How To Get A Screen Shot On Iphone

I am not a computer nerd, but I have found these techniques to be effective.

Here are five ways for you to capture a screenshot or image with an Apple iPhone or iPad.

Junior Teixeira via Pexels

Ever want a copy of what is on your iPhone or iPad screen? If you use these devices and want a copy of an open App, love to have a copy of a picture on a webpage, or want a screenshot of a browser page, this article will help you.

Here are five methods for you to capture a screenshot with your iPhone or iPad.

1. "Right Side+Volume Buttons" or "Home+Sleep"

A simple way to capture a screenshot of your iPhone or iPad is to press and hold the "Home" button and simultaneously press the "sleep/wake" button. A screenshot will be saved to your camera roll.

From the camera roll, you can e-mail the photo or load it onto your computer. More options are discussed at the end of the article.

2. One Button Alternative

A guest commenter, Ele, found an alternative to the "Home+Sleep" option to capture a screenshot. Her iPad case with keyboard placed a clasp over the "sleep" button making it inaccessible for capturing a screenshot.

Turning on an Accessibility Option in the General Settings creates a floating button on your screen that can be used to capture a screenshot without using the "Home" or "Sleep" buttons.

The floating button can be moved anywhere on your screen. When not in use it fades but never completely goes away. If it is over something else you want to touch on your screen, by touching and dragging the floating button, you can move it out of the way.

This floating button can be activated on either your iPhone or your iPad. The first set of pictures show the steps necessary to activate the floating button. (The pictures below are from my iPhone 4S. On my wife's iPad the views are similar but not exactly the same).

Steps for Turning on the AssistiveTouch Floating Button

3. Using the AssistiveTouch Floating Button

The AssistiveTouch floating button that has been turned on on your screen can be used to accomplish numerous tasks including capturing a screenshot. Touching the floating button opens a series of dark screens that require only one touch to move from one to the next and ultimately result in the capture of a screenshot. (The following pictures are a demonstration using my iPhone 4S).

STEP #1 Touching the Floating Button opens this first dark screen. If you want to capture a screenshot, touch the "Device" icon.

4. Screenshot App

WebCapture is a free utility application available for your iPhone but it can also be used on your iPad. It is used to capture a screenshot of a website.

It is a rather simple app. When you open it, it acts as a browser. (Remember to add "http://" before all URLs). This app is used to take a picture of the website (no status or toolbars). There is usually no cropping or editing required. The photo is saved on your camera roll.

Note: This app only takes a screenshot of the view on your screen and not an image of the entire webpage. (Similar to how your printer may give you the option to print "current view" versus "current page".)

Screen shot of one of my Hubs taken on an iPad using WebCapture.

Bankscottage

5. Touch a Picture

See an image that you like on a webpage opened in your Safari browser? You can touch and hold on the picture to save it to your camera roll or make a copy of it to attach to an e-mail.

After opening the Safari browser on my iPhone, I went to the Grand Canyon website. Touching and holding on the panoramic picture on the webpage the phone opened a menu of 3 items: "Save Image" "Copy" and "Cancel". (See screenshot of these results below).

Assuming that I didn't want to cancel this process, my options are to "Save Image" to the camera roll or make a "Copy" of the image that I could then paste into an e-mail.

Below is a copy of the panoramic picture of the Grand Canyon that I e-mailed from my iPhone.

You are correct. Technically this is not a screenshot. It is just a copy of an image on a webpage. But, often all we really want is an image and not the whole webpage.

Screen shot of the National Park Service Grand Canyon website opened in Safari Browser and after touching the panoramic picture.

Bankscottage

Photo saved on my iPhone from the National Park Service Grand Canyon website (using Safari browser).

www.nps.gov

Use an Image on your Camera Roll

Now that you have captured the image on your camera roll, what can you do with it? You actually have several options. You can:

E-mail, text, or tweet it.
Print it if you have an AirPrint-enabled printer
Download it to your computer the next time you sync with it.
Send it wirelessly to all of your linked devices automatically if you have iCloud.
Assign the image to a contact or use it as wallpaper.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Questions & Answers

Question: Can I change the screenshots on my iPhone or iPad?

Answer: I think you could just take a new screenshot then you would have both. They end up in your photo library.

Question: Why can't I take a screenshot of a movie or TV show I'm watching on my iPhone?

Answer: Screen shots only take one single image or photo not the multiple images that make up a video. TVs use DVR to record video. As far as I know, no phone or app is available to record videos like a DVR.

Question: How to take a multi-pages screenshot on an iPhone or iPad?

Answer: I don't believe you can. You can only take one page at a time.

Sofia on June 29, 2020:

Hi many thanks for the article, didn't know the Assistive Touch feature existed, what a revelation! My home button is 85% broken so this is a great solution for the time being. Fab

Hans on March 01, 2018:

Nice blog Lindsay, tnx

Thanks to the "3 Ways to Capture a Screen Shot on an Apple iPhone or iPad" blog posts author as well :)

Hans on March 01, 2018:

Nice blog Lindsay, tnx

Thanks to the "3 Ways to Capture a Screen Shot on an Apple iPhone or iPad" blog posts author as well :)

Rean minaati on February 26, 2018:

For iphone or ipad user it's always difficult for finding a such type of hidden features thanks for sharing such useful stuff. If anyone needs help in app downloading and install get help with us at https://onlinehelp.shutterfly.com/

Will B on June 23, 2017:

What Jeff said down below is essential if you want to use the AssistiveTouch Floating Button for screenshots with a single touch. Otherwise you have to make 3 separate clicks of the floating button. which is not practical at all. I quoted the important last part he mentions.

"I like this floating assistive button hack but there are a couple more very important steps to make it work well.

After you go to general then accessibility then "assistive touch" and turn it on, you should go to "customize top level menu" and add a "screenshot" button. I would then delete all the rest of the buttons.

Now when you click the additive button, it automatically takes a screenshot in one click!"

tutuhelper on May 18, 2017:

You can take the screen shots and record your iOS device screen for free using Airshou screen recorder. You can get it from https://iappsbuzz.com/airshou-download/

Jeff on January 05, 2017:

Thanks for this helpful article. The new capacitive iPhone 7 button wreaks havoc on the old steady screen capture shortcut. Because of the new Taptic button, the combo of home button + power/standby is much harder to do right. You get screen sleep as often as you get a screen cap, unless you sync your presses just right. And if you get screen sleep, it usually means the app you were trying to screen cap in has been minimized and you have to open it again.

I like this floating assistive button hack but there are a couple more very important steps to make it work well.

Now when you click the additive button, it automatically takes a screenshot in one click!

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on September 07, 2016:

Glad you found the hub useful Jeffcard. Thanks for your suggestion.

jeffcard123 on September 07, 2016:

Great post, it's useful for me. For people who want to record iPhone/iPad screen, share my favorite app named acethinker iphone screen recorder, it can even record the stream video on iPhone.

Hi on February 06, 2016:

Thanks a lot for your trick.

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on February 12, 2015:

Glad you found the Hub helpful Naresh. Thanks for stopping by.

ClaytonDaily on September 24, 2014:

Very helpful.

Goonoo Munawwar from TRIOLET, MAURITIUS on July 19, 2014:

I don't really have an Apple Product but when I'll buy one, I'll make sure to visit your hub to learn how to take a screenshot.

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on February 20, 2014:

Thanks Ele. I'll add it to the Hub.

Ele on February 19, 2014:

Hi thanks, I actually found it!! Go to Settings / General / Accessibility / Assistive touch - and turn it on. It brings up a home button on the screen. When you click on it you can click on "device" then "more" then it gives you an option to do a screenshot. So that solved the problem which is great. Ele :)

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on February 19, 2014:

Ele, not that I am aware of. It is the Apple program.

Ele on February 19, 2014:

Hi is there any alternate to the first option - being the sleep and home buttons? I am using a logitech keyboard folio and the only way it orientates correctly is with the sleep button sitting under a clasp and unavailable to use. I'm finding this frustrating when I want to take pics of pages in a magazine I'm reading. Thanks

jesse on October 01, 2013:

Try this site, it may help you. Goodluck! http://knowledgeblessed.blogspot.com/2013/09/get-m...

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on March 20, 2013:

khmohsin, thanks for the kind comments. Glad you found the Hub useful.

khmohsin on March 20, 2013:

Very nice and helpful hub. I have never seen this kind of fantastic and informative hub like this. You did the good work.

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on March 07, 2013:

unikama, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I'll have to check out some of you Apple Hubs.

Amandeep Singh from London UK on March 07, 2013:

Really useful tip... I always use Sleep+Homebutton method to capture screenshots while writing iPhone/iPad tutorials on my hub and blog dedicated to Apple...!

Staci Stathos from Charleston, SC on January 30, 2013:

Thank you for the useful tips!

Akhil Swatantra from India on January 17, 2013:

I am not Using Apple Iphone or Ipad But My Brother Use Apple Iphone And Its Really Cool information..

Check My Site :- http://www.tipsntricks4fun.in

tips on July 12, 2012:

If you want to capture an entire website page from your iPhone or iPad as an image or PDF for viewing offline... use Webpage Capture http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/webpage-capture/id3...

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on May 05, 2012:

Outbound Dan. I am not a real tech geek, so I am constantly surprised how much these devices can do. If the iPad had a real keyboard, I'm not sure I would need a regular computer.

Dan Human from Niagara Falls, NY on May 05, 2012:

Great instructions, I should try this on my wife's iPhone.

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on May 05, 2012:

Sandrabusby, I hope this helps you out.

Sandra Busby from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA on May 05, 2012:

Wow, I like this. Can't wait to try it. Thanks for SHARING.

Mark Shulkosky (author) from Pennsylvania on May 05, 2012:

Internetgeek, I hope this helps. I like to use images in my Hubs so I am always looking for ways to capture them.

Nizam Khan from Hyderabad, India. on May 05, 2012:

Wow! This is really interesting and useful. Well I guess 1st method is a lot easier. Thanks for sharing and voted up :)