2023-04-16 11:38:00
Microsoft’s Windows is ditching a classic of PC keyboards that dates back nearly two decades.
The Print Screen button on computer keyboards takes a screenshot and automatically copies it so users can paste it into another application, such as Paint.
According to Russia Today, the upcoming Windows 11 update, dubbed KB5025310, will change this so that the Print Screen button opens Microsoft’s Snipping Tool instead.
The controversial new update comes almost two years after Windows 11 was originally released — although fortunately it can be fixed.
Microsoft explained this in a blog post along with other new features set to roll out to members of its Insider program, which allows for testing before a public launch.
But that means the Print Screen button won’t automatically copy screenshots anymore — creating additional, time-consuming hurdles for Windows users.
Instead, they will have to manually take a screenshot in the Snipping Tool before copying and pasting it.
Windows 11 already allows PC users to open the Snipping Tool by pressing the Print Screen key, but the new KB5025310 update sets this as default.
To restore the traditional functionality of the Print Screen key, head to Settings on your Windows 11 computer, followed by Accessibility and Keyboard.
Then, you have the option to toggle “Use the Print Screen key to open the Snipping Tool” on or off.
Windows says, “If you modify this setting yourself previously, your preferences will be preserved.”
News of the change, first reported by The Verge, received a mixed reception on social media.
“I don’t like this at all,” said one Twitter user. “There could be things on the screen that either disappear or crash as soon as I open another app (in this case the Snipping Tool).”
Another user said: “Why don’t you take a screenshot and open it to the snipping tool for editing automatically?”. However, another user described it as a “huge improvement in quality of life”.
The Print Screen, which began appearing on PC keyboards in the 1980s, is often named with an abbreviation to match the key, such as PrtSc or PrtScn.
It may require users to hold down the Alt key first, if it shares the key with another function.
When it was first added to keyboards, Print Screen originally captured text that appeared on the screen and transmitted it to a computer’s printer port.
But a more recent use in the last 20 years is taking an instant snapshot of a user’s entire screen.
One possible problem with the Print Screen button’s current functionality is that it takes a screenshot without any acknowledgment that it did so – which can cause confusion.
But Microsoft may want to point users to its new and improved Snipping Tool, which has been redesigned under Windows 11.
Windows 11 was unveiled to great fanfare in June 2021 and became generally available four months later in October.
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