How to Take Snapshots in VLC
Want to capture a screenshot of a specific scene in your videos? In that case, use VLC Media Player’s built-in snapshot feature to do this. You can use a keyboard shortcut, a menu bar option, or an advanced control button to do this. We’ll show you how.
TIED TOGETHER: 10 Useful Features Hidden in VLC, the Swiss Army Knife of Media Players
Take a screenshot in VLC media player
To take a screenshot, first open your video with VLC. Then go to the scene you want to capture. You can use VLC’s frame-by-frame feature to access a specific frame in your video.
Then capture the screenshot by pressing Shift+S (Windows and Linux) or Command+Alt+S (Mac). Alternatively, you can select Video > Take Snapshot from the VLC menu bar.
Your screenshot will now be captured and saved to a folder on your computer. The following section tells you where this folder is located on your specific operating system.
TIED TOGETHER: Where are screenshots saved on Windows 10 and Windows 11?
Access and change VLC’s default snapshot directory
To find all the screenshots you took with VLC, go to the following folder on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer:
- window: C:\Users\username\Pictures
- Mac: Writing desk/
- Linux: ~/images
If you want to change where VLC saves your screenshots or if you want to change the file format, from the VLC menu bar, choose Tools > Preferences.
If you want to use a different image format (the default is PNG) for your snapshots, click the Format dropdown menu and choose a new format. Your options include PNG, JPG, and TIFF.
After making the changes, click Save at the bottom of the Easy Settings window to save your changes.
Here’s how to capture stills from your videos using a free, open-source app on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. Enjoy!
Did you know you can use VLC to trim your videos? Our guide will show you how.
TIED TOGETHER: How to trim videos in VLC media player