Smartphone owners often face the need to keep a long section of correspondence, a web page or a list of products that do not fit on a single screen. Standard shot captures only the visible area, leaving the rest of the information behind the scenes, which is extremely inconvenient for later use.
Fortunately, the MIUI shell and its new version of HyperOS are equipped with a built-in tool for creating panoramic images, which allows you to automatically “stitch” multiple frames into one long, high-quality image without losing readability of text.
In this article, we will discuss in detail how to activate scroll mode, what limitations are in the function and what to do if automatic capture does not work. You will learn to save any lists and dialogues in a couple of taps.
Preparing the device for long shots
Before you start creating screenshots, you need to make sure your smartphone handles the basic commands correctly.The long screenshot feature is an extension of the standard screen capture mechanism, so the basic settings should work smoothly.
Check for free space in internal memory. Panoramic images can take up significantly more space than conventional shots, especially if you capture a page with many graphic elements or high resolution.
⚠️ Warning: If the device is powered on or too many background processes are running, the system may forcibly complete the screenshot creation process before it ends.
Make sure that the display settings do not include specific design themes that may conflict with the system capture interface. Xiaomi’s standard interface works most stable when using system fonts and themes.
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Before you create an important long screenshot, close the extra applications from the multitasking menu – this will free up RAM and speed up image processing.
Basic method for creating a scrolling screenshot
The most common way to create a long shot is available in almost all applications where content is displayed: browsers, instant messengers, gallery and settings. The algorithm of actions is uniform for all models, from old Redmi Notes to new flagships.
First, take a regular screenshot in any way you're used to, which could be by pressing volume and power buttons at the same time, swiping three fingers down, or using a voice assistant.
Immediately after the shutter clicks, a thumbnail of the shot will appear at the top of the screen (or in the corner, depending on the version of MIUI), and that's where the key to the scrolling function lies.
- 📱 Click on the “Scroll” button (or the icon with arrows down) that will appear next to the thumbnail.
- 📜 The device will automatically start scrolling down the screen, capturing new areas of the image.
- 🛑 To stop the process, tap the screen or wait for the end of the page.
- 💾 The finished file will be saved in the gallery as a single image.
It is important not to touch the screen during automatic scrolling, otherwise the process will be interrupted. If the page is very long, the system can pause or stop, reaching the length limit of one file.
☑️ Algorithm for creating a long screenshot
Function settings in the system menu
The screen capture functionality can be flexibly customized to your needs. The MIUI and HyperOS shells have a separate section that adjusts the behavior of buttons and additional options.
To access settings, go to Settings → Additional Features → Screenshots. Here you will find the Long Screenshot switch, which should be active by default. If it is turned off, the scroll function will not work.
You can also configure the way you call the edit menu on this menu, and some users prefer to hide the thumbnail immediately after you create a picture so that it doesn't interfere with the view, but for long screenshots, you'd better leave the toolbar display.
| Parameter | Description | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| Long screenshot. | Activation of scroll mode | Included. |
| Shutter sound | The audio signal from the photo | By choice. |
| File format | Type of Conservation (JPG/PNG) | PNG (quality) |
| The way to preserve | Folder in device memory | DCIM/Screenshots |
Pay attention to the format of the save. For text documents and screenshots with small details, it is better to choose PNG, since this format does not lose quality when compressed, unlike JPG.
Use of the function in different applications
Not all apps are equally good at scrolling, and it works best in standard browsers (Chrome, Mi Browser) and Xiaomi system apps.
In instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, scrolling can work with limitations, for example, if there are floating interface elements or banner ads in the chat, they can lubricate the final image.
When working with social networks (VK, Instagram), there is often a problem when new content is loaded when scrolling, and the screenshot is endless or interrupted, in such cases, it is recommended to first open the full version of the page or the entire post.
⚠️ Note: In some banking apps and secure services, screenshots may be blocked by Android security policies, and you will see a black screen instead of an image.
If you need to save correspondence from the messenger, try using the chat export function inside the application itself, as this often gives a more readable result than a long screenshot.
Editing and saving the result
Once you have finished scrolling and touched the screen to stop, the system will prompt you to edit the resulting image, an important step, as long screenshots often require framing.
Click on the edit button (pencil) on the panel that appears, and you can crop the extra edges, highlight important areas with a marker, or add text comments over the image.
When you save a long screenshot, the system can suggest choosing the quality or format of the compression. To send through messengers, it is better to choose the average quality to reduce the weight of the file, and for archiving - the maximum.
- ✂️ Use the “Cadrize” tool to remove excess fields from above and below.
- 🖍️ Add arrows and text to highlight the key points of a long list.
- 📤 When sending via instant messengers, choose File to avoid heavy compression.
The finished file is saved to the standard DCIM/Screenshots folder, and in the gallery, such images are marked with a special icon indicating that it is a panoramic shot.
Why is the screenshot blurry?
Solution and troubleshooting
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the scroll button simply does not appear or the process is interrupted halfway, most often due to the peculiarities of the display of a particular application.
If the Scrolling button is missing, try updating the page or going to the top of the list before creating a screenshot.The feature will not activate if the content on the screen is static and has no hidden scroll areas.
In rare cases, cleaning the cache of the system application Screenshot helps. To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Screenshot → Clear the data. This will reset the function settings to factory.
It’s also worth checking if the “Guards” mode or special features for people with disabilities who can intercept gesture control are turned on.
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If the scroll button does not appear, make sure that there is something to scroll on the page – the function is not activated on a static image.
Alternative methods and third-party solutions
If the built-in tools can't create a long screenshot, specialized applications from Google Play will come to the rescue, and they use their algorithms to crosslink frames.
Popular apps like Tailor or Stitch & Share automatically analyze your usual screenshots and combine them into one long file.
Another option is to use the Long Screenshot feature in third-party launchers or browsers, for example, in the Chrome browser you can take a picture of the entire page through the developer menu or special extensions.
However, it is worth remembering that third-party applications require extensive permissions to access memory and screen, which can affect data privacy.