Pictures or Pictures/Screenshots — and attach from there in BlueMail’s compose window.

Screenshots for other devices

See all screenshots guides →