Term: screen shot

A screen shot is simply a picture of a computer screen – an exact copy in image form taken by the operating system or by a screen shot utility.

Screen shots typically refer to the entire screen, hence the name; however, many utilities have the ability to restrict the image taken to only a region of the screen, a specific window on the screen, or, in some cases, the entire contents of a window, even if it’s not completely displayed on the screen.

Screen shots are typically saved as image files – .jpg and .png, for example. Some screen shot utilities also allow you to save in additional formats such as PDF, share to various online services, or even extract editable text from the region specified.

See also: What’s a screen shot and how do I make one?