How to Take a Screenshot on Linux

There are almost as many ways to take a screenshot in Linux as there are flavors of Linux. Let's take a look at Ubuntu in particular.

You can go right to Applications > Accessories > Take Screenshot to start.

PrtScn works—hit the button on the keyboard and it'll shoot the entire screen. Hit Alt-PrtScn to grab just the active window.

True Linux heads will appreciate the ability to take a screenshot from that most un-screenshot-worthy window: the terminal.

Maybe the best thing to do is take a screenshot from within a program where you can edit the screenshot after, and there's no better candidate than GNU Image Manipulation Program or GIMP. Within the program, select File > Acquire > Screen Shot. You'll get a few options, such as taking the entire screen, a window, or using a time delay. The captured image is then opened up in GIMP for editing.

How to Take a Screenshot on Chromebook

If you own a Chromebook running ChromeOS—Google's way of turning the browser essentially into the operating system—naturally you need a way to take your own screenshots.

Hit the Ctrl and Windows Switcher Key in the top row –it's the one that looks like a stack of windows layered on top of each other, or box with some lines next to it—simultaneously. That'll take a full-screen image. You'll see the notification on the lower right of the screen.

Make it Cntrl+Shift+Window Switcher to get just a section of the screen. The cursor becomes cross-hairs you can use to select what you want an image of.

If you're using a standard keyboard—not a Chromebook keyboard, and thus lacking the Window Switcher button—you'll need to Cntrl+F5 instead.

All the images are saved as PNG files and get stuck in your Downloads folder. They, weirdly, do not go to Google Drive. Not until you copy them there, anyway.

Since 90 percent of what you do on a Chromebook probably takes place in the Chrome Web browser, you can also utilize a number of Chrome extensions. For those, look below.