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How To Screenshot Something On A Macbook

broken image


  1. How To Screenshot Something On A Macbook Air
  2. How Do I Re-enable My Mac Screenshot Hotkeys? – ProctorU

Getting started, double click the picture and open it in the Preview app. Note: if Preview is not the default app for open pictures, right-click on the image, select 'Open With', and choose Preview. Then move your cursor, click and drag to select the area to include the four digits. Hit the 'delete' on your keyboard. To take screenshots on any Mac, you'll need to memorize a few keyboard shortcuts. Fortunately, they're all quite similar—and each saves a screenshot image to your Mac's desktop by default. Here are the default Mac screenshot keyboard shortcuts: Save fullscreen screenshot: Command + Shift + 3.

If you have bought new Mac or switched over to Mac in 2020, here is my beginners guide for new Apple fans on How to take a screenshot (print screen) on a Mac & MacBook Pro. Specially useful, if you are looking for the Print Screen button present on most of the standard keyboards designed for Windows OS.
If you look at any Laptop or Desktop with windows OS, you will always find a simple 'Print screen' button which allows to take a screenshot directly in combination to the Function key.
However when it comes to Mac or MacBook Pro, the PrintScreen button is simply missing!
Of-course you can take a full or partial screenshot on Mac, but with few combination of keys together. unfortunately its not intuitive on Mac as using a simple Print Screen button in Windows and slightly hard to memorize!
So I have prepared text guide as well as a info-graphics, which you can simply print and paste on your pin board for quick reference.
On Mac, you have an option to capture your entire screen or just a selected portion of it (partial screen).
Also you have an option to automatically save the screenshot to your desktop or to the clipboard.

How to Take Screenshots (Print Screen) on Mac or Macbook Pro?

Full Screen Shot — Hold down Command ⌘ + shift + 3 simultaneously
Partial Screen Shot — Hold down Command ⌘ + shift + 4 simultaneously
So while you wish to share your moments of your favorite videos, achievement of games, discussions on social networks like Twitter or Facebook, any bugs you want to report to Apple support, OR almost anything and everything you see on your screen, this step-by-step guide will help you. Also do refer to Info-graphics which will help you for quick print and reference.
Note : All methods prescribed in this article for taking a screenshot will work with OS Sierra, OS X El Capitan, OS X Yosemite, and most older versions of the modern Mac operating system.

Sn

INDEX – How to take screenshot on Mac?

1How to take a screenshot of your entire screen?Jump to Topic
2How do I take a partial screenshot?Jump to Topic
3How to take a screenshot of a window?Jump to Topic
4How to take a screenshot of a menu?Jump to Topic
5How do I take a screenshot of the Touch Bar (MacBook Pro)?Jump to Topic
6How can I take a screenshot using Preview?Jump to Topic
7Where are my Screenshots stored?Jump to Topic
8How can I change screenshot file format to JPG or TIFF or GIF or PDF?Jump to Topic
9How to copy the screenshot directly to clipboard instead of desktop save?Jump to Topic
10How to paste image from clipboard into a document or something?Jump to Topic
11How to take screenshots using the command line ('Terminal')?Jump to Topic
12How to take screenshots in MacOS Mojave?
How to Change Mojave's Default Screenshot Location?
Jump to Topic
13How to edit screenshots?Jump to Topic
14How to Customize Mac Screenshot Shortcuts? Interesting topic Hotkey!Jump to Topic
15 How to Fix Screenshot on Mac Not Working Error?Jump to Topic
16How to transfer the screenshot from Mac to iPhone?Jump to Topic

1) How to take a screenshot of your entire screen?

1)Hold down Command ⌘ + shift + 3 simultaneously
2) You will hear a camera click sound.
Result : Mac will capture the entire screen and save it as a .png file on your desktop.
Note : [ File on Desktop will be named like 'Screen shot 2020-08-29 at 08.45.00 AM.png' ]
Tip : This process also works on MacBook Air
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2) How do I take a partial screenshot?

You can take screenshot of selected portion of your screen using following key combination –
1) Hold down Command ⌘ + shift + 4 simultaneously
2) Now your mouse pointer will change to a crosshair (+)
3) Move the crosshair (+) using the mouse or tackpad to the location where you want to start the screenshot, then drag to draw a rectangle which specifies 'what to capture'
– The crosshairs provide you a precise pixel count during dragging (see the image snap shot below), this helps you selecting a specific image size (or even to measure).
– You can hold down Option to change the lock point to the center of the area.
– Or you can hold down Shift to lock all sides but the one in the direction you're currently moving.
4) After you select desired area, simply, release your mouse or trackpad button to hear a camera click sound.
Note : [ If you wish to cancel the operation, press the Esc (Escape) key before you release the button. ]
5) The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
Note : [ File on Desktop will be named like 'Screen shot 2020-08-29 at 08.45.00 AM.png' ]
Tip : This process also works on MacBook Air
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3) How to take a screenshot of a window?

1)Hold down Command ⌘ + shift + 4
2) Now your mouse pointer will change to a crosshair (+)
3) Press the Spacebarand the pointer changes to a Camera.
4) Move the camera over a window to highlight it. The window will tint blue to show your selection.
5) Now click your mouse or trackpad. You will get a confirmation camera click sound.
Note : [ If you wish to cancel the operation, press the Esc (Escape) key before you release the button. ]
6) The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
Note : [ File on Desktop will be named like 'Screen shot 2020-08-29 at 08.45.00 AM.png' ]
Important note :Some apps, especially those designed to play copy-protected videos such as DVD Player, might not let you take screenshots of their windows.
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4) How to take a screenshot of a menu?

1) Click the menu to reveal its contents.
2)Hold down Command ⌘ + shift + 4
3) Now your mouse pointer will change to a crosshair (+)
4) Drag to select the menu.
5) Release your mouse or trackpad button.
Note : [ If you wish to cancel the operation, press the Esc (Escape) key before you release the button. ]
6) The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
Note : [ File on Desktop will be named like 'Screen shot 2020-08-29 at 08.45.00 AM.png' ]
These steps capture the contents of a menu, but not its title:
1) Click the menu to reveal its contents.
2)Hold down Command ⌘ + shift + 4
3) Now your mouse pointer will change to a crosshair (+)
4) Press the Space bar. The pointer changes to a camera.
5) Move the camera over the menu to highlight it.
6) Click your mouse or trackpad.
Note : [ If you wish to cancel the operation, press the Esc (Escape) key before you release the button. ]
7) The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
Note : [ File on Desktop will be named like 'Screen shot 2020-08-29 at 08.45.00 AM.png' ]
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5) How do I take a screenshot of the Touch Bar (MacBook Pro)?

If you have a Mac with a Touch Bar and macOS Sierra 10.12.2 or later then use the following key combination –
1) Hold down Command ⌘ + shift + 6
2) Your Mac captures the entire Touch Bar and saves it as a file on the desktop.
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6) How can I take a screenshot using Preview?

How To Screenshot Something On A Macbook Air

In case you don't remember keyboard shortcuts, then you also have an option of taking a screenshot on Mac using Preview.
Just for information, Preview is built-in image and PDF viewer in the macOS. You can view and print images and PDF files.
See the info-graphics below showing how to use Preview for taking a full or partial or window screenshot.
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7) Where are my Screenshots stored?

All your Screenshots are by default saved on the desktop in Mac OS X v10.6 and later as .png image format files.
The image file will be names as 'Screen Shot date at time.png.'
as an example 'Screen shot 2020-08-29 at 08.45.00 AM.png'
So you can look at the screenshot file on your desktop or alternatively from the Finder.
– Simply Double click on the screenshot file to open and share it with Preview.
Right click the file and choose Open With
– or drag and drop the file, to open and share it with another app.
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8) How can I change screenshot file format to JPG or TIFF or GIF or PDF?

Yes, you can change the default file format PNG to other formats such as JPG, TIFF or GIF or PDF.
Well by default Mac uses PNG format to store the file on desktop, however sometimes you wish to change this default for various reasons.
As an example say you are using a MacBook Pro Retina or some other 4K monitor, the screenshots can be as large as 5 to 8 MB. And may cases if you wish to send it over email or upload to some government websites etc, you need lighter file sizes and wish to get the screenshots as JPG rather than PNG.
Tip : [ Go for JPG since that is a common type and will output smaller image size than default PNG. ]
So there are TWO options to do this.

Option 1 – Simple to execute

Cmd in macbook. With Preview Option which I have explained earlier ( Click to jump there ) you get an option to save your screenshots in JPG, TIFF, PDF, and other file formats.

Option 2 – Difficult to execute, but changes image file format default permanently on Mac

You can change the default PNG format using a simple terminal command.

Step by Step guide

1) To find the Terminal, Go to Applications -> Utilities. Or use search to find 'Terminal'.
2) copy/paste following command inside the terminal window and press enter (return)

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg

Tip : If your Mac asks for user password, just go ahead and enter it.
3) Restart the system to get the changes applied.
3) Alternatively – In case you don't want to reboot the system, use following command in Terminal window and press enter (return).

killall SystemUIServer

4) You are done. Now all the further screen captures (print screen) will be saved to JPG format.
Note : In case you wish to change the image file format again, repeat steps above by changing the file format name in command line. as an example defaults write com.apple.screencapture type PNG
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9) How to copy the screenshot directly to clipboard instead of desktop save?

Sometimes you want to directly copy the screenshot directly to other application, so to avoid one step of picking up file from desktop, you have an option to directly copy the screenshot to your clipboard.
1) Hold down Cotrol key together with any of the combinations given above.
For an example,
Use Control + Command ⌘ + shift + 3
Instead of
Command ⌘ + shift + 3
2) Now the screenshot will be directly copied to the clipboard (instead of saving it as a desktop file).
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10) How to paste image from clipboard into a document or something?

Hold down Command ⌘ Button + V
This is similar to the Windows paste option using Control + V, here on Mac too, Command + V, pastes the screenshot on the clipboard directly into a document or image you are currently editing.
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11) How to take screenshots using the command line ('Terminal')?

1) To find the Terminal, Go to Applications -> Utilities. Or use search to find 'Terminal'.
2) copy/paste following command inside the terminal window and press enter (return)
First command will provide you screen capture

man screencapture
OR if you wish to introduce delay in screen capture, then use below command
screencapture -T 10 ~/Desktop/screenshot.png
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12) How to take screenshots in MacOS Mojave?

with the MacOS Mojave update. (Also get to know the new Stacks and dark mode.) you can use the new screenshot tool and keyboard shortcut.
Command ⌘ + shift + 5
Press Command ⌘ + shift + 5 which will bring up a small panel at the bottom of your display with screen capture options as shown in the above image. You can simply drag this screenshot panel at suitable location on the screen.
You will get Screenshot buttons, Video recording buttons, and an Option button with sub-options as given below –

  • Screenshot Options
    • Capture the entire screen,
    • A window or
    • A selection of your screen
  • Video-recording buttons
    • Record your entire screen or
    • A selection of it
  • Options Button
    • Save your screenshot to
      • Desktop,
      • Documents,
      • Clipboard,
      • Mail,
      • Messages or
      • Preview
    • Set a 5-10-second delay

On the left of this control panel you will get an X button to close the panel, or alternatively just hit the Escape key to exit out from Screenshot menu.
From the options button you can choose location to save your screenshot – as Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages or Preview, as well as set a 5-10-second delay when you want to capture a disappearing tool-tip or menu.
Once you capture the screenshot, you get a floating thumbnail at the bottom, in case needed you can switch-off this preview. If you Click this Floating Thumbnail, you will get a Markup View preview window with all of the markup tools. So you can annotate screenshots without needing to open Preview or delete it simply.
Tip: you can choose to show your mouse pointer in a screenshot or video.

How to Change Mojave's Default Screenshot Location?

See image above for reference
Go to 'Options' button >> Change saving location using the toggle near the top of choices (Desktop / Documents / Mail / Messages / QuickTime Player / Other Location …)
Use above menu to change the place where you wish to save your screenshots, as an example click 'Other Location' from that list, to get open/save dialog box to select where you want future screenshots to be saved.
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Support

13) How to edit screenshots?

You can open the screenshots with Preview, Safari, and other apps and then view them or edit too.

Step-by-step Guide to edit an image on Preview

1) Double click to open a screenshot with Preview.
2) Rotate :
Rotate button is indicated by a curved arrow and is located at the upper right part of the window.
You can Click the 'Rotate' button to rotate the screenshot orientation 90 degrees.
3) Adjust Size:
'Tools' is located in the top menu bar and will open a box with options to adjust the width, height or resolution.
Open the 'Tools' menu and select 'Adjust Size'.
4) Crop:
Click the 'Select' tool located in the upper toolbar, click and drag to select the area of the image that you wish to crop. Then select 'Crop' from the 'Tools' menu in the top menu bar.
5) Adjust Color:
Open 'Tools' and select 'Adjust Color'. A new pane will appear with sliders to adjust the exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, saturation, temperature, tint, or sharpness.
6) Annotation [pen tool, shapes, or text insert]
Annotation tools button is located in the upper right corner of the window. This gives you access to annotation tools, such as a pen tool, shapes, or text insert.
7) Save the edited screenshot:
Open the 'File' menu and select 'Save As' to save your changes. You will be prompted to name the screenshot and browse for a save location. Clicking 'Save' will confirm your changes.
Go to Index

14) How to Customize Mac Screenshot Shortcuts? Hotkey!

I really get annoyed to press so many keys to get one screenshot! It is the most stupid thing to cross fingers to reach so many keys!! So thought on defining hot keys on mac which I like or feel more convenient for daily operations.
So here I suggest you to use the Mac's excellent keyboard hotkey mapping function to create your own screenshot shortcuts.

Step-by-step guide to customize screenshot keys on Mac

1) Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts.
2) You will see list on the left hand side of screen (see image snap below), from the list select Screen Shots
3) Now you will see the Mac's screenshot options on right hand side of window (see image snap below) with their default keyboard shortcut combinations.
4) Select the screenshot command you want to modify and double click and press new combination as desired.
5) You are done 🙂 Close the System Preferences window and carry on with your screenshots!
Go to Index

15) How to Fix Screenshot on Mac Not Working Error?

15.1 — Restart your Mac
Press the Power button (or press 'Control + Eject') and, when a dialog box appears, click the Restart button.
Choose the 'Apple key' and then click 'Restart'.
Press 'Control + Command + Eject' (or 'Control + Command + Power' button)
15.2 — Check the screenshot shortcuts
Go to 'System Preferences' > 'Keyboard & Mouse' > 'Keyboard Shortcuts' > check whether the shortcuts are activated or not under Screen Shots, and also check that they have not been assigned to something else.
15.3 — Use Grab to take a screenshot on Mac
Try using the pre-installed Grab on Mac to take a screenshot of a partial section of the screen, an individual window, or the entire screen.
Go to 'Applications' > 'Utilities' > find and open 'Grab' > 'Capture' > choose to take a specific screenshot
15.4 — Take a screenshot using Preview – This topic is already covered previously Jump to Topic
Go to Index

16) How to transfer the screenshot from Mac to iPhone?

Once you take a screenshot, you can sync these new images to yout iPhone.
Best and easiest way is to use AirDrop to transfer screenshot from Mac to iPhone or vice versa.
1) Turn on AirDrop,
2) Turn on Bluetooth Wi-Fi connection on both iPhone and Mac,
3) Go to the Photos application on Mac, and then choose to share the specific screenshot with iPhone via AirDrop.
Read Apple official guide on How to use Airdrop?
Go to Index

To write this article, I have taken an extensive reference from Apple official website ( Source)

© AP It's easy to take screenshots on a Mac. AP
  • There are four ways to take a screenshot on a Mac, and all of them can be done with easy keyboard shortcuts.
  • If you press Shift + Command + 5 on your Mac's keyboard, you'll open the screenshot menu, which lets you take screenshots and videos, as well as customize your settings.
  • Pressing Shift + Command + 4 will let you take a quick screenshot anywhere on your screen, while Shift + Command + 3 will capture the entire screen at once.
  • If you have a MacBook with a Touch Bar, you can use Shift + Command + 6 to take a screenshot of the Touch Bar.
  • Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

If you see something great online, it's only natural that you'll want to share it with others. Obviously you could send a link, but what if you only want to point out a specific section or image?

This is where screenshots come in. You can take high quality screenshots on any Mac computer, and then edit or share them however you like. They'll automatically be titled 'Screen Shot,' followed by the date and time you took them.

If you've bought or updated your Mac since 2018, you even have access to the advanced screenshot menu, which will let you take videos of your screen too.

Best of all, taking screenshots on a Mac only takes a single keyboard shortcut. Which shortcut you use, though, depends on how you want to take the picture.

Here's four ways to take screenshots on a Mac.

How to screenshot on a Mac

Every method for screenshotting on a Mac uses the Shift, Command, and number keys. In short:

  • Shift + Command + 3 takes a screenshot of the entire screen.
  • Shift + Command + 4 lets you highlight a specific part of the screen to capture.
  • Shift + Command + 5 opens the screenshot menu, which lets you do both of the above, as well as record videos and edit your screenshot options.
  • Shift + Command + 6 takes a screenshot of the Touch Bar, if your Mac has one.
© Apple; skitching by William Antonelli/Business Insider Taking a screenshot only uses three fingers. Apple; skitching by William Antonelli/Business Insider

We'll go over all of them below, starting with the most widely applicable method: the screenshot menu.

Taking a screenshot with the screenshot menu

The screenshot menu was introduced in MacOS Mojave, the big 2018 update — if you've bought or updated your Mac since then, there's a very good chance you have it.

To open this menu, press Shift + Command + 5. A small bar will appear at the bottom of the screen.

The three icons on the left will let you take a screenshot of the entire screen, a specific window, or a highlighted section, respectively. The next two icons to the right will let you record a video of the entire screen, or just a highlighted section.

The 'Capture' button on the far right will take the screenshot, or begin recording the video.

© William Antonelli/Business Insider The screenshot menu will offer you a variety of options. William Antonelli/Business Insider

There's also a menu labeled 'Options.' This menu lets you choose where to save the screenshot or video, how much time you want between pressing 'Capture' and the screenshot or video being taken, and more.

© William Antonelli/Business Insider The options menu will let you customize how your screenshots are taken. William Antonelli/Business Insider

Of note in this menu is the 'Show Floating Thumbnail' option, which is turned on by default. When this is enabled, after you take a screenshot, a tiny thumbnail of it will appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen. The screenshot won't be saved to your computer until this thumbnail disappears after a few seconds.

However, you can click this thumbnail before it disappears to open the screenshot in a new window. In this window, you can draw or type on it, crop it, share it via your Apple ID account, or delete it.

© William Antonelli/Business Insider You can make the floating thumbnail disappear faster by clicking and dragging it off the screen. William Antonelli/Business Insider

Taking a screenshot of a highlighted section or window

Screenshot

13) How to edit screenshots?

You can open the screenshots with Preview, Safari, and other apps and then view them or edit too.

Step-by-step Guide to edit an image on Preview

1) Double click to open a screenshot with Preview.
2) Rotate :
Rotate button is indicated by a curved arrow and is located at the upper right part of the window.
You can Click the 'Rotate' button to rotate the screenshot orientation 90 degrees.
3) Adjust Size:
'Tools' is located in the top menu bar and will open a box with options to adjust the width, height or resolution.
Open the 'Tools' menu and select 'Adjust Size'.
4) Crop:
Click the 'Select' tool located in the upper toolbar, click and drag to select the area of the image that you wish to crop. Then select 'Crop' from the 'Tools' menu in the top menu bar.
5) Adjust Color:
Open 'Tools' and select 'Adjust Color'. A new pane will appear with sliders to adjust the exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, saturation, temperature, tint, or sharpness.
6) Annotation [pen tool, shapes, or text insert]
Annotation tools button is located in the upper right corner of the window. This gives you access to annotation tools, such as a pen tool, shapes, or text insert.
7) Save the edited screenshot:
Open the 'File' menu and select 'Save As' to save your changes. You will be prompted to name the screenshot and browse for a save location. Clicking 'Save' will confirm your changes.
Go to Index

14) How to Customize Mac Screenshot Shortcuts? Hotkey!

I really get annoyed to press so many keys to get one screenshot! It is the most stupid thing to cross fingers to reach so many keys!! So thought on defining hot keys on mac which I like or feel more convenient for daily operations.
So here I suggest you to use the Mac's excellent keyboard hotkey mapping function to create your own screenshot shortcuts.

Step-by-step guide to customize screenshot keys on Mac

1) Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts.
2) You will see list on the left hand side of screen (see image snap below), from the list select Screen Shots
3) Now you will see the Mac's screenshot options on right hand side of window (see image snap below) with their default keyboard shortcut combinations.
4) Select the screenshot command you want to modify and double click and press new combination as desired.
5) You are done 🙂 Close the System Preferences window and carry on with your screenshots!
Go to Index

15) How to Fix Screenshot on Mac Not Working Error?

15.1 — Restart your Mac
Press the Power button (or press 'Control + Eject') and, when a dialog box appears, click the Restart button.
Choose the 'Apple key' and then click 'Restart'.
Press 'Control + Command + Eject' (or 'Control + Command + Power' button)
15.2 — Check the screenshot shortcuts
Go to 'System Preferences' > 'Keyboard & Mouse' > 'Keyboard Shortcuts' > check whether the shortcuts are activated or not under Screen Shots, and also check that they have not been assigned to something else.
15.3 — Use Grab to take a screenshot on Mac
Try using the pre-installed Grab on Mac to take a screenshot of a partial section of the screen, an individual window, or the entire screen.
Go to 'Applications' > 'Utilities' > find and open 'Grab' > 'Capture' > choose to take a specific screenshot
15.4 — Take a screenshot using Preview – This topic is already covered previously Jump to Topic
Go to Index

16) How to transfer the screenshot from Mac to iPhone?

Once you take a screenshot, you can sync these new images to yout iPhone.
Best and easiest way is to use AirDrop to transfer screenshot from Mac to iPhone or vice versa.
1) Turn on AirDrop,
2) Turn on Bluetooth Wi-Fi connection on both iPhone and Mac,
3) Go to the Photos application on Mac, and then choose to share the specific screenshot with iPhone via AirDrop.
Read Apple official guide on How to use Airdrop?
Go to Index

To write this article, I have taken an extensive reference from Apple official website ( Source)

© AP It's easy to take screenshots on a Mac. AP
  • There are four ways to take a screenshot on a Mac, and all of them can be done with easy keyboard shortcuts.
  • If you press Shift + Command + 5 on your Mac's keyboard, you'll open the screenshot menu, which lets you take screenshots and videos, as well as customize your settings.
  • Pressing Shift + Command + 4 will let you take a quick screenshot anywhere on your screen, while Shift + Command + 3 will capture the entire screen at once.
  • If you have a MacBook with a Touch Bar, you can use Shift + Command + 6 to take a screenshot of the Touch Bar.
  • Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

If you see something great online, it's only natural that you'll want to share it with others. Obviously you could send a link, but what if you only want to point out a specific section or image?

This is where screenshots come in. You can take high quality screenshots on any Mac computer, and then edit or share them however you like. They'll automatically be titled 'Screen Shot,' followed by the date and time you took them.

If you've bought or updated your Mac since 2018, you even have access to the advanced screenshot menu, which will let you take videos of your screen too.

Best of all, taking screenshots on a Mac only takes a single keyboard shortcut. Which shortcut you use, though, depends on how you want to take the picture.

Here's four ways to take screenshots on a Mac.

How to screenshot on a Mac

Every method for screenshotting on a Mac uses the Shift, Command, and number keys. In short:

  • Shift + Command + 3 takes a screenshot of the entire screen.
  • Shift + Command + 4 lets you highlight a specific part of the screen to capture.
  • Shift + Command + 5 opens the screenshot menu, which lets you do both of the above, as well as record videos and edit your screenshot options.
  • Shift + Command + 6 takes a screenshot of the Touch Bar, if your Mac has one.
© Apple; skitching by William Antonelli/Business Insider Taking a screenshot only uses three fingers. Apple; skitching by William Antonelli/Business Insider

We'll go over all of them below, starting with the most widely applicable method: the screenshot menu.

Taking a screenshot with the screenshot menu

The screenshot menu was introduced in MacOS Mojave, the big 2018 update — if you've bought or updated your Mac since then, there's a very good chance you have it.

To open this menu, press Shift + Command + 5. A small bar will appear at the bottom of the screen.

The three icons on the left will let you take a screenshot of the entire screen, a specific window, or a highlighted section, respectively. The next two icons to the right will let you record a video of the entire screen, or just a highlighted section.

The 'Capture' button on the far right will take the screenshot, or begin recording the video.

© William Antonelli/Business Insider The screenshot menu will offer you a variety of options. William Antonelli/Business Insider

There's also a menu labeled 'Options.' This menu lets you choose where to save the screenshot or video, how much time you want between pressing 'Capture' and the screenshot or video being taken, and more.

© William Antonelli/Business Insider The options menu will let you customize how your screenshots are taken. William Antonelli/Business Insider

Of note in this menu is the 'Show Floating Thumbnail' option, which is turned on by default. When this is enabled, after you take a screenshot, a tiny thumbnail of it will appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen. The screenshot won't be saved to your computer until this thumbnail disappears after a few seconds.

However, you can click this thumbnail before it disappears to open the screenshot in a new window. In this window, you can draw or type on it, crop it, share it via your Apple ID account, or delete it.

© William Antonelli/Business Insider You can make the floating thumbnail disappear faster by clicking and dragging it off the screen. William Antonelli/Business Insider

Taking a screenshot of a highlighted section or window

If you want to take a quick screenshot without going through the screenshot menu, you can use this shortcut.

When you press Shift + Command + 4, your mouse cursor will turn into a crosshair. You can then click and drag this crosshair across the screen to create a highlighted box — as soon as you let go of the mouse, your Mac will screenshot everything in the box.

© William Antonelli/Business Insider Everything in the highlighted box will be screenshotted. William Antonelli/Business Insider

But this isn't all you can do with this shortcut.

If you press Shift + Command + 4, and then press the spacebar, your crosshair will turn into a camera icon. You can then click on any open window to take a screenshot of that window — when the screenshot is saved, it'll have a gray border around it.

If you drag the crosshair to create a highlighted box, and then press and hold the spacebar, it'll lock the box so it can't change size. You can then drag the box anywhere on the screen. Just release the spacebar to take your screenshot.

Similarly, if you drag to create a highlighted box and then press and hold the Shift key, you can adjust solely the height or width of the box. Move your mouse up or down to adjust the height, and left or right to adjust the width. Let go of the mouse to take the screenshot. How to draw on a macbook.

Taking a screenshot of the entire screen

Pressing Shift + Command + 3 will immediately take a screenshot of your entire screen. If you're using multiple monitors, it'll take and save screenshots of every monitor.

How Do I Re-enable My Mac Screenshot Hotkeys? – ProctorU

Note that unless you enable it in the screenshot menu, this won't capture your mouse cursor. And if you have the floating thumbnail option enabled, taking screenshots in quick succession will capture the floating thumbnail in the corner, too.

Taking a screenshot of the Touch Bar

Not all Mac computers have the Touch Bar, a long but thin touch screen built into the keyboard. But if your MacBook does have one, you likely know how useful it can be.

If there's something on your Touch Bar that you'd like to show others, you can screenshot it by pressing Shift + Command + 6. This will immediately capture everything on your Touch Bar.

© Apple The Touch Bar screenshot will be as long as the actual Bar. Apple

If your Mac doesn't have a Touch Bar, pressing this won't do anything.

Maya Kachroo-Levine contributed to an earlier version of this article.

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