Finally beat that insanely punishingBloodborneboss or got that clutch first place finish inWarzoneand want to brag to your friends? Or maybe you’re just a beleaguered gaming writer on a deadline in need of image assets. Whatever the reason you might need to take a screenshot of your games on PlayStation 4, you’re in luck, because capturing and sharing your play is integral to modern gaming, with easy functionality built right into the PS4 out of the box. Here’s our quick guide on how to take a screenshot on PS4.
Taking a screenshot
Step one, actually taking a screenshot, is about as simple as it gets. To the left of the touchpad on your DualShock controller is aSharebutton, which you can use to capture images and video at any time, whether you’re in a game or navigating the menus. Hold theSharebutton to capture and save a screenshot of whatever was on your screen at the moment you pressed the button. Alternatively, if you press and immediately release theSharebutton, you will pause the action and bring up theSharemenu. From there, you can pressTriangleto save a screenshot or selectShare Screenshot(highlighted below) to send your image directly to your PSN activity feed and social media.
Sharing a screenshot
To share an image immediately from the game, press theSharebutton once to pause and bring up the overlay. Select theScreenshotoption and pressXto be given a choice of channels through which you’re able to share your content.
The first time you share a screenshot through an external social network likeFacebookorTwitter, you will have to enter your login credentials. Otherwise, you are ready to share at will in PlayStation’s own Activities feed, in direct messages to your friends, or to anyCommunitiesof which you are already a member.
Saving a screenshot
On the contrary, if you need to share screenshots afterward, you can do this right from the Capture Gallery, which can be accessed at any moment simply by pushing thePSbutton and going through theHomemenu.
Your media files are automatically organized into screenshots and videos, and within those file types, you’ll see folders that separate them by game. Locate the screenshot you’d like to share and push theSharebutton. You should see the exact options pop up just like they did before for available channels when you do this.
Exporting to a USB device
If you only need the original image files as JPGs, you’re able to use a USB storage tool and directly save and export them. We do want to point out that the PS4 will support only exFAT and FAT32 formatted devices. With your USB device still plugged in, head over to theCapture Galleryfrom theHomemenu. Locate the specific files you want to share and push theOptionskey. From here, you’ll see a menu pop up on the right side of the page that will have an option readingCopy to USB Storage Device. Highlight this with your cursor and hitX, which will allow you to pick as many screenshots as you want to export in bulk to your plugged-in device. The export method is fast and straightforward, and your content will be sorted in the drive in the foldersPS4 > Share > Screenshots.After this, they’ll be organized once more by games.
