How to Fix If Screenshot Folder Missing in Windows 11

Taking a screenshot on Windows 11 doesn’t require any third-party tool since the launch of Windows 8 or later. By pressing the Windows + PrintScreen keys (Windows + Fn + PrintScreen) together, you can easily capture a full screenshot of the current display on your Windows 11 that automatically saves images in the Screenshots folder under the Pictures library. But somehow, if the Screenshot Folder goes Missing in Windows 11, you can follow this guide to fix it.

Yes! That may also happen to the unfortunate Windows 11 users even after pressing the shortcut keys. So, if in case, the screenshot is capturing on the PC that you’re noticing but the output directory folder goes missing, or you can’t find it under the Pictures library, then the chances are high that something is conflicting with the system. You can avoid this and use the Snipping Tool or Microsoft Paint tool to manually capture the display screenshot.

Why the Captured Screenshots are not Saving Properly?

There could be multiple reasons behind such an issue because it’s one of the default Windows processes to directly save the captured screenshots into the Screenshots folder under the Pictures library. Mostly having issues with the wrong Value Data in the Registry File can cause such an issue whatsoever. By manually changing the registry value data on your PC, you should be able to get back the screenshots folder again.

How to Fix If Screenshot Folder Missing in Windows 11

Meanwhile, you can also use the Xbox Game Bar or any other third-party tool to capture the screenshot on the Windows 11 OS. However, these can be considered as another or additional possible way to take screenshots on Win11. But if you want to stick to the default screenshot capture method and found it useful previously then we’ll recommend you follow the steps below to manually resolve such an issue completely.

Note: Before performing any kind of system or registry editor key-value, make sure to simply create a system restore point on the PC as a backup. So, if in case, anything goes wrong with the system files or registry editor keys, you can go back to the previous state quite easily. To do so: click on the Start menu > Search for restore point by typing > click on Create a Restore Point > click on Configure > select Turn on System Protection > click on Apply and then OK > now, click on Create > select the C: drive where you’ve installed the Windows 11 > manually name the restore point > click on create again and wait for the process to complete.

1. Change Value in Registry Key

So, once you’ve created a system restore point, you’re now good to go with the following steps.

• Press the Windows + R keys together to open up the Run dialog box.
• Type Regedit in the Run dialog box and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Now, navigate to the mentioned location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer.
• From the right pane window, search for the ScreenshotIndex file that’s named DWORD (REG_DWORD).
• Since you’re facing the screenshot folder issue, you’ll find the DWORD missing.
• So, you’ll need to create it manually. Just right-click on the blank space at the right pane window > Click on New > Click on DWORD Value > Double-click on the DWORD entry to modify its Value data.
• Select the Decimal base and input the Value data as 695 > Click on OK.
• Now, point out this registry DWORD to correct user profile settings, you should check out the ‘User Shell Folders’ entry inside the Registry Editor.
• Just navigate to this mentioned location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.
• From the right pane of this location, click on the {B7BEDE81-DF94-4682-A7D8-57A52620B86F} entry that has an expandable string (REG_EXPAND_SZ).
• Now, make sure to set the mentioned Value data: %USERPROFILE%\Pictures\Screenshots.
• After confirming the Value data, click on OK to save changes > Finally, close the Registry Editor and reboot your PC to apply changes immediately.
• Now, you should be able to see the captured screenshots folder under the Pictures library on the Windows 11 computer as usual.

What if you want to Change the Default Save Location of Pictures?

You’ll need to manually change the default save location of the pictures or screenshots that are saved on the specific Win11 computer. To do this:

• Press the Windows + I keys to open the Windows Settings menu > Click on System.
• Click on Storage in the left pane > Scroll down a bit and find Change where new content is saved.
• Click on the drop-down menu of New photos and videos will save to> Select your preferred disk drive.
• Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box > Now, type regedit, and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Now, navigate to the mentioned path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.
• From the right side pane window, you’ll find a registry key named “My Pictures”.
• So, if you want to change the path of the Pictures folder, you’ll need to tweak the value of the My Pictures key.
• Then double-click on the particular key and enter the new value according to your folder.
• Finally, exit the Registry Editor, and restart your computer to apply changes.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.