- Instructions include how to capture your entire screen, a portion of it or just a specific window
- For all, you'll start with Command + Shift. After that, it depends.
- Screenshots will save to the desktop as a .png file.
Congratulations, you made the switch from PC to Mac. Welcome to an enlightened technology experience. You will never turn back.
Kidding, of course. This isn’t an Apple fanatics forum. Rest assured, your technology preferences won’t be a subject of ridicule here. But you’re presumably here because you made the switch to Mac from whatever else you were using before. Or maybe your memory simply needs refreshing.
Few actions on devices are as vital these days as taking a screenshot – whether it’s nabbing the slides in your Zoom lecture or documenting a risky tweet before it gets deleted.
Whatever your reason, here is how to screenshot on Mac, per Apple’s instructions.
How to screenshot entire screen on Mac
- Press and hold the following keys: Command, Shift and 3.
- A window containing your screenshot should pop up. You can click on it to edit your screenshot or just leave it for a few seconds until the window disappears and saves your screenshot.
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How to screenshot a portion of the screen
- Press and hold the following keys: Command, Shift and 4
- A crosshair will be prompted; hold down on your mouse or trackpad button and use the crosshair to select the area you want to capture.
- Release your mouse to take the screenshot.
- As with taking a screenshot of your entire screen, the screenshot will pop up in a window and give you the option to edit.
How to screenshot a specific window
- Open the window
- Press and hold the following keys: Command, Shift, 4 and the space bar.
- A camera icon should appear. Use that to click on the window to take a screenshot.
- You can eliminate the window’s shadow from the screenshot by holding “Option” when you click on the window to capture it.
You can cancel taking a screenshot of a specific window or a portion of the screen by hitting the Esc or “Escape” key.
Screenshots save to the desktop as .png files.
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Use your Mac like a Pro! A lot of people use Mac these days but do they all know the tips to use a Mac to its best. Maybe not. In this article, you will know everything about How to Screenshot on Mac, MacBook Air, Mac a1, Mac Pro.
You can not only take a screenshot on macOS, but you can do so much with it. From capturing only a portion to copying the screenshot on Clipboard, we have written all about screenshots on Mac in this article.
To take a screenshot on Mac, simply press Shift, Command, and 3. But it is not the only combination to take a screenshot. There are many other cool ways. To try them, read the following steps.
What are you waiting for? You will be using these combinations every day after knowing how to apply them. Let’s begin.
- How to Screenshot on Mac and on other Mac Devices?
- How to Take a Screenshot on Mac?
- How to Screenshot a Portion of the screen on Mac?
- How to Screenshot/Capture a Window or Menu?
- Where to Find Screenshots on Mac?
- How to Save a Screenshot to Clipboard on Mac?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I snip and paste on a Mac?
- Where are my screenshots on Mac?
- How do I copy images on Mac?
How to Screenshot on Mac and on other Mac Devices?
In all of the Mac Devices, Mac, MacBook Air, Mac a1, Mac Pro to name a few, these steps are applicable. You will be able to take screenshots of all of them. macOS gives you the feature of capturing the entire screen, only a window or even a small portion of the screen. Learn how can you do all three of these-
How to Take a Screenshot on Mac?
- Press Shift, Command, and 3 together, from your keyboard.
- You will see a thumbnail in a corner of your screen, click the thumbnail to edit the screenshot.
- You can also wait for the screenshot to save on your desktop.
How to Screenshot a Portion of the screen on Mac?
- From your keyboard, press Shift, Command, and 4 together.
- Drag the
icon to select the portion of the screen you want to capture.
- In order to move the selected area, press and hold the Space bar while dragging.
- If you want to cancel the screenshot, simply press the Esc (Escape) Key.
- If you don’t want to cancel taking the screenshot and continue taking it, then after step number3, release your mouse or trackpad button.
- A thumbnail will be shown in the corner of the screen, click on it to edit the screenshot, or wait for it to save on your desktop.
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How to Screenshot/Capture a Window or Menu?
- Whichever Window or Menu you want to screenshot, Open it.
- Press and hold the following keys together.
- Shift
- Command
- 4
- Space bar
- The pointer will be changed to a Camera Icon. If you want to cancel the screenshot, press the Esc key.
- Click the window or menu in order to capture it. You would want to exclude the shadow of the Window from the screenshot. Press and hold the Option key when you click.
- A thumbnail will be shown in the corner of the screen, click on it to edit the screenshot, or wait for it to save on your desktop.
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Where to Find Screenshots on Mac?
- All the screenshots are saved on your desktop with the name “Screen Shot [date] at [time].png”, by default.
- You can also change the default location of the captured screenshots from the Options menu, in the Screenshot app.
How to Save a Screenshot to Clipboard on Mac?
We have shown you three different commands on how you can take a screenshot on Mac. In order to save a screenshot on Clipboard, you can press any of the commands along with the Ctrl (Control) key.
Also Read, How to Use Clipboard on Windows 10?
- Press this combination of keys to Save a screenshot to Clipboard on Mac.
- Command
- Shift
- 3
- Or
- Command
- Shift
- 4
- Or
- Command
- Shift
- 4
- Space
Now that you have saved the screenshot on Clipboard, you can paste it on any text document or email, or anywhere by pressing Command + V. You are simply pasting it like you normally paste a copied text.
Wrapping Up
Hoping this article helped you guys know all about How to Screenshot on Mac and other Mac Devices. Comment below if you faced any problem capturing the screen on Mac. Have a nice day!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I snip and paste on a Mac?
Press Command+Shift+Control+3 to copy. The screenshot is already saved on the clipboard. Paste it by pressing Command+V.
Where are my screenshots on Mac?
By Default, Mac saves your screenshots on the desktop. “Screenshot [date] at [time].png” is the format by which it is saved.
How do I copy images on Mac?
To copy the picture, press Command+C. It is now copied to your clipboard.