How to Post a Screenshot on Steam
If you want to capture an impressive gameplay moment in a Steam game, you might want to take and post a screenshot. This guide explains how.
Creating a Steam account is one of the best moves a PC or Mac gamer can have. With thousands of games to choose from, regular sales, and a massive community of gamers to play with, it’s a must-have platform for kicking back and having fun.
If you want to record some of your fun, you might want to take some screenshots. A Steam screenshot can be an excellent way to show off an impressive in-game moment. Additionally, if you experience a bug inside Steam or one of the games you’re playing, posting a screenshot on Steam can be a great way to give the game studio feedback to resolve it.
If you’re unsure how to post a screenshot on Steam, follow these steps.
Enabling the Steam Overlay
Before you think about posting screenshots on Steam, it’s a good idea to ensure that the Steam overlay is enabled and working.
The Steam overlay is your in-game access to the Steam client and settings. For instance, if you want to take and post a screenshot in-game, you’ll need to ensure this is enabled.
To enable the Steam overlay:
- Open the Steam client on your PC or Mac and sign in.
- In the client, press Steam > Settings (or Steam > Preferences on Mac).
- Select In-Game from the menu on the left in the Settings menu.
- Make sure that the Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game checkbox is enabled.
- Take note of the Screenshot shortcut keys option—this is the key you’ll need to press to take an in-game screenshot using the overlay. By default, this is set to F12.
- Press OK to save your settings.
With the overlay enabled, you can take a screenshot in-game.
How to Take a Screenshot on Steam
The best (and quickest) way to take a screenshot on Steam is to use the in-game overlay. This won’t disrupt your in-game experience, which, for most users, is full-screen.
If you enabled the in-game overlay using the steps above, you’re ready to take a screenshot. Launch your game on Steam, and press the screenshot shortcut key when you’re ready to take the screenshot.
The screenshot will be saved to the default screenshot folder. On Windows, this is in the default Steam installation folder. On Mac, this is the Library/Application Support/Steam folder in your Mac user profile.
If you want to customize the save location for your screenshots on Windows, open the Steam client, press Steam > Settings > In-Game > Screenshot Folder, and choose a new location. On Mac, press Steam > Preferences > In-Game > Screenshot Folder instead.
How to Post a Screenshot on Steam
You’ve got your new screenshot on Steam, and now you want to post it. The best way to do this is to add it to your user profile.
Steam screenshots taken using the Steam overlay appear in your user profile. These images are shareable (as links) to Steam community forums and elsewhere. You can also share images with developers as part of bug reports.
To post a screenshot on Steam:
- Take a screenshot on Steam using the in-game overlay, or use your own tool.
- Check that you can see the screenshot in Steam by pressing Library and selecting your game.
- Your screenshots will appear listed in the Post-game summary section.
- To post it elsewhere, click the image to view it, then press the Share button.
- In the Share box, add an image caption to explain the image, set the visibility options, and tag it as a game spoiler (or not).
- If you want to share the image, press the Upload button.
- After uploading the image, exit the image preview and hover over your username on the top menu.
- Select Content from the drop-down menu.
- In the Screenshots tab, you’ll see your screenshot posted. If you tap it, the URL to the image appears at the top—you can copy this to share elsewhere.
Having Fun On Steam
Using the steps above, you can quickly post a screenshot on Steam. This could be to your public profile or as part of a bug report.
Unsure what to do next? If you want to improve your privacy, you might want to hide your game activity on Steam. If you run into any problems, you can quickly restart Steam anytime.
Are you trying to download a new game? You might want to increase your Steam download speeds next.
