Note: The keyboard shortcuts to do screenshots work the same way on MacBook Pro, Macbook Air, iMac, Mac Mini, or any other Mac. There is even a way to take screenshots without the keyboard! Take a look at all the methods below.
4 Keyboard shortcuts to take screenshots on MacHow to use the Preview app to take a screenshot on MacHow to save screenshots directly to the clipboard on MacHow to take a screenshot on MacBook Pro using Touch BarHow to take a screenshot on Mac without the keyboardHow to take a screenshot of the login screen on MacWhere to find screenshots on Mac?How to change the default location of saved screenshots on MacHow to change keyboard shortcuts to take screenshots on MacHow to print screen on Mac using Windows keyboardHow to change the screenshot file formatHow to disable the screenshot thumbnail preview
4 Keyboard Shortcuts to Take Screenshots on Mac
1. Capture the full screen
To take a screenshot of the full Mac screen, including the Dock, top menu bar and everything else: Press together Command + Shift + 3.
2. Capture selected portion of screen
To take a screenshot of a selected portion: Press together Command + Shift + 4. You may leave the keys when you see the crosshair. Next, drag it to select a portion of the screen. When you are done with the selection, release the mouse key or trackpad touch. The Mac captures a screenshot and saves it. Pro Tip: Suppose you make a selection of the wrong portion. You do not press the esc button and restart. Press and hold the Space bar to move the selection. Press and hold Shift to change the selection area only in one direction. And, press the Option key to increase or decrease the sides in proportion. Try it! You will love these.
3. Capture any open window
To capture only an open window on Mac: Press together Command + Shift + 4. Leave the keys when you get the selection cursor. Now, press the Space bar once. Next, take the camera icon on any open window and click. Using this, you can even do a screenshot of just the Dock or the menu bar and so on. These screenshot files have a nice grey shading on their edges that look great.
4. Using screenshot tools
One button for all: Can not remember all the above keys? Just remember one set, and then you can use the tools you see to take a screenshot or even screen recording on Mac running macOS Mojave or later. For this, press together Command + Shift + 5. After you take a screenshot using any method, you might see its thumbnail in the lower right corner. It will automatically disappear after a few seconds and get saved. Or, you may also click on it to make edits like crop, markup, share, etc.
How to use the Preview app to take a screenshot on Mac
Note: Suppose you want to take a screenshot of Chrome using Preview. For this, open the Preview app from the Dock or Launchpad. Then you will see the menu for Preview in the top bar. Do not click on the Chrome window. If you click on it or any other app window, its menu will take the place on the top bar.
How to save screenshots directly to the clipboard on Mac
When you do a screenshot, it is saved to the desktop or place decided by you. However, there is an additional throwaway method to grab a screenshot and get it copied automatically to the clipboard. This won’t save the actual file. You can paste the screenshot in apps like Notes, Word, Google Docs, etc. or even paste it on your other Apple devices courtesy of Universal Clipboard. For this, press and hold the Control key when you take a screenshot using the above methods. For example,
To take a full-screen grab and have it copied to the clipboard: Command + Shift + Control + 3.To take a screenshot of a selected portion and have it copied to the clipboard: Command + Shift + Control + 4.You can also use Command + Shift + 5, then press the Control button, and take the screenshot.
How to take a screenshot on MacBook Pro using Touch Bar
You can also print screenshots using the TouchBar on MacBook. But first, you need to add the screenshot button to it. For this: Now onwards, tap on the Camera icon in the TouchBar to open the screenshot tools and take a screen capture. Pro Tip: Wondered how to take the screenshot of the TouchBar itself? Press Command + Shift + 6
How to take a screenshot on Mac without the keyboard
You can take a screenshot on Mac even if the keyboard isn’t working or you do not feel like using it! Here’s how. Tip: If you want, you may drag the Screenshot app onto your Mac’s Dock to add it here. This will make it easy to launch and use in the future.
How to take a screenshot of the login screen on Mac
Just like any other full screenshot! That is, after you power on your Mac, or are at any login window, or locked user authentication screen, press Command + Shift + 3 to take a screenshot. This method works if you are running OS X 10.10 (Yosemite, released in 2014) and above. Note: The screenshot file starts with LWScreenshot if it is of the main login screen (after you just power on or log out of the current user). Rest other login screenshots have the normal file name (Screen Shot Year-Month-Date and Time)
Where to find screenshots on Mac?
By default, screenshots are saved on desktop. You will find all of them here. Pro Tips:
If you have several screenshots, select them all, right-click and then choose New Folder with Selection.You can also drag the screenshot thumbnail to any folder.
How to change the default location of saved screenshots on Mac
All future screenshots will save on the selected location. This setting will stay in effect even if you restart the Mac.
How to change keyboard shortcuts to take screenshots on Mac
The default keys are great. However, you may modify them to any key you like. For this:
How to print screen on Mac using Windows keyboard
If you use a Windows keyboard with Mac, the steps to take a screenshot remains the same. However, you have to use Windows keyboard equivalents. So, to take a full screenshot on Mac using Windows Keyboard, press: Windows + Shift + 3. To capture a selected part, press: Windows + Shift + 4 and so on…
How to change the screenshot file format on Mac
By default, the screenshots on Mac are taken in .PNG format. But, you can change it to JPG (or even TIFF/ PDF/ GIF). The process involves using the Terminal. But it is straightforward. We have an easy guide that tells you how to do this.
How to disable screenshot thumbnail preview on Mac
When you take a screenshot on modern Macs, you see its thumbnail for a few seconds. You can click on it to edit it or share it via AirDrop, Mail, Messages, etc. But, if you do not fancy this and think of it as an unnecessary intrusion, here is how to turn it off. This is how you can master screenshots on Mac. I hope this guide is helpful. If you have any further related questions, feel free to ask in the comments section below. You may also read here:
How to take a screenshot on iPhone and iPad (All models)How to Take a Screenshot on Apple WatchScreenshot not working on Mac? 8 Quick fixesHow to take a screenshot on iPhone without buttons
