Can't Make Screenshot through "Print Screen" in F4 but can in Skyrim - Causes?

[9raxus]

UPDATE 2025-01-01 : I have since found a solution for my situation as described in my post below. In summary, I went to the Windows > Accessibility > Keyboard menu and disabled "Use Print screen key to open screen capture."

Original topic post below:

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The situation that I am encountering is that I can not create a screenshot in Fallout 4 using the "Print Screen" option. When I attempt to create a screenshot, the program exits back out to the desktop although it is not a crash; You can re-enter the program but it is paused with the menu screen on when you re-enter.

I can create a screenshot with this same method in Skyrim, though. I have the "bAllowScreenshot=1" modification in both of their respective .INI files. I use Mod Organizer 2 and I'm aware that MO2 uses a 'virtual' INI file but both of those also has the bAllow line in it.

I do have Windows 11 with the recent 24H2 update but I don't know if that is the cause as Skyrim is unaffected.

Has anyone else had this situation and, if so, have you resolved it and how have you done so? I can create screenshots through Steam (F12) but would prefer to understand why this prior method of creating screenshots no longer works. Thank you.

Edited Wednesday at 01:24 PM by 9raxus
Found a solution to my problem and sharing on the original post.

[363rdChemicalCompany]

The published screenshot button for FO4 is F12.

[AndalayBay]

Ironically, F12 doesn't work for me. Only Print Screen does. I had F12 mapped to Fraps, but I changed it and F12 still won't work.

I have WinSnap, so when I press Prt Scr, it minimizes the game and opens the WinSnap window so I can save the screenshot because I don't have autosave turned on. It's a pain tbh, but it works.

I wonder if it's minimizing the game so you can paste the screenshot into an editor to save it.

[RoNin1971]

Never used F12.

Because I have more then one screen, I always use CTRL+PrtScrn. Always worked just fine. The game reports the screenshot is taken on screen and even keeps track of the number of screen captures, so it is recognized as such. The game doesn't minimize or anything. You can keep going and make more captures, although if you do in close succession you will get the message too (unless you set UI to 100% transparent)

 

edit:

You can paste it from the clipboard, but also find it inside your Fallout 4's install. dir.

 

edit2:

Just tried. Hitting only prt-scrn will get me the same result as mentioned. It will minimize the game and such. CTRL+Prt-scrn works just fine. (but I knew that. As I've made thousands during the past 7-8 years.)

[subaverage]

I use enb and reshade. Both have a setting for the key to take screenshots. In both cases it's print screen for me and the screenshots go to the main game folder, but have enb_ in front of the file name. So you might perhaps use enb and/ or reshade and have a different setting for taking screenshots.

[RoNin1971]

Something changed in windows. I never got this 'snipping tool' before when hitting prt-scrn. It just created an image with my full desktop. (across 2 screens)

Now the entire screen is darkened and a menu appears on top where I now need to choose what I want to do. (picture, video, rectangle, window, etc.), not just in FO4 but its default windows behavior now.

 

[subaverage]

@RoNin1971 In Windows is a tool called "Snip & Sketch" (I hope thats's the correct english name) and what you discribe is the default behavior of the tool afaik. In it's settings you can determine a key for taking a shot of the whole screen. I am still on Win10, but I would believe that it works the same way in Win11.

I didn't believe that the topic author's problem occurs through Windows, because of the statement that print sreen still works for 9raxus in Skyrim.

[RoNin1971]

Well, actually, that is correct. Within Skyrim just pressing prt.scrn works just fine. Somehow it knows how to circumvent the snipping tool, or perhaps the key is set as default for screencaptures in Skyrim but not Fo4(? to lazy to check right now).

 

This was not the case in the past.

 

Anyway, to me it seems CTRL+Prt.Scrn should solve the "problem" for topic author.

[9raxus]

Hi everyone and thank you for all of the responses.

I have found a solution to my problem and I would like to share it in the event that it helps others.

For whatever reason, Windows had linked opening the snipping tool with hitting "print screen" (in my case, I need to press "function" & "print screen"). I disabled that link by going into the Windows > Accessibility > Keyboard menu and turning off "Use the Print Screen key to open screen capture." I can now use "function + print screen" in Fallout 4 without incident. Again, this likely only affects Windows 11 users with the 24H2 update but I can't be certain of that.