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How to Take Scrolling, Long Screenshots in Windows
How to Take Scrolling, Long Screenshots in Windows
Windows offers a variety of ways to take basic or scrolling screenshots, such as pressing Win + PrtScn or Fn + PrtScn to instantly add a screenshot. There’s even a built-in tool called Snip & Sketch (Snipping Tool in Windows 11) that lets you capture portions of windows and pop-up menus.
But all these methods only allow you to capture content that is within the size of the browser's viewing area. What if you want to take a screenshot of a scrolling window of a web page, document, or any other content that is outside the viewable area?
This guide shows the best tools for taking long, scrolling screenshots in Windows 11 and Windows 10.
How to take a scrolling screenshot in a browser
To take scrolling screenshots on any Windows browser, you need browser-specific options or an extension in a supported web store.
1. Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge, the native Windows browser, has a lot of cool stuff, including a built-in feature that lets you capture an entire web page as a scrolling screenshot. See: How to Take a Screenshot of an Entire Web Page in Microsoft Edge for details on how to do it.
2. Mozilla Firefox
Since Firefox Quantum launched, there has been a built-in method for taking scrolling screenshots in the browser, making it the only browser other than Edge to offer this feature without requiring an extension. To take a scrolling screenshot:
1. Click the three-bar menu icon in the top right, then click More tools > Customize toolbar .
Customize toolbar
2. Look for the icon listed for “Screenshot” and drag it to the Firefox toolbar or, if you don’t want the icon cluttering up your toolbar, go to the “Overflow Menu” on the right.
Drag favorites to the right
3. Click Done to exit the customization window.
Screenshot in overflow menu
4. You can now use the Screenshot button on the toolbar to capture any screen in the Firefox browser window.
Take a screenshot
5. Navigate to the page you want to capture, click the new screenshot icon on the toolbar, then click “Save full page” . (If you added the button to the Overflow Menu , click the “>>” button to display the Screenshot button ).
Save options
6. A full screen capture will appear, you can save it to your PC.
Download screenshot
Use the extension
Firefox's built-in screenshot tool is sufficient for most purposes. If you need more advanced options, you can download an extension called FireShot .
1. After adding the FireShot extension, click its toolbar icon when you need to capture a view area in the Firefox browser window.
Click on Fireshot
2. Select “Capture entire page” from the list of screenshot options.
Capture entire page
3. You can save the image as a JPEG file or another option, such as “Save to PDFF” .
Save screenshot
3. Google Chrome
There is an easy method using “Developer Tools” in Chrome to quickly capture an entire web page in one scrolling screenshot.
1. Click the three-dot menu, followed by More tools > Developer tools .
Developer Tools
2. Inside the control panel, click the three dots next to the Settings (gear) icon, then select “Run command” from the drop-down list.
Select Run Command
3. Type “screenshot” next to the Run command to display a list of screenshot commands in the browser.
4. To take a full-size screenshot of the entire browser window, select “Capture full size screenshot” .
Take full size screenshot
5. A JPEG image of the entire scrolling window in Chrome is saved in your Downloads folder .
Saved scrolling screenshot
Use the extension
If you're looking to take scrolling screenshots on Chrome or Edge (which allows you to install Chromium extensions just like Chrome), an extension like GoFullPage will do the job.
1. Install GoFullPage and click on its icon in the upper right corner of your browser. (If it's not there right away, click on the puzzle piece icon, then click GoFullPage from the extensions list).
2. Click the Pin icon next to the extension name to make it appear permanently in your browser bar.
Pin the extension
3. When you want to record scrolling actions in a browser window, GoFullPage will have full access to that web page.
Visit full page
4. Once you click on GoFullPage, it will scan the entire website you are visiting, showing the status “Screen capture in progress” .
Screen capture in progress
5. As you can see in the screenshot below, the captured photo is quite long.
Saved screenshot
6. From here, you can edit, annotate, and download your screenshot, as a PDF or PNG file .
Edit screenshot
Another scrolling screenshot extension option for Chrome and Edge is Full Screenshot .
How to take a scrolling screenshot using software
The above browser-based methods can only capture scrolling screenshots within a browser window. But what if you want to capture within an app or game? In such a case, you will need to download and install an application on your Windows 11/10 laptop or PC.
Available for purchase on its own website and the Steam gaming platform, its own highly sought-after Discord channel, the free screenshot app ShareX is validated by its widespread popularity in the game streaming community.
This open-source app is widely used by gamers for its powerful screenshot options. Among its interesting features – like video recording, GIFs, capture area selection and workflow, as well as a large number of filters and effects to add to your captures – is the “scrolling screenshot” option you’re looking for.
1. Download the “.setup.exe” file to install ShareX.
2. After installation, open ShareX, then click Capture > Scrolling Capture .
Click Capture > Scrolling Capture
3. You can specify which windows you want to scroll, set a delay before the screenshot starts, and how much scrolling you want to capture.
4. Click Start scrolling capture to begin.
Click Start scrolling capture
5. ShareX app captures the content you want in a scrolling window.
Captured content
Unlike the other options on this list, ShareX is free and maintained by a dedicated community of open-source developers. In addition to just scrolling, it also functions as an all-in-one screenshot tool, which is pretty impressive given its small file size.
PicPick is a screenshot and image editing software developed and owned by NGWIN. It is a favorite screenshot tool for many users. The best thing about PicPick is that it is free for personal use and comes with some cool features that you won’t find even in paid programs.
For screenshots, PicPick offers 7 screenshot modes: Full screen, Active Window, Window Control, Scrolling Window, Region, Fixed Region , and FreeHand . Each of these modes is suitable for different situations and can help you customize your screenshots. For example, Region mode can help you isolate and capture a dialog box without the surrounding extra details.
Fixed Region mode allows you to set the desired screenshot height and width in pixels, ensuring all your screenshots are consistent. The tool also has a Scrolling Window mode that allows you to take a scrolling screenshot of a web page or document in just a few clicks as shown below.
1. Open PicPick and select Scrolling Window.
Select Scrolling Window
2. You will see a small toolbar with some screenshot options. Select the scroll window option again.
Select the scrolling window capture option
3. Press and hold Ctrl + Alt at the same time, then press PRTSC. A red highlighted rectangular box will appear.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button. Release the mouse and the auto-scrolling will slowly begin. Your entire window will be captured in just a few seconds.
5. You can save the captured roll image in various file formats, such as JPG, BMP, PNG, GIF and PDF.
Select save format
PicPick also comes with a pixel ruler that can be used to measure the size of images on your screen, a virtual whiteboard that allows users to draw on the screen, and a crosshair to pinpoint the exact location of relative pixels.
Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro is a highly customizable, creative screenshot and photo editing tool. The program has no trouble taking screenshots, thanks to its 10 capture modes, including Scrolling Screenshots, Menu, and Freehand .
Scrolling window capture mode lets you capture the entire web page, document, or browser, including content hidden from view. It also comes with a Task Scheduler for automatic screenshots.
1. Download and install Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro on PC.
2. Once inside, select the “Scroll window” option to continue.
Select the “Scroll window” option
3. A handle is activated at the top left to select as many screen windows as you want.
Select capture window
In addition to taking screenshots, Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro also comes with a powerful image editor that offers a variety of options for you to edit your screenshots. Moreover, you can also use this tool to record your screen, upload it, and share it online. However, the program is quite expensive. A lifetime license costs $79.95. You can also opt for a monthly subscription starting at $12.95/month.
FastStone Capture is an older software with a variety of screenshot options, including scrolling screenshots. It’s compatible with older versions of Windows, such as Windows 7, but also works quite well with Windows 11.
1. Download and install FastStone Capture on your device. This is a 30-day trial software (no credit card required).
2. Once the mini toolbar is launched, select the Capture Scrolling Window option .
Select the Capture Scrolling Window option
3. The final screenshot is saved to the FastStone Capture window. Save the output file in various formats, such as JPEG, BMP, GIF, PCX, PNG, TGA, TIFF, FSC and PDF.
Screenpresso is a very advanced screenshot tool for Windows. The lightweight tool takes scrolling screenshots in a flash and is free to use for non-business users.
1. Download and install Screenpresso from its official link. You need to install .NET 4.8 on your Windows PC.
2. Launch Screenpresso from the Windows Start menu or system tray.
3. Navigate to the menu icon labeled “Screenshot region” and click on it.
Click on “Screenshot region”
4. To save a moving web page or app screenshot, select “Screenshot using autoscroll” .