Advertisement

Fix: The screen does not dim when you take a screenshot using Win+PrintScreen in Windows 8.1 or Windows 8

In Windows 8, a new screenshot feature was introduced for end users. If you press Win + Print Screen keys simultaneously on the keyboard, your screen will be dimmed for half a second, and a new screenshot will be captured to the This PC\Pictures\Screenshots folder. This is a nice visual indication that the screenshot was taken. However, if the screen dimming stops leaving you with no indication that the screenshot was captured, here is how you can fix it.

Advertisеment


The screen dimming feature depends on Windows animation settings. If you or some software disabled the appropriate option, your screen will not dim any more. You can enable it back. To do it, you need to perform these simple steps:
  1. Press Win + R shortcut keys together on your keyboard. The Run dialog will appear on the screen.
    Tip: See the ultimate list of all Windows keyboard shortcuts with Win keys.
  2. Type the following in the Run box:
    SystemPropertiesAdvanced

    Run SystemPropertiesAdvanced
    Press Enter. This will open the Advanced System Properties window directly.

  3. Click the Settings button under the Perfomance section. The Pefomance Options dialog will open.
    Pefomance Options dialog
  4. Make sure that Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing option is enabled. If it is disabled, you will not get the screen dimming feature. Tick the checkbox to enable it back.
    Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing
  5. That's it!
    This screenshot feature is really useful if you need to capture the screen image quickly. Additionally, Windows offers a two additional ways to capture a screenshot without using third-party tools. If you are not happy with the default screenshots folder location, here is how you can change it: How to change default screenshots location in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8. Also, you might be interested in reading about how to reset the screenshot file name counter, or capture a screenshot in Windows 8 from a shortcut or command line.

    Support us

    Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options:

    If you like this article, please share it using the buttons below. It won't take a lot from you, but it will help us grow. Thanks for your support!

    Advertisеment

Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

9 thoughts on “Fix: The screen does not dim when you take a screenshot using Win+PrintScreen in Windows 8.1 or Windows 8”

  1. Thank you so much! This not dimming thing caused me days of consternation because I didn’t realize that the screenshots that I had been taking had actually been taken.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

css.php
Using Telegram? Subscribe to the blog channel!
Hello. Add your message here.