How to make a screenshot of the allocated area on Xiaomi: all ways and life hacks

Why a standard screenshot is not always convenient

Have you ever tried to take a screenshot of a page in your browser, but you got unnecessary elements in the frame - advertising, the bottom menu or extra chats? Or you wanted to save only a graphic from the report, but a standard screenshot captured the entire page? Xiaomi smartphones based on MIUI offer a solution: a screenshot of the selected area (aka "partial screenshot" or "screen cropping").

This feature saves time: you don't have to take a full picture and then crop it in the editor, and you just need to pick out the right piece with your finger, and the system will save only that.

• 📊 Save graphs, tables or diagrams from the annexes
• 💬 Fixing individual messages in chats (without names and avatars)
• 🎮 Capture game moments without the interface of the game
• 📄 Save fragments of web pages (e.g. recipes or instructions)

But not everyone knows that this feature exists — it is often hidden in settings or it works in an unobvious way. In this article, we will discuss all the current methods for Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO on MIUI 12-15 and Android 10-14, including hidden chips and workarounds for older models.

Method 1: Three finger gesture (fastest)

This is standard for most Xiaomi smartphones on MIUI 12 and later. It works out of the box, but many users turn it off accidentally.

1. Open Settings → Additional → Special features → Gestures.
2. Find the "Three Fingers Screenshot" item and turn it on.
3. Return to the screen that you need to shoot.
4. Swipe your fingers from top to bottom across the screen (without tearing your fingers off!).

After that:

• 📱 The screen will darken slightly, and at the bottom will appear the toolbar.
• 🖍️ Click on the "Selection" icon (usually a square with dotted lines).
• 🔍 Twisted the right area, it will light up.
• ✅ Click "Save" (check) or "Share" (arrow).

Important: If the gesture doesn't work, check if it conflicts with other gestures (e.g. Swipe for return in navigation settings (POCO F3, Redmi Note 10 Pro may require a double swipe down.

The "three fingers" gesture is enabled in the settings|There is no locking of gestures on the screen (for example, in games)|Fingers do not touch the edges of the screen (a swipe to return may work)|The screen is not locked (the gesture only works in the unlocked state)-->

Method 2: Power buttons + volume (classic pruning method)

If you don't like the three-finger gesture, you can use the traditional button combination, and then crop the screenshot right at the moment of saving. Here's how it works:

1. Press the Power button + Volume Down button at the same time and hold for 1-2 seconds.
2. After clicking the camera at the bottom of the screen will appear a thumbnail screenshot – click on it.
3. In the editor that opens, select the “Pruning” tool (scissors icon or frame).
4. Drag the corners of the frame to highlight the desired area, and press "Done".

🔹 The advantage of the method: works on all Xiaomi models, including old ones (Redmi). 4X, Mi A1, POCO F1), three-fingered.

🔹 Disadvantage: requires an additional step (pruning), which takes longer.

💡

If the screenshot thumbnail doesn’t appear, check the notification settings: go to Settings → Notifications → Notifications Management → System Notifications and turn on the screenshot miniatures option.

Method 3: Quick settings panel (for MIUI 14 and later)

The latest versions of MIUI (starting with MIUI 14 on Android 13/14) have a handy tool for screenshots right in the notification curtain.

1. Swipe down from the top edge of the screen to open the notification bar.
2. Find the Screenshot tile (if it is not available, click on the pencil icon and add it manually).
3. Slip on the tile - the screen will "freeze", and the toolbar will appear.
4. Select "Selection" and circle the desired area.

📌 Lifehack: If you take partial screenshots often, stick the Screenshot tiles at the top of the curtain:

1. Open the notification panel.
2. Press the pencil ("Edit").
3. Drag the screenshot tiles to the "Fixed" section.

Method 4: Screen Recording App (for advanced users)

If you need to take a screenshot of the scrolling area (such as a long chat or a web page), standard methods will not work.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Screen recording.
2. Enable permission to "overlay over other windows."
3. Launch the application and select "Screenshot" (camera icon).
4. After capturing the screen, press "Pruning" and highlight the desired area.

🔧 Additional opportunities:

• 📜 Keeping in PDF (useful for long pages).
• 🎨 Directly in the annex (Add text, arrows).
• 🔄 Automatic scrolling when screenshot (for chats and sites).

⚠️ Note: On some models (POCO M4 Pro, Redmi 9A) Screen Recording may not support cropping, in which case use third-party utilities such as Screen Master or LongShot (available on Google Play).

Method 5: ADB-Teams (for technical users)

If your Xiaomi doesn’t support partial screenshots at the software level (e.g. MIUI 11 or custom firmware), you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires a connection to your computer but gives you complete control over the process.

Here's the step-by-step instruction:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable “Debugging by USB”.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command in the terminal: adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen.png
4. Download screenshot to your computer: adb pull /sdcard/screen.png
5. Cut the image in any graphics editor (Paint, GIMP, Photoshop).

⚙️ For automation: you can create a.bat file with commands:

@echo off


adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screen_temp.png




adb pull /sdcard/screen_temp.png




adb shell rm /sdcard/screen_temp.png




start screen_temp.png

⚠️ Attention: When in use ADB Screenshots are saved in full screen resolution, which can take up a lot of space (up to the screen). 10–15 MB on Xiaomi 13 Ultra with permission 3200×1440). Before trimming, it is recommended to convert the image into JPEG quality 80–90%.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even with these simple features, users are struggling, and here are the most common bugs and ways to fix them:

🛠️ If nothing helps:

• 🔄 Reboot your phone – sometimes it drops temporary gesture bugs.
• 📱 Check if the power saving mode is on – it can block background processes, including screenshot processing.
• 🔧 Reset your gesture settings: Settings → System system → Resetting settings → Reset your gesture settings.

💡

In the models with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T, POCO F4 GT) Screenshots can turn dark because of adaptive brightness. Before shooting, increase the brightness manually or turn off automatic adjustment in the display settings.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions