How to Take a Long Screenshot on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Modern Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones have powerful screens that allow you to display a huge amount of information. However, when trying to save the content of a long article, correspondence in the messenger or a list of products in the online store, a standard screenshot often crops up the necessary data. The user sees only the top of the image, while the essence of the information is hidden below, it is in these situations that you need to create a scrolling screenshot that combines several frames into one long tape.

Fortunately, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have built-in functionality to solve this problem without installing third-party applications. You don’t need to search for special programs on Google Play, which are often overloaded with advertising and require unnecessary permissions. The system function “Scroll” is available out of the box and works steadily on most current models. In this article, we will analyze the algorithm of actions, consider possible problems and answer frequent questions.

The process of creating a composite image may vary slightly depending on the version of the operating system and the model of your device. For example, on older versions of Android, the preview interface looked different from the current Android 13 or 14. However, the basic principle remains the same throughout the brand ecosystem. Let’s go to a direct look at how to activate this useful option.

Standard method through the preview menu

The most common and convenient way to create a long screenshot on Xiaomi is to use a pop-up menu that appears immediately after the frame is captured, which is standard and does not require any pre-tuning. Once you take a regular screenshot, a thumbnail appears in the upper right corner of the screen for a few seconds, and that's where the feature we want to use is hidden.

Once you see the thumbnail, you quickly click on a button that says "Scroll" or the corresponding icon, which often looks like two arrows pointing down, or like a rolled-out scroll of paper. In some versions of MIUI, this button may be called "Long Screenshot." Pressing activates the automatic capture mode of the area below the current visible part of the screen.

The system will automatically scroll down, take a series of images and glue them together into a single image, and you'll see a green frame or a translucent layer move across the screen. It's important that you don't touch the display or lock the device so that the process is correct and without artifacts. When the information is fully captured, press the stop button or wait for the scroll to finish at the end of the page.

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If you release your finger during automatic scrolling, the process will stop and you will be able to manually select the trimming area before saving.

The result is an image with proportions that are significantly different from the standard 16:9 or 19:9, and the file will be saved in the gallery in the Screenshots folder. The quality of the final file remains high, as the system uses the original resolution of your Redmi or POCO matrix for each segment.

Use of side panel and special features

In some scenarios, the standard preview menu may not appear or disappear too quickly. An alternative method is to use a sidebar of tools if it is activated in the system settings. This is especially convenient if you plan to take many composite shots throughout the day and do not want to catch a thumbnail timer every time.

To activate this method, go to the device settings menu. Find the "Additional Features" or "Special Features" section where the "Sidebar" (or "floating windows") is located. In the application list, make sure that the programs you need (browser, messenger) are added to the active list. After calling the panel from the side of the screen, select the "Scanner Snap" tool and then the scroll option.

Another option available in the newer versions of HyperOS and the latest MIUI 14 updates is gestures. In the Specials section → Screenshots, you can set up three fingers, if you swipe three fingers down the screen, you take a picture, and if you hold your fingers or retrace the menu, you can start a long scrolling mode, which speeds up the work and allows you to act with one hand.

Note that the sidebar is dependent on the optimization of a particular application. In some heavy games or secure banking applications, the system overlays can be blocked for security reasons, in which case the system will simply not show the scroll button, and you will have to settle for a regular frame.

Create long screenshots in the Mi Browser and Chrome browser

Special attention should be paid to creating screenshots of web pages. Browsers often have their own tools for saving pages that work even more efficiently than the system. In particular, the built-in Mi Browser browser, which is preinstalled on all Xiaomi smartphones, has an excellent feature of saving full pages.

When you're on a site and want to save it to the bottom, click on the menu (three dots or bars) and select Screenshot. In the interface that opens, select Full Page or Scrolling mode. The browser browses through the site itself to the bottom, collects all the elements, including lazy load, and creates the perfect file. This is often better than the system method that can break through on dynamic content.

Google Chrome doesn't have a standard "long screenshot" button on the mobile version, but there's a workaround through the developer mode, although it's difficult for the average user. However, if you're syncing with a PC, it's easier to open a page on your computer and take a screenshot of the entire page through the developer tools (Ctrl+Shift+P -> Screenshot -> Capture full size screenshot).

Editing and managing long screenshots

Once a long screenshot is created, it often becomes necessary to edit it. The Xiaomi Gallery provides a basic but functional toolkit. You can crop the image by highlighting only the desired part of the long tape, or add annotations, text and stickers on top of the stored content.

To edit, open the image in the gallery and click on "Change." The Crop tool will let you select the beginning and end of the visible area. This is especially useful if the automatic scrolling has captured extra interface elements at the bottom of the screen or, conversely, has cropped an important title at the top. Just move the highlight frame to get the desired result.

Also worth mentioning are save formats. Standardly long screenshots are saved in high-compression JPG format. However, if you plan to print an image or further processing, some third-party editors allow you to convert them to PNG for loss of quality. With built-in MIUI, you can't change the format when you save, only through conversion after.

⚠️ Note: When you save very long screenshots (more) 10-15 The final file can weigh a significant number of megabytes. Be careful when sending such files through messengers without compression, as they can be downloaded from the recipient for a long time.

File management also includes quick access to history, all long screenshots are marked with a special icon or simply have a distinctive elongated preview in the gallery tape, and you can create separate albums for such files so that they do not get lost among ordinary photos.

Possible problems and solutions

Despite the system's fine-tuning, users may encounter a number of challenges, and one of the most common problems is that there is no scroll button on the menu, which is often the case in applications that are horizontally oriented or that use non-standard screen resolutions that the system cannot properly handle in glue mode.

Another common problem is “breaks” or artifacts at the site of the gluing frames, which occurs when pop-up notifications appear on the screen during automatic scrolling, the brightness changes, or the content of the page is dynamically updated (for example, autoplay videos or changing banners), in such places the image can be doubled or have a sharp transition.

You also have to consider the length limits. The system has a limit on the maximum height of the image you create. If you try to capture an endless tape of a social network that is 100 screens long, the process will stop forcibly. Usually the limit is about 10-20 standard screens depending on the version of Android.

To solve artifact problems, try taking screenshots in Flight mode to shut down the network and stop updating content on the page. Also close all background apps to free up POCO or Redmi RAM, as the gluing process requires CPU resources.

Third-party alternatives and their features

If the built-in techniques don't suit you, there are plenty of screenshot apps available in the Google Play store. Popular options include Stitch & Share, Tailor or LongShot. These apps often offer more flexible gluing settings, the ability to manually select the overlapping area for perfect matching, and removing repetitive interface elements.

But third-party software carries risks: applications that require broad permissions, including access to all screen content, could theoretically be used to steal data, and could conflict with the aggressive energy saving of MIUI, which would constantly kill the gluing process in the background.

However, for specific tasks, such as creating panoramic images from a photo gallery or gluing screenshots from different devices, third-party software is indispensable, which allows you to download ready-made images from memory and glue them manually, which gives you complete control over the result.

⚠️ Warning: When installing screenshot apps from unknown sources, carefully check the permissions you request. If a simple photo tool requires access to your contacts and microphone, this is an excuse to refuse installation.

In most cases, Xiaomi has enough system functionality for everyday tasks: it is integrated deeper, runs faster and does not consume battery power in the background when you are not taking pictures.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The system feature of the long screenshot on Xiaomi is a safe and fast way to save information that does not require the installation of additional software and works at the core level of the system.