Take Screenshots and Use the Clipboard in Ubuntu

A screenshot records what was visible at one moment. It is useful for instructions and troubleshooting, but it can also capture names, notifications, account details, or private messages you did not intend to share.

Prepare the screen before opening the capture tool.

Open the screenshot interface

Press the Print key, or use the screenshot button in the system menu when present.

Ubuntu opens an overlay with capture choices. On the current documented interface, you can choose a selected region, the whole screen, or a window.

• Selection lets you drag handles around only the useful area.
• Screen captures the complete display.
• Window captures one application window without the rest of the desktop.

Choose the smallest area that communicates the point. A region often avoids unrelated private content.

Capture one useful region

1. Open a harmless window such as Files.
2. Press Print.
3. Choose screenshot mode if the interface also offers recording.
4. Select a region around part of the Files window.
5. Review what is inside the boundary.
6. Activate the capture button.

On the documented setup, Alt + Print captures the focused window and Shift + Print captures the full screen. Verify customized shortcuts in Keyboard settings when those keys behave differently.

Find the saved image

Current GNOME/Ubuntu help documents screenshots in:

Pictures/Screenshots

Open Files, select Pictures, then open Screenshots. The filename normally includes the date and time.

The screenshot is also copied to the clipboard, so you can paste it immediately into an application that accepts images.

Understand the clipboard

The clipboard is temporary holding space used by Copy and Cut.

Copying selected text stores text. Copying a screenshot stores image data. Copying a file in Files stores information that allows a later Paste action to copy that file.

Those are different kinds of clipboard content even though Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V may be involved.

An application can replace the current clipboard content when you copy something else. Do not treat the clipboard as permanent storage.

Copy text and copy a file

For text:

1. Select a harmless sentence.
2. Press Ctrl + C.
3. Place the text cursor in another editable document.
4. Press Ctrl + V.

For a file:

1. Select the file in Files.
2. Press Ctrl + C.
3. Open the destination folder.
4. Press Ctrl + V.

The first action duplicates characters inside a document. The second creates another file in a filesystem location.

Screen recording is optional

The current screenshot interface can also expose a screencast mode for recording screen activity. Recorded video is normally saved under Videos/Screencasts according to the current desktop help.

Recording creates larger files and can capture more private information over time. Use a still screenshot when one image is enough.

When the screenshot appears missing

Check these in order:

1. Open Pictures/Screenshots and sort by newest.
2. Confirm that the capture completed rather than being cancelled with Esc.
3. Look in the notification area for feedback.
4. Paste into a harmless image-capable application to test the clipboard copy.
5. Search Files for names beginning with Screenshot.

An empty clipboard does not prove the file was not saved. Check the destination too.

Common mistakes

Capturing every monitor when one window is enough. Choose Window or Selection.

Sharing without reviewing the image. Open the saved file at full size and inspect every edge.

Expecting Copy to create a permanent backup. Paste the item into a real destination and verify it.

Confusing a screenshot with the live interface. Selecting a button inside an image does nothing.

Losing clipboard content after another Copy action. Return to the source or use the saved screenshot file.

What to learn next

Continue to How to Find Files, Apps, and Settings in Ubuntu so a missing item becomes a question about search scope rather than guesswork.