How to Screenshot on Mac
Taking screenshots on a Mac is a quick and easy way to capture what’s on your screen. You can use screenshots to share a funny meme with your friends, document a bug in a software program, or create a tutorial for others.
There are a few different ways to take screenshots on a Mac, each with its own advantages. Here are the two most common methods:
Keyboard shortcuts
The easiest way to take a screenshot is to use keyboard shortcuts. There are three different shortcuts you can use, depending on what you want to capture:
- Shift + Command + 3: This will take a screenshot of your entire screen.
- Shift + Command + 4: This will take a screenshot of a selected area of your screen. To select an area, press and hold the Spacebar while you drag your mouse over the desired area.
- Shift + Command + 4 + Spacebar: This will take a screenshot of a specific window or menu. To do this, press the Spacebar after pressing Shift + Command + 4. Your cursor will change into a camera icon. Click on the window or menu you want to capture.
Screenshot app
If you need more control over your screenshots, you can use the Screenshot app. To open the Screenshot app, press Shift + Command + 5. This will bring up a toolbar with a variety of options for taking screenshots.
- Full Screen: This will take a screenshot of your entire screen.
- Window: This will take a screenshot of the currently active window.
- Selection: This will allow you to select an area of your screen to screenshot.
- Timed Screenshot: This will take a screenshot after a delay of your choosing.
- Markup: This will open the screenshot in Preview so you can annotate it with text, shapes, and other objects.
Once you’ve taken a screenshot, it will be saved to your desktop. You can also find it in the Screenshot app’s Gallery.
Here are some additional tips for taking screenshots on a Mac:
- To take a screenshot of a scrolling window, hold down the Shift key while you press Shift + Command + 4. This will capture the entire contents of the window, even if it’s longer than what’s currently visible on your screen.
- To take a screenshot of a specific item on a web page, press Command + Option + 3. This will capture the entire web page, but with the cursor focused on the item you want to highlight.
- To take a screenshot of a menu, press Command + Shift + 4 and then press the Spacebar. Your cursor will change into a camera icon. Click on the menu you want to capture.