How to do a scrolling screenshot on windows

Most basic screen capture tools allow you to capture all or part of your screen, but what if you need to capture more than what’s visible at any one time?

If you’ve ever needed to capture an image of an entire web page, you probably know how annoying it is to take multiple screenshots and try to stitch them together.

But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Scrolling screenshots allow you to grab content that doesn’t fit within the dimensions of your screen. They’re great for capturing:

• Spreadsheets with lots of rows or columns
• Lengthy email, chat, or social media threads
• Long website pages or documents

In this post, you’ll learn the best (and easiest) way to take a scrolling or full-page screenshot.

Quickly grab infinitely scrolling pages, long chat threads, and everything in between.

Put simply, a scrolling screenshot is a screenshot that allows you to scroll to capture screen content that may not be visible on your screen. You can scroll vertically for capturing things like web pages or documents or horizontally for spreadsheets, large graphics, and more.

There are many ways to take screenshots on Windows or Mac, but both operating systems’ built-in screen capture tools lack a scrolling screenshot feature. They can only capture the visible areas of your screen.

Unless you want to spend countless hours piecing together multiple screenshots, you’ll need a better screen capture app to take a scrolling screenshot. 

For this post, we’ll use Snagit, which works with Windows and Mac OS. (If you don’t already have Snagit, you can try it for free. No credit card required.)

Unlike browser extensions, where your captures are limited to web pages, Snagit can capture anything on your screen. 

Capture a scrolling area with a panoramic capture

1. Select the “All-in-One” tab within Snagit’s Capture window and click “Capture.”
2. When the orange crosshairs appear, click and drag to select the area you want to capture.
3. Click the Panoramic Capture Button.
4. Click “start,” scroll through the content you want to capture, then click “stop.”

It’s that easy! Once you’ve captured your screenshot, it will automatically open in the Snagit Editor, where you can preview, edit, add markup or callouts, and quickly share it.

Three ways to make your full-page screenshots even better

Screenshots on their own are useful, but add a little context, and they can be a downright magical way to communicate your ideas.

Once you capture your full-page screenshot, it will open in the Snagit editor, where you’ll be able to:

1. Annotate your screenshot

Don’t let important information get overlooked. Use arrows and callouts to highlight specific areas of your screenshot or add more context. Choose from different color themes, or create your own to keep your images on-brand.

2. Rearrange objects within your screenshot

Snagit automatically makes the objects in your screen capture movable, which means you can rearrange buttons, delete text, or edit other elements in your screenshots.

Is your cursor blocking something? Just delete it! Wish that button was on the right and not the left? Just move it! 

You can even magically mock-up websites with screenshots.

3. Edit the text in your screenshot

Snagit recognizes the text in your screenshots for quick editing, which means you can change the text’s color, font, or size without redesigning the entire image. Need to extract text from an image? Snagit can do that, too. 

No built-in screenshot tool can do that!

Scrolling screenshots are a lifesaver when you need to capture a full webpage, extensive spreadsheet, or long chat thread. 

Since you can’t take scrolling screenshots with native apps like Snip & Sketch, investing in a more powerful screenshots tool is worth it.

Snagit is the best tool for taking full-page screenshots. It lets you quickly capture your screen, add additional context, and share images, GIFS, or videos to your favorite apps.

Frequently asked questions

How do I take a screenshot bigger than my screen?

A scrolling screenshot is a great way to capture content that doesn’t fit within the dimensions of a typical screenshot.

Can you scroll while taking a screenshot?

The native Windows and Mac tools don’t have a scrolling screenshot feature, it’s possible with a third-party app like Snagit.

Is it possible to screenshot a parallax website?

Static screenshots aren’t the best way to capture interactive elements like parallax scrolling. However, with Snagit, you can record your screen and quickly turn the video into an animated GIF.

Can you take a scrolling screenshot on an iPhone?

Yes, but only when using native apps like Safari and Notes. Press the side or top button and volume up button simultaneously to take a screenshot. Then click on the preview and tap “full page” at the top.

How do I take a scrolling screenshot on Android?

On Android 11 or later, press the power and volume down buttons at the same time. Then, tab the “capture more” option at the bottom left corner of the screen.