To take a screenshot on a Mac, you have several built-in options using keyboard shortcuts or the Screenshot app:
1. Capture the Entire Screen
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 3 simultaneously.
- The screenshot will be saved automatically to your desktop as a PNG file
2. Capture a Portion of the Screen
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 4.
- Your cursor will turn into a crosshair.
- Click and drag to select the area you want to capture, then release the mouse or trackpad button.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop
3. Capture a Specific Window or Menu
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 4 , then press the Space bar.
- The cursor changes to a camera icon.
- Click the window or menu you want to screenshot.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
- To exclude the window shadow, hold the Option key while clicking
4. Use the Screenshot App (macOS Mojave and later)
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
- Choose from options to capture the entire screen, a window, or a selected portion.
- You can also record your screen here.
- The toolbar offers options to set a timer, choose where to save the file, and show the mouse pointer
Additional Tips
- After taking a screenshot, a thumbnail may appear in the corner of your screen. Click it to edit or share the screenshot immediately
- Screenshots are saved by default to the desktop but you can change the save location in the Screenshot app options
These methods cover all common screenshot needs on a Mac efficiently and quickly.
