Can one take a partial screen shot in Windows 7?

One can take a screen shot of a part of the screen on a Mac with Cmd + Shift + 4.

Is there a similar functionality in Windows 7?

Solution 1:

You can take a screenshot of the active window with Alt+PrintScreen. Also, the included Snipping Tool* (%windir%\system32\SnippingTool.exe) allows you to select an area to capture, among other features. _{Thanks, @Matt}

If you are fond of the Ctrl+Shift+4 keyboard shortcut, you can set a shortcut key (Properties > Shortcut) for the Snipping Tool.

*Not included with Windows 7 Starter or Home Basic.

Solution 2:

The Snipping Tool in Windows 7 lets you do this, but there isn't a keyboard command for specifically doing a partial screenshot. You'll have to use your mouse to capture your screenshot. When you launch the program it brings up this little screen:

which will automatically dim your screen so you can draw your (rectangular) box around what you want to capture. Under the "New" menu, you have the option of switching among the various screenshot methods:

• Free-form snip
• Rectangular snip
• Window snip
• Full-screen snip

After you snip, you can annotate it with a pen (you can choose among various colors, thicknesses, or tips) or highlight items:

Whether you annotate or not, you can save the image, e-mail it, or copy it to your clipboard.

The Snipping Tool also includes with some configuration options:

Solution 3:

Greenshot

If you have ever heard of or used SnagIt, it is a program that will allow you to take partial screenshots of your screen. The best and free alternative that I found for home use is Greenshot. Pretty lightweight and awesome program.

http://getgreenshot.org/

Cool thing is that you can also use it as an editor and draw arrows and whatnot on it.