Screenshots are a basic feature that every smartphone owner needs, whether to save important dialogue, capture a bug, or capture a game moment. Owners of the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 model often look for quick ways to perform this operation, as standard methods may not be obvious to beginners in the MIUI ecosystem. Modern Android shells offer many variations of screenshots that go far beyond just pressing buttons.
In this article, we will take a closer look at all the available screenshot techniques for Redmi Note 7, including hidden menu features and gestures. You will learn how to set up automatic screen area saving and what to do if standard keyboard shortcuts stop responding to your actions.
It’s worth noting that Xiaomi’s Android firmware system is highly customized, which means that even if you’ve used other smartphones before, there may be some features to work with the clipboard and gallery, and we’ll look at not only the technical aspects, but also useful life hacks for working with images.
Classical Method Through Physical Buttons
The most common and reliable way, which works on the vast majority of Android devices, involves using a physical keyboard of a smartphone. On the case of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, two specific buttons are responsible for this, the location of which is standard for modern mobile technology, the method is characterized by instantaneous system response and works even in cases where the touchscreen is temporarily unresponsive.
To create a screenshot, you need to press and briefly hold down Volume and Turn on. It's important to keep synchrony: pressing must be done in almost one millisecond. If you press the power button too early or too late relative to the volume key, the phone can simply lock the screen or change the sound level, ignoring the command to take the shot.
⚠️ Warning: Do not hold the buttons too long, otherwise the emergency call menu may be activated instead of a screenshot or the phone will go into reboot mode if you pinch them for 10 or more seconds.
Once you've successfully completed the command, you'll hear the characteristic snap of the camera shutter (if the sound isn't off), and the screen will blink for a split second. In the upper right corner, you'll see a thumbnail of the image that you've taken that you can immediately edit or send, and this is a priority, because it works even in safe mode and doesn't depend on the interface settings.
☑️ Checking buttons
Use of the notification curtain menu
If physical buttons are uncomfortable or faulty for some reason, MIUI offers a software analog through the Quick Settings Panel, a technique that is especially useful when you need to take a screenshot with one hand or when the phone is lying on the table, and access the feature via a top-down swipe that opens the notification curtain.
In the expanded Quick Settings menu, you need to find an icon with a picture of scissors, which is called a “Screenshot.” Pressing this button instantly creates a copy of the current image on the screen. If you can’t see this icon in the first row, swipe to the left or click on the edit button (usually a pencil or three dots) to add a widget to the main panel.
The advantage of this method is that there is no mechanical impact on the device body, which prolongs the life of physical switches. In addition, this method allows you to take screenshots in those rare cases where software failures block the operation of hardware buttons, but the system interface remains responsive.
💡
Add the screenshot widget to the top row of the notification curtain for quickest access without having to search for the icon in the secondary menus.
Screenshots via the “More” menu and triple tap
The MIUI shell is famous for its extra control features, and screenshots are no exception, and the menu of running apps or the special menu "More" (three dots in the corner of the screen) often hides the snapshot button, but the more interesting and modern way is to use gestures.
Triple tapping allows you to take a screenshot by simply hitting the screen three times quickly anywhere, which is extremely convenient when the phone is on the surface or when your hands are busy. To activate this feature, you need to go to the settings, select the "Additional" section and find the "Screenshot" option, where the option is turned on Triple tap.
The system also allows you to adjust the capture area when using the triple tap. You can choose whether the entire screen will be shot or only part of it. This flexibility of settings makes the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 one of the leaders in terms of ease of work with content in its price segment.
Configure the area and format of the preservation
One of Xiaomi’s strengths is that it can customize the image creation process in detail, so that the user can determine in advance what format the files will be saved and which area of the screen to capture, eliminating the need to crop the image in the editor every time.
In the screenshot settings, you can choose the save format: JPG or PNG. The PNG format provides better lossless image quality, which is critical for screenshots with text or graphs, but takes up more space in memory. The JPG format is more compact and suitable for conventional screenshots of the interface.
Also available is the menu screenshot, which allows you to take a picture of a non-current screen, namely an open settings menu or a list of applications, which can be useful for creating instructions. Below is a table comparing the main settings.
| Parameter | Description | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| File format | Choosing between compression and quality | PNG (for text) |
| Shutter sound | Audio support of the action | On (for confirmation) |
| Vibration. | Tactile response in the image | If you wish, |
| Viewing | Showing a miniature after creation | On (5 seconds) |
Scrolling Screenshot (Long shot)
Often, you need to save not one screen, but an entire page of the site, long correspondence in the messenger or a list of contacts. For this purpose, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 implemented a feature “Scrolling Screenshot”. After creating a regular screenshot, a thumbnail with additional buttons appears in the corner.
Click on the down arrow button or the icon that indicates the area extension. The phone will automatically start scrolling the content down, taking a series of shots and gluing them into one long image. The process continues until you stop it by tapping the screen or until the content of the page is over.
⚠️ Note: When creating a long screenshot, try not to touch the screen and keep the phone still, otherwise the system may not sew the frames correctly, and the image will be blurred or intermittent.
The maximum length of this image is limited by the screen resolution and the amount of RAM, but for most tasks this is more than enough. The finished file is stored in the gallery as a normal image, but with proportions that differ significantly from the standard aspect ratio.
💡
The long screenshot feature automatically stitches multiple frames into a single file, which is ideal for saving web pages and correspondence.
Text recognition and editing
Modern versions of MIUI integrate powerful image processing tools immediately after a screenshot is taken, and when you take a picture, the system can automatically recognize text in an image (OCR function), allowing you to copy text from the picture and paste it into notes or messenger without having to reprint it manually.
The built-in editor allows you to mark up, draw arrows, blur sensitive data (such as card numbers or passwords), and add text comments, all of which are available immediately after you create a picture through a pop-up menu, making your smartphone a full-fledged tool for working with information.
Using these tools saves time and increases productivity, and instead of taking a screenshot, opening a gallery, searching for an editor, and then editing an image, you get everything you need in one click, which is especially true for business users and students.
The Hidden Opportunities of the Editor
Frequent problems and their solution
Despite the stability of the system, users sometimes face situations where a screenshot is not created, the most common reason is the restriction of access rights in certain applications, for example, banking applications, streaming services with protected content (DRM), or incognito mode in the browser can block the creation of screenshots for security purposes.
In these cases, the screen may blink, but the image will not save, or a message will appear about the ban. This is not a malfunction of the phone, and problems can occur when there is a crowded memory: if there is no free space on the device, the new file will simply not be written anywhere.
If screenshots are no longer created in all applications, try restarting the device. In rare cases, cleaning the cache of the system application Screenshot through the application settings helps. Also make sure that the phone has the current version of the firmware installed, since updates often contain system bug fixes.