How to take a screenshot on Mac?
To take a screenshot on a Mac, you can use several different methods depending on what you want to capture. Here are the steps for each type of screenshot:
Capturing the Entire Screen
To capture the entire screen, press and release the following keys together:
- Command (⌘) + Shift + 3 This will save the screenshot as a PNG file on your desktop, named something like "Screen Shot [date] at [time].png"124.
Capturing a Portion of the Screen
To capture a portion of the screen, press and release the following keys together:
- Command (⌘) + Shift + 4 This will turn your pointer into a crosshair. Click and drag the crosshair to select the area you want to capture. Release the mouse or trackpad button to take the screenshot. You can press the Escape (Esc) key to cancel the screenshot125.
Capturing a Window or Menu
To capture a specific window or menu:
- Press and release Command (⌘) + Shift + 4.
- Then press and release the Space bar. The pointer will change to a camera.
- Move the camera over the window or menu you want to capture, and click to take the screenshot. To exclude the window's shadow, press and hold the Option key while clicking123.
Copying the Screenshot to the Clipboard
If you want to copy the screenshot to the clipboard instead of saving it as a file:
- For the entire screen, press Command (⌘) + Control + Shift + 3.
- For a portion of the screen, press Command (⌘) + Control + Shift + 4 and then select the area as described above.
- For a window or menu, press Command (⌘) + Control + Shift + 4, then press the Space bar, and click on the window or menu.
You can then paste the screenshot into another application using Command (⌘) + V124.
Using the Screenshot App
For additional options, you can use the Screenshot app:
- Press Command (⌘) + Shift + 5 to open the Screenshot app. This app allows you to set a screenshot timer, choose where screenshots are saved, and record the screen134.
By using these methods, you can capture and manage screenshots on your Mac efficiently.