How to Screenshot on Mac: A Comprehensive Guide
Taking screenshots is an essential task for Mac users, whether you’re capturing images for presentations, documentation, or simply sharing with others. Fortunately, macOS provides several methods for capturing screenshots, making it easy to grab images of your entire screen, a specific window, or a selected portion of your display. In this guide, we’ll explore all the different ways to screenshot on Mac and provide step-by-step instructions for each method.
Method 1: Using Keyboard Shortcuts
The quickest and most convenient way to take a screenshot on Mac is to use keyboard shortcuts. Here are the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts:
Capture the entire screen: Command (⌘) + Shift + 3
Capture a specific window: Command (⌘) + Shift + 4, then press Spacebar and click on the window you want to capture
Capture a selected portion of the screen: Command (⌘) + Shift + 4, then drag the cursor to select the area you want to capture
Capture the entire screen and save it to the clipboard: Ctrl + Command (⌘) + Shift + 3
Capture a specific window or selected portion of the screen and save it to the clipboard: Ctrl + Command (⌘) + Shift + 4, then press Spacebar (for windows) or drag the cursor (for selected portions)
Method 2: Using the Screenshot Utility
If you prefer a more graphical approach, you can use the built-in Screenshot utility. To open the Screenshot utility, press Command (⌘) + Shift + 5. This will display a toolbar with various options for capturing screenshots.
Capture the entire screen: Click the “Capture Entire Screen” button.
Capture a specific window: Click the “Capture Window” button, then click on the window you want to capture.
Capture a selected portion of the screen: Click the “Capture Selected Portion” button, then drag the cursor to select the area you want to capture.
Capture the entire screen with a delay: Click the “Options” button and select “Capture after a delay.” You can then choose a delay of 5, 10, or 15 seconds.
Capture a specific window or selected portion of the screen with a delay: Click the “Options” button, select “Capture after a delay,” and then choose a delay of 5, 10, or 15 seconds. Then, use the “Capture Window” or “Capture Selected Portion” buttons to capture the desired area.
Method 3: Using the Preview App
You can also use the Preview app to take screenshots on Mac. To do this, open the Preview app and follow these steps:
Capture the entire screen: Choose “File” > “Take Screenshot” > “Capture Entire Screen.”
Capture a specific window: Choose “File” > “Take Screenshot” > “Capture Window.” Then, click on the window you want to capture.
Capture a selected portion of the screen: Choose “File” > “Take Screenshot” > “Capture Selection.” Then, drag the cursor to select the area you want to capture.
Customizing Screenshot Options
Once you’ve captured a screenshot, you can customize it using the Screenshot utility. To do this, click on the thumbnail of the screenshot in the bottom-right corner of the screen. This will open the Screenshot utility, where you can:
Annotate the screenshot: Click the “Markup” button to add text, shapes, arrows, and other annotations to the screenshot.
Crop the screenshot: Click the “Crop” button to crop the screenshot to a specific size or shape.
Adjust the screenshot: Click the “Adjust” button to adjust the brightness, contrast, and other settings of the screenshot.
Share the screenshot: Click the “Share” button to share the screenshot via email, messages, or other apps.
Save the screenshot: Click the “Done” button to save the screenshot to your Mac.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Where are screenshots saved on Mac?
A: By default, screenshots are saved to your Desktop. You can change the save location in the Screenshot utility by clicking the “Options” button and selecting a different folder.
Q: Can I take screenshots without the screenshot noise?
A: Yes, you can disable the screenshot noise by opening Terminal and entering the following command: defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true.
Q: How do I take a scrolling screenshot on Mac?
A: To take a scrolling screenshot, press Shift + Command (⌘) + Option + 4. Then, drag the cursor to select the area you want to capture. The screenshot will automatically scroll and capture the entire area you’ve selected.
Q: How do I capture a screenshot of the Touch Bar?
A: To capture a screenshot of the Touch Bar, press Command (⌘) + Shift + 6.
Q: Can I take screenshots on a Mac that doesn’t have a Command key?
A: Yes, you can use the Control key instead of the Command key for all the screenshot shortcuts.
