---
title: How to take screenshots?
description: "**How to take screenshots?** You need[Apache Commons IO](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-io/) for FileUtils.copyFile(). Add this to your Maven pom.xml if you use Maven: ```javascript     commons-io     commons-io     2.15.1 ``` ***1. Take a Screenshot of the Entire Page*** *Sample Program: * ```javascript import org.openqa.selenium.OutputType; import org.openqa.selenium.TakesScreenshot;…"
url: "https://vinothqaacademy.com/docs/how-to-take-screenshots/"
updated: "2025-09-26"
category: Selenium Automation Testing
tags:
  - Selenium Automation Testing
---

# How to take screenshots?

**How to take screenshots?**

You need[Apache Commons IO](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-io/) for FileUtils.copyFile().

Add this to your Maven pom.xml if you use Maven:

```javascript

                <dependency>

    <groupId>commons-io</groupId>

    <artifactId>commons-io</artifactId>

    <version>2.15.1</version>

</dependency>
```

***1. Take a Screenshot of the Entire Page***

*Sample Program: *

```javascript

                import org.openqa.selenium.OutputType;

import org.openqa.selenium.TakesScreenshot;

import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;

import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;

import java.io.File;

import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils; // Add Apache Commons IO dependency

public class ScreenshotExample {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "/path/to/chromedriver");

        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

        try {

            driver.get("https://example.com");

            // Take screenshot and store as a file format

            File src = ((TakesScreenshot)driver).getScreenshotAs(OutputType.FILE);

            // Now copy the screenshot to desired location

            FileUtils.copyFile(src, new File("./screenshot.png"));

            System.out.println("Screenshot captured!");

        } catch (Exception e) {

            e.printStackTrace();

        } finally {

            driver.quit();

        }

    }

}
```

***2. Take a Screenshot of a Specific Element***

```javascript

                import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;

// Assume 'element' is already located:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("myElement"));

File src = element.getScreenshotAs(OutputType.FILE);

FileUtils.copyFile(src, new File("./element-screenshot.png"));
```

***3. Take a Screenshot in case of failure using TestNG***

Using TestNG’s ITestListener:

Implement ITestListener to automatically capture screenshots on test failure:

```javascript

                import org.testng.ITestListener;

import org.testng.ITestResult;

import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;

public class ScreenshotListener implements ITestListener {

    @Override

    public void onTestFailure(ITestResult result) {

        Object testClass = result.getInstance();

        WebDriver driver = ((YourBaseTestClass) testClass).getDriver(); // get your driver instance

        String methodName = result.getName();

        takeScreenshot(driver, methodName + "_FAILED");

    }

    //... other overridden methods

}
```

***4. Manual Screenshot Capture on Catch Block***

If you’re not using any test framework hooks, you can take screenshots in your catch blocks:

```javascript

                try {

    // test steps

} catch (Exception e) {

    takeScreenshot(driver, "TestStep_Failed");

    throw e;

}
```

**Best Practices**

- Include timestamps in the screenshot file name for uniqueness.

- Store screenshots in a structured folder, e.g., ./screenshots/.

- Attach screenshots to your test reports (many reporting tools support this, e.g., Allure, ExtentReports).

**Sample Method with Timestamp**

```javascript

                import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;

import java.util.Date;

public static void takeScreenshot(WebDriver driver, String fileName) {

    try {

        String timestamp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMddHHmmss").format(new Date());

        File src = ((TakesScreenshot) driver).getScreenshotAs(OutputType.FILE);

        FileUtils.copyFile(src, new File("./screenshots/" + fileName + "_" + timestamp + ".png"));

    } catch (Exception e) {

        e.printStackTrace();

    }

}
```