Taking a screenshot on your iPad is as simple as pressing two buttons at the same time on your iPhone device, or you can use another on-screen method. Here's how.
What is a screenshot
A screenshot is a direct capture of what's on your device's screen. With screenshots, you can capture what you see and then save it for later use or share it with others without having to use your camera to take a picture of your device.
On iPad, when you take a screenshot, it's saved as an image in the photo library in the Screenshots album (unless you choose to save it to a file after editing, which you'll see below). Once the screenshot is in the photo, you can share it just like any other image or photo stored on your device.
How to capture a screenshot with a button
Most people use a combination of hardware buttons to capture screenshots on iPad. The buttons you press vary depending on your iPad type. Here are the combinations:
- iPad without home button: Press the top button and the volume up button at the same time.
- iPad with Home Button: Press the top button and the home button at the same time.
How to capture a screenshot without a button
You can also use a feature called AssistiveTouch to take screenshots on your iPad without using hardware buttons. This will come in handy if you can't actually perform a button combination, or if one of the buttons is broken or damaged.
To enable AssistiveTouch, open Settings and navigate to Accessibility > Touch >AssistiveTouch. Flip the switch next to AssistiveTouch to the ON position.
When AssistiveTouch is enabled, you'll see a circular button that looks like a circular rectangle near the edge of the screen. This is the AssistiveTouch button. You can drag it with your finger to reposition it, but as long as AssistiveTouch is enabled, it stays on the screen.
Now that AssistiveTouch is turned on, there are two main ways to trigger a screenshot with it. The first is to use the "custom action" that occurs when you tap the assistive-touch button.
On Setup > Touch > Assistive, find the Customize Actions section. Depending on your preference, tap Single Tap, Double Tap, or Long Press, and then select Screenshot from the list of actions that appears.
Then click "Back". To capture a screenshot, just tap, double-tap, or long-press the AssistiveTouch button (depending on which button you choose).
The second way to take a screenshot without buttons is to use the AssistiveTouch menu. By default, the Single Tap custom action in Settings > Touch > AssistiveTouch is assigned to Open Menu. If that's still the case, you can always tap the AssistiveTouch button to see the pop-up menu.
When you see the pop-up menu, select More > your device and tap "Screenshot" to take a screenshot.
After that, you'll capture a screenshot as if you pressed the screenshot button combination on your iPad.
What happens next
When you take a screenshot on your iPad, a thumbnail of the screenshot will appear in the bottom left corner of the screen. If you don't do anything, the thumbnail will disappear automatically and the screenshot will be saved in the Screenshots album in the Photos app.
If you tap on the thumbnail, you'll be taken to edit mode, where you can add annotations, crops, and more to the screenshot.
When editing is done, tap "Done" and the iPad will ask you if you want to save the screenshot to "Photos" or "Files" or if you wish to delete it. Then repeat as needed. The only limit on the number of screenshots you can take is the size of your iPad's storage space.