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Problem encountered in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS using GNOME.

When I first installed Ubuntu the Screenshot function worked fine. I hit PrtSc, the GUI flashed and clicked, and a screenshot appeared in my /home/[user]/pictures folder. At some point this stopped working. It is a particularly vexing problem, as it prevents me from sharing visual representations of other problems I'm having.

Because I do not know when it stopped working, I do not know what might have caused it. Some possibilities that come to mind are:

• I removed the Pictures folder from the left-side quick launch bar. The folder itself has not moved.
• I disabled GNOME animations. I don't see how this would be related, but there was a pretty notable animation involved in taking a screenshot, so it is at least vaguely related.
• While playing World of Warcraft Classic through Lutris, I was not able to take screenshots. I eventually resolved this by setting the in-game screenshot function to - on the numkey pad. I have had other issues with WoW + Lutris causing keyboard shortcuts to behave strangely, though nothing that effected the environment outside of the game itself.

So far, in attempting to solve the problem, I have:

• Confirmed that Ubuntu still has the PrtSc key set to save a screenshot in Settings>Keyboard Shortcuts.
• Confirmed the PrtSc key on my keyboard still works by re-setting the shortcut (which requires Ubuntu to recognize a print screen key press).
• Confirmed that screenshots still don't work when another shortcut is set to that function.
• Interestingly, keyboardchecker.com does not register PrtSc keystrokes on my primary keyboard, or with a test keyboard. I do not know if this is normal behavior.
  • The same test DOES register PrtSc keystrokes when using my Windows 7 computer, so it seems like it ought to do so.

Questions & Clues:

• When I hit the PrtSc key, I do see very minor visual effects. Scrollbars slightly changing color while it is pressed down.
• How can I check what $PICTURES is set to? (The folder screenshots are supposed to be saved in?)

Taken from Colan Schwartz' comment on Ubuntu bug report #1742443. This does not exactly solve the problem, but it is clean and simple enough that I am entirely satisfied with the result. I also used A comprehensive guide to taking screenshots in Linux using gnome-screenshot to refine my solution to suit my own needs.

1. In Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts under the “Screenshots” subheading, disable everything so that there are no keyboard shortcuts associated with taking screenshots.
2. Hit the “ + ” button at the very bottom of the Keyboard Shortcut list to add a new shortcut.
3. First new shortcut: Name “Print Screen” / Command “gnome-screenshot” / Shortcut [Print Key]
4. Second new shortcut: Name “Interactive Print Screen” / Command “gnome-screenshot –interactive” / Shortcut [Ctrl + Print Key]
5. Third new shortcut: Name “Single Window Print Screen” / Command “gnome-screenshot -w” / Shortcut [Alt + Print Key]

Unfortunately there is still an annoying flash when the function is used. Rado84 on the Linux.org forums seems to have written a solution to this problem, but I've opted not to use it myself.