---
title: "How to screenshot on a Microsoft Surface"
url: "https://screenshot-laptop.com/surface/"
platform: "Windows"
section: "By laptop brand"
updated: "2026-09-15"
license: "CC-BY-4.0"
attribution: "screenshot-laptop.com"
shortcuts:
  - "Fn + Space"
  - "Fn + Alt + Space"
  - "Power + Volume up"
---

# How to screenshot on a Microsoft Surface

*Surface keyboards have no Print Screen key. Microsoft replaced it with Fn + Space, which almost nobody knows exists.*

URL: https://screenshot-laptop.com/surface/

## The short answer

- `Fn` + `Space` — Whole screen to clipboard
- `Fn` + `Alt` + `Space` — Active window to clipboard
- `Power` + `Volume up` — Tablet mode, saves a file

Surface devices run full Windows, so [every Windows method](https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/) works. But the keyboard is unusual enough to need its own explanation.

## Fn + Space replaces Print Screen

Type Cover and Surface Laptop keyboards don't have a Print Screen key — there's no room in the row. Microsoft mapped the function to the space bar's Fn layer instead:

- **`Fn`+`Space`** — whole screen to the clipboard, the equivalent of plain `PrtSc`
- **`Fn`+`Alt`+`Space`** — active window to the clipboard, the equivalent of `Alt`+`PrtSc`

Neither creates a file. Paste with `Ctrl`+`V`.

This is genuinely obscure — it isn't printed on the key and doesn't appear in most Windows documentation. If you've been wondering why your Surface seems to have no screenshot key, this is the answer.

## The Fn key has a light

Surface keyboards put an LED on the `Fn` key. The light tells you which layer of the top row is currently active, and pressing `Fn` by itself toggles between them.

Worth checking before concluding a shortcut is broken, because it changes what the F-keys do and therefore what combinations you need.

## Tablet mode: Power + Volume up

With the Type Cover detached or folded back, hold **Power** and press **Volume up**. The screen dims briefly and a PNG is saved to **Pictures › Screenshots**.

Note the direction — Surface uses **Volume up**, while most other Windows tablets use Volume down. Getting it wrong usually opens the power menu instead.

Original Surface models with a physical Windows logo button on the bezel used **Windows button + Volume down**. That button was dropped from later generations.

## Surface Pen

The Pen's top button is configurable in the **Surface** app, and a single click, double click or press-and-hold can each be assigned a different action. Depending on your Pen model and what's installed, the available actions include opening a snip and annotating it directly.

Open the Surface app, go to **Pen**, and see what your model offers. When it's available, the double-click-to-snip action is the fastest capture-and-mark-up route on any Windows device.

## The methods that always work

Because Surface is a Microsoft device, the standard Windows shortcuts are fully supported and don't depend on the Type Cover at all:

- **`Win`+`Shift`+`S`** — region capture, the best everyday option
- **`Win`+`PrtSc`** — only works with an external keyboard that has the key
- **Snipping Tool** — pin it to the taskbar and tap it with a finger, which is the best route in tablet mode with no keyboard

## Touchscreen selection

Region selection with a fingertip is imprecise. With the Pen it's excellent — the crosshair follows the nib exactly, so you can select an area to the pixel. If your Surface came with a Pen, use it for captures that need to be neat.

## Questions

**Does Fn + Space save a file?**

No, it copies to the clipboard only. For a file, use `Win`+`Shift`+`S` and save from the notification, or turn on auto-save in Snipping Tool settings.

**Which volume button do I press on a Surface?**

Volume **up**, with Power. Most other Windows tablets use volume down, so instructions written for generic Windows tablets will be wrong for a Surface.

**Can I screenshot a Surface with no keyboard attached?**

Yes — Power plus Volume up for the full screen, or open Snipping Tool from the taskbar and tap New for a region capture with your finger or Pen.

**Why doesn't my Surface have a Print Screen key?**

There isn't physical room in the Type Cover's function row. `Fn`+`Space` is the intended replacement, and `Win`+`Shift`+`S` does more anyway.