Under command-line based operating systems such as MS-DOS, this key causes the contents of the current text modescreen memory buffer to be copied to the standard printer port, usually LPT1. In essence, whatever is currently on the screen when the key is pressed will be printed. Pressing the key in combination with turns on and off the "printer echo" feature. When echo is in effect, any conventional text output to the screen will be copied to the printer. There is also a Unicode character for print screen,.
Modern use
Newer-generation operating systems using a graphical interface tend to save a bitmap image of the current screen, or screenshot, to their clipboard or comparable storage area. Some shells allow modification of the exact behavior using modifier keys such as the control key. In Microsoft Windows, pressing will capture the entire screen, while pressing the key in combination with will capture the currently selected window. The captured image can then be pasted into an editing program such as a graphics program or even a word processor. Pressing with both the left key and left pressed turns on a high contrast mode. Since Windows 8, pressing the key in combination with will save the captured image to disk. This behavior is therefore backward compatible with users who learned Print Screen actions under operating systems such as MS-DOS. In KDE and GNOME, very similar shortcuts are available, which open a screenshot tool, giving options to save the screenshot, plus more options like manually picking a specific window, screen area, using a timeout, etc. Sending the image to many services, or even screen recording, is built-in too. Macintosh does not use a print screen key; instead, key combinations are used that start with. These key combinations are used to provide more functionality including the ability to select screen objects. captures the whole screen, while allows for part of the screen to be selected. The standard print screen functions described above save the image to the desktop. However, using any of the key sequences described above, but additionally pressing the will modify the behavior to copy the image to the system clipboard instead.
