The official way to find your Steam screenshot folder is to close the game, open its Library page, choose Manage my screenshots in the Screenshots section, and click Show on Disk. The default in-game Screenshot key is F12, and captures made with Windows Key + PrtScn are saved by Windows rather than Steam, so they end up in a different folder. This article covers Windows PC only, and every menu name follows Steam Support's wording as checked on September 30, 2026.
The short answer: close the game, then use Show on Disk
A screenshot taken with F12 is opened through Show on Disk once the game is closed, while a capture taken with Windows Key + PrtScn lives in the Screenshots folder inside your Pictures folder. This article does not print a raw folder path because the approved official pages do not state one, and the button is the more reliable route anyway. For changing the save location, no official Steam Support page describing the procedure could be found, so the steps below stay within what is documented. If you would rather keep video, Windows has a built-in option too: how to record with Xbox Game Bar.
How to open the Steam screenshot folder
- 1Close the game first — The official Support page describes this procedure as something you do after closing the game. While playing, just capture with F12, the default Screenshot key, and check the folder once the game has exited.
- 2Open the game's page in your Library — Select the game you took screenshots in from your Steam Library. A Screenshots section appears on the right side of the game page, and Manage my screenshots is inside it.
- 3Click Show on Disk — In the window that appears, click the Show on Disk button. It opens the hard drive folder that holds that game's screenshots, so you do not need to memorize a path or browse for it.
- 4Look for Windows captures in Pictures — If you used Windows Key + PrtScn, that is a Windows feature rather than Steam, so open the Screenshots folder inside your Pictures folder. On Windows versions that do not support this, the image goes to the clipboard only and you must paste it into Paint or a similar app to save it.
- 5Check the settings yourself to change the location — Open the In-game tab under Steam > Settings. The official Steam Community Overlay page points to this tab as the place for Steam overlay settings. The name and location of any option for choosing a screenshot folder, and whether existing screenshots move along when a folder is changed, could not be confirmed in official documents, so check them on your own screen in the client.
How to find the folder for each capture method (per official Steam Support)
| Method | How to find the folder | Conditions and cautions |
|---|---|---|
| Steam F12 (in game) | After closing the game: Library page > Screenshots > Manage my screenshots > Show on Disk | F12 is the default key, and capture requires the Steam overlay. |
| Windows Key + PrtScn | Pictures folder > Screenshots folder | A Windows feature, not a Steam feature. Windows versions without support keep it on the clipboard only. |
| Screenshot viewer | In the Steam client: View > Recordings & Screenshots | Only the viewer's location was confirmed. The name of a button that opens the folder is not in the Support page. |
| Changing the save location | Check Steam > Settings (for example the In-game tab) in the client yourself | The procedure and option names could not be confirmed in approved official pages, so none are asserted. |
What to check when screenshots are missing
- Confirm you looked under Manage my screenshots after closing the game, which is the order the official Support page gives.
- The Steam Community Overlay page says F12 screenshots need the Steam overlay, so check that the overlay was working in that game.
- Make sure you are not searching the Steam folder for a Windows Key + PrtScn capture, which lives in Pictures > Screenshots.
- If your Windows version does not support saving Win+PrtScn as a file, the image exists only on the clipboard, so check whether you pasted and saved it in Paint or similar.
- Right-click the game in your Library (or click its gear icon), open Properties... > General, and check that Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game is turned on. The official Overlay page describes this as a per-game setting.
When you need video instead of a screenshot
A screenshot keeps a single moment, so video is the better fit when you want to show how a play unfolded. Video also carries game sound and your voice, and separating game and microphone audio tracks in OBS explains how to handle them individually, while how to record Steam games walks through saving footage from games you launch through Steam. DOR is a free Windows app that detects supported games automatically, saves the full match as mp4, and lets you trim sections in the app library and share them by link. It suits the times you want to keep a play as video instead of a screenshot, and it does not change or manage the Steam screenshot folder.
Official sources
Checked on September 30, 2026. The saving and folder-opening procedure comes from Steam Support: Saving a Screenshot, the overlay requirement from Steam Support: Steam Community Overlay, and the viewer location from Steam Support: Steam Game Recording. Menu names may differ from the latest client, so compare them with your screen.
