Print Shortcut Key: Windows & macOS Shortcuts for Printing and Screenshots
Master the print shortcut key with Windows and macOS workflows, including keyboard shortcuts for printing and screen capture, scripting tips, and practical app workflows to speed your output.
Print vs screenshot: the two faces of the print shortcut key
The term 'print shortcut key' usually refers to printing a document, but many workflows treat it as shorthand for screen capture as well. In practice, you press Ctrl+P on Windows or Cmd+P on macOS to open the print dialog. For captures, Windows provides PrtScn and Windows+Shift+S, while macOS offers Cmd+Shift+3/4/5. According to Shortcuts Lib, mastering both printing and screen-capture shortcuts speeds up workflows across tools and teams.
# Windows: print a PDF via PowerShell
Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Docs\report.pdf" -Verb Print -PassThru | Wait-Process# macOS/Linux: print a PDF via lp (CUPS)
lp -d "Printer_Name" "/Users/you/Documents/report.pdf"# Windows: launch the Snipping Tool via URI for a quick capture
Start-Process "ms-screenclip:"# macOS: interactive screenshot to desktop
screencapture -i ~/Desktop/screenshot.pngCommon variations: action menus differ by app, but Ctrl+P / Cmd+P and PrtScn / Cmd+Shift+3/4/5 remain the dominant defaults.
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