Finally beat that insanely punishing Bloodborne boss and 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 a “Share” button, which you can use to capture images and video at any time whether you’re in a game or navigating the menus. Hold the Share button 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 the Share button, you will pause the action and bring up the Share menu. From there, you can press triangle to save a screenshot or select “share 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 the Share button once to pause and bring up the overlay. Select the Screenshot option and press “X” to be given a choice of channels through which you can share your content.
The first time you share a screenshot through an external social network like Facebook or Twitter 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 any Communities of which you are already a member.
Saving a screenshot
Alternatively, if you want to share screenshots after the fact, you can do so from Capture Gallery, which can be reached at any time by pressing the PS button and navigating through the home screen menu.
Your media is automatically sorted into screenshots and videos, and within that in folders by game. Find the screenshot you want to share and press the Share button, which will bring up the same options as before for available channels.
Exporting to a USB device
If you just want the native image files as JPGs, you can plug in a USB storage device and directly export them. Note that only exFAT and FAT32 formatted devices are compatible with the PS4. With your device plugged in, navigate to the Capture Gallery from the home menu. Find the content you want to share and press the Options button, this will bring up a menu on the right side of the screen which includes “Copy to USB Storage Device.” Highlight this and press X, which will give you an opportunity to select as many screenshots as you would like to export in bulk to the device you have plugged in. The export process is quick, and your content will be filed in the drive under the folders PS4>SHARE>Screenshots, and then again sorted by games.
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