How to change the screenshot preview on an iPad

By Saadat Rafiq · 2 min read · 4 steps · Updated 5 October 2026

Device

iPad

Shown on

iPadOS 26.5 (iPad A16)

App

Settings

Path

Settings › General › Screen Capture › Full-Screen Previews

Real screenshots

3 of 4 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open Settings

   Tap the grey gear icon on the Home Screen. In the picture it is in the second row; it also sits in the Dock at the bottom.

   Done

2. 

   Tap General, then Screen Capture

   General is at the top of the list on the left. Screen Capture is the second row on the right, below About.

   Done

3. 

   Set Full-Screen Previews

   The text below the switch explains it: screenshots are displayed in full view instead of a temporary thumbnail in the lower-left corner. In the picture the switch is off.

   Done

4. Take a screenshot to see the result

   Press the top button and either volume button at the same time and let go quickly. On an iPad with a Home button, press the top button and the Home button.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• Your iPad may run a different version. The screenshots here show iPadOS 26.5 (iPad A16). On another version a setting can have a different name or sit in a different place. See your version under Settings, General, About. Update under Settings, General, Software Update; back up first, plug in and use Wi-Fi. Source: Find the software version on your iPhone Source: Update your iPhone or iPad
• It is greyed out. Screen Time restrictions can lock settings; Apple gives this as the reason when the Apple Account row is greyed out. Check Settings, Screen Time, Content & Privacy Restrictions. Source: If you can't sign out due to restrictions, or your Apple Account is grayed out in Settings

About this guide

After a screenshot the iPad either opens the picture in full view, ready to crop and mark up, or only shows a temporary thumbnail in the corner. Which one you get is one switch. The full view is good for editing; the thumbnail is better when you take several screenshots in a row.

The screenshots show iPadOS 26.5 on an iPad (A16), held upright. In landscape the same rows sit in the same order.

Good to know

Apple's guide for the current iPadOS describes the full view as the standard setting. The simulator used for these pictures shows the switch off, so check your own iPad.

On supported models the same page also has Automatic Visual Look Up, which recognises objects and places in screenshots.

In short: Settings, General, Screen Capture, Full-Screen Previews.