Xiaomi’s current smartphones, which run MIUI or HyperOS shells, offer users a lot of hidden interface interactions, one of which is to screenshot the notification area, or as it is often called “curtains,” which is especially useful when you need to save information about an incoming message, transaction confirmation or system notification without capturing the extra content of the desktop.
Many owners of Redmi and Poco devices don’t even realize that the standard screenshot mechanism can work with extended areas. Instead of taking a few regular screenshots and then gluing them together in a graphics editor, you can use a built-in scrolling algorithm to create a long, solid image that shows the entire list of notifications hidden behind the “More” button.
In this article, we will take a closer look at all the ways you can capture the content of the notification panel, look at both standard methods and specific settings that can be hidden in the developer menu, and learn why screenshots can sometimes be cropped and how to fix common mistakes when capturing long content.
Preparation of the interface and configuration of the display
Before you start creating a picture, you need to make sure that your interface is configured correctly. The standard “curtain” in MIUI has two states: compact and advanced. To get a quality screenshot containing the most information, you often need to switch to the second option, which is especially true for users who are accustomed to the classic kind of Android notifications.
To change the display style, go to your device's settings menu. Find the section responsible for Notifications and Status Bar or Control Center. Here you'll see the option to switch between Classic and New Views. Classic style combines brightness and sound sliders with notifications, making the screenshot more informative in one frame.
It's also worth checking your privacy settings. If you have the function of hiding the content of notifications on a locked screen, when you create a screenshot instead of text messages, you can see stars or say "Hidden." Make sure that when you create the picture, the screen is unlocked, or set up the display of preview messages.
An important aspect is to clean up the excess visual noise. Before taking a screenshot, it is recommended to roll down all running applications that may pop up in the form of floating windows or widgets that block notifications, which will allow you to get a clean and neat picture that does not require further editing.
Standard method for creating a screenshot of the curtain
The easiest and fastest way to capture the contents of the notification panel is to use a combination of physical buttons. This method works on the vast majority of Xiaomi smartphones, regardless of the processor model or year of release of the device. The algorithm of actions is simple, but requires a certain skill if you are doing it for the first time.
Pull the notification curtain down to the end to open the entire list. Then simultaneously press the volume down and the power button. The screen blinks, and you hear the characteristic sound of the camera shutter. But this is only the first step. In the upper right corner, a thumbnail of the picture will appear.
Without waiting for the thumbnail to disappear, click on the Scroll button (usually it looks like two arrows down or a scroll icon). The system will automatically start "scrolling" the contents of the screen down, capturing new portions of the image. When all the necessary notifications are taken into the frame, just tap the screen or press the stop button to complete the process.
☑️ Checklist for the perfect screenshot
There is an alternative method for those who are uncomfortable reaching for buttons: you can use the Three Finger function. Swipe three fingers from top to bottom across the screen and the screenshot will be taken automatically. To activate this option, go to Settings → Additional Features → Screenshots and turn on the appropriate switch.
Using the Control Center to capture data
In new versions of the HyperOS shell and recent MIUI updates, the company has implemented an improved Control Center that functions almost as a standalone application. This gives new opportunities for screenshots. Unlike the old curtain, here controls and notifications can be separated, which requires a special approach to image capture.
If you need to take a screenshot of the quick action panel (where the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight are located), the usual scrolling may not work as expected, since it is a static block. In this case, it is better to use standard screen capture without scrolling. However, if the application notifications are lower, the scrolling method remains relevant.
Notice the behavior of widgets. Some widgets of weather or music in the control center can be animated. When you create a screenshot, the animation is frozen, which can lead to artifacts in the image. It is recommended that you wait a couple of seconds before the shot until all the animations are completed to get a static picture.
⚠️ Note: When you create a screenshot in Do Not Disturb or On the Plane, the image may have the appropriate icons in the status bar. If you take a screenshot to show the interface as is, this is normal, but for clean design, these icons will have to be removed in the editor.
Also worth mentioning is the floating windows feature. If you have an app open in a small window over the notification curtain, it will be sure to hit the frame. Xiaomi's system is not good at ignoring overlays when creating a screenshot. Close all floating windows before starting the procedure.
Privacy settings and data hiding
Data security is a priority for many users. When you take a screenshot of a messenger or a notification from a banking application, you risk highlighting sensitive information. The MIUI shell offers tools to minimize these risks, but they require pre-setting.
You can select the level of detail in each application's notification settings, but if you need to take a screenshot of an already-incoming notification, rely on the app's settings late, and Hide Content comes to the rescue. It's available in Settings → Notifications and Status Bar → Notification Format.
Another layer of protection is screenshots in incognito or second-space mode, and in some cases, the system can block screenshots from high-security applications (such as banking clients) by giving out a black screen instead of an image, a system limitation of Android that cannot be circumvented by standard methods.
Why does the screenshot appear black in some apps?
If you plan to post a screenshot online, be sure to check the image for personal information: phone numbers, contact names, email addresses. Even if you hide the text of the message, the title often remains visible.
Alternative methods and third-party solutions
Staffing isn't always enough, especially if you want to automate the process or create screenshots on a schedule, and in those cases, apps from the Google Play Store come to the rescue, and one of the popular solutions is the Screen Master or LongShot app, which allows you to create screenshots of the curtains with a virtual button on the screen.
The advantage of third-party utilities is that you can automatically glue images together, you can take multiple screenshots of the curtain with different set of notifications, and the program itself will combine them into one long picture, which is useful if the standard scrolling function on your device is unstable.
Advanced users who have access to ADB (Android Debug Bridge, there is the possibility of creating a screenshot through a computer. -p /sdcard/screenshot.png It makes an exact copy of the current state of the screen, but to capture the open curtain, you first need to emulate the swipe down through the screen. ADB, This requires knowledge of coordinates and additional scripts.
| Method | Difficulty | Quality. | I need a PC. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttons (Loudness + Power) | Low. | High. | No. |
| Three fingers. | Low. | High. | No. |
| Voice assistant | Medium | High. | No. |
| ADB (via computer) | Tall. | Perfect. | Yes. |
Using a Google Assistant or XiaoAI voice assistant can also be effective. Just say, "OK, Google, take a screenshot," and the phone will execute a command. This is especially convenient when hands are busy or device buttons are faulty.
The solution: why can not keep the curtain
Often, users are faced with a situation where a screenshot is created but there are no notifications on it, or the bottom is cropped, and one of the most common reasons is the wrong screen resolution or interface zooming, and if the screen settings are set to a non-standard resolution or enlarged font, the scrolling algorithm can get lost.
Another problem is that there's a crowded memory, and if the phone's storage runs out of space, the system may not be able to save a long image file, and the process will stop. Check the free space in Settings → About Phone → Storage.
Also consider the length limit. Android has limits on the maximum height of the image (usually due to the limited texture of the GPU, often 16384 pixels). If your notification curtain is too long (hundreds of messages), the screenshot can be cropped at a certain height or turn into a black rectangle.
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Tip: If the screenshot is too heavy and doesn’t go to messengers, use the built-in gallery editor to compress the image or convert to JPG before sending it.
⚠️ Warning: Don't try to take screenshots of system dialog boxes asking for passwords or fingerprints. Xiaomi's security system blocks such actions and you get a black screen.
In some cases, rebooting the device helps. If the curtain interface is getting stuck or displayed incorrectly, a simple phone reboot eliminates software glitches that prevent the creation of a screenshot.
Editing and processing long screenshots
Once you've managed to take a screenshot of the curtain, it's often necessary to edit it. Xiaomi's built-in gallery editor allows you to cut edges, add text, or smear sensitive data with a marker. It's a basic but effective tool.
For more complex processing, for example, if you want to highlight a specific notification in color or add arrows, you better use applications like Snapseed or PicsArt. They allow you to work with layers and give you more freedom of creativity, especially if you are preparing an instruction or review.
Remember formatting. A long screenshot can be uncomfortable on other devices. Sometimes it makes sense to break a long image into multiple parts. There are special image separators that cut a long picture into several square or standard snippets.
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Main Conclusion: Xiaomi’s standard tools allow you to take screenshots of the curtain with scrolling, but for very long notification lists it’s better to use third-party gluing apps to avoid rendering errors.
Keep the original screenshots in the cloud. Long images take up more space, and if you lose your phone, you can recover important information from your correspondence or transactions captured in the screenshot.