In my job as an editor at TechRepublic, I have to create screenshot images just about every day. Before Windows 7 that generally required a several step process: one step to copy the screenshot to the clipboard, one step to paste it into Paint or similar application, and one last step to save it to a hard drive.

When Windows 7 came along there was the Snipping Tool, which did not really reduce the number of steps, it just sort of rearranged them slightly: Start the Snipping Tool, pick what you wanted an image of, snip it, and then save it to a hard drive.

While Microsoft Windows 8 still has the Snipping Tool, it also has a new keyboard shortcut for capturing screenshots. If you click the keyboard combination of the Windows Key + Print Screen, Windows 8 will capture the current screenshot and save it automatically in the Pictures Library. If you are on a tablet the combination is the Windows Key + Volume Down.