Manual Screenshot On Mac

  



Taking a screenshot on a Mac® is as easy as on a PC—when you know the keyboard shortcuts to do so. There are plenty of key commands in macOS® you might want to use for screen capture. Today, we’ll break down the six best shortcuts for screenshots that any Mac user NEEDS to know—plus the one useful application that accomplishes all that. Manual Screenshot On Mac Os The most common way to take a screenshot on a Mac is by using the built-in Grab application. This application can be found within your Utility folder located inside Finder and Launchpad.

macOS has excellent in-built screenshot support. If you are in a hurry, let me tell you straight up that to take a screenshot on your Mac, press together Command + Shift + 3. However, if your job demands to take screenshots frequently, learn more options to become super productive at this.

Note: The keyboard shortcuts to do screenshots work the same way on MacBook Pro, Macbook Air, iMac, Mac Mini, or any other Mac.

4 Keyboard Shortcuts to Take Screenshots on Mac

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.

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.

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.

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 Preview App to Take a Screenshot on Mac

  1. Use Launchpad or go to Finder → Applications and open the Preview app.
  2. Click on File from the top menu bar.
  3. Choose Take Screenshot and then select one of the options.

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 Controlkey 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:

  1. Click on the Apple logo → System Preferences.
  2. Next, click on Extensions → Touch Bar.
  3. Click on Customize Control Strip → drag the Screenshot icon down to the TouchBar. When you see the icon on the TouchBar, you may drag it left or right at the desired position. Finally, click on Done.

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 of 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 Default Location of Saved Screenshots on Mac

  1. Press Command + Shift + 5.
  2. Click on Options.
  3. From under Save to, choose a predefined location. Or click on Other Location.

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:

Manual
  1. Click on the Apple logo from the Menu bar and choose System Preferences.
  2. Now, click on Keyboard → Shortcuts.
  3. Click on Screenshots.
  4. Select a shortcut and then press the enter key.
  5. Now, press the desired new key or multiple keys combination.

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.

Mac KeyWindows Key
ControlCtrl
OptionAlt
CommandWindows
DeleteBackspace
ReturnEnter

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 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.

  1. Press Command + Shift + 5.
  2. Click on Options.
  3. Under Options, click on Show Floating Thumbnail to unselect it.

Signing 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:

I have been an Apple user for over seven years now. At iGeeksBlog, I love creating how-tos and troubleshooting guides that help people do more with their iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch. In my free time, I like to watch stand up comedy videos, tech documentaries, news debates, and political speeches.

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Taking a screenshot on a Mac® is as easy as on a PC—when you know the keyboard shortcuts to do so.

There are plenty of key commands in macOS® you might want to use for screen capture. Today, we’ll break down the six best shortcuts for screenshots that any Mac user NEEDS to know—plus the one useful application that accomplishes all that and more with just one click.

Capture a Screenshot of an Area

Figure 1 – Keyboard shortcut for taking a screenshot of part of a Mac screen

One of the most common needs for that “print screen” command on a Mac is when we need to capture a portion of the screen. It’s like a snipping tool for Mac. Be it an Instagram story, Twitter update, or part of a webpage to share with a colleague, you can screenshot any of those with just a few key combos.

(1) To capture a portion of the screen, do the following:

  1. Press Command-Shift-4 to change a pointer to a crosshair.
  2. Select the area of a screen you want to capture by moving and dragging the cursor.
  3. After releasing the mouse button, the screenshot will be saved as a PNG image on your desktop.

Figure 2 – Apple Support tweets the solution for screen capturing on Mac.

(2) To copy a portion of the screen to the clipboard, do the following:

  1. Press Command-Control-Shift-4 to change a pointer to a crosshair.
  2. Select the area of a screen you want to capture by moving and dragging the cursor.
  3. After clicking on the mouse, the screenshot will be saved to the clipboard.
  4. Select the application where you want to insert the captured image, such as Word, Skype, or Outlook.
  5. Press Command-V to paste the screenshot.

Capture a Screenshot of an Active Window

Figure 3 – The process of taking screenshots of an active application

If you need a screenshot of a specific application that you’re currently using, use this method. You can easily print screen an active window of any program, be it Safari, Chrome, Photoshop, or Microsoft Excel.

(3) To capture a screenshot of an active window, do the following:

Manual Screenshot On Macbook

  1. Press Command-Shift-4 to change a pointer to a crosshair.
  2. Tap on the spacebar on your keyboard. The cursor will change to a camera.
  3. Select the active application window you want to capture by moving your cursor.
  4. When you move the cursor over an application, the window will be highlighted.
  5. Click the mouse button on the window you want to capture. The screenshot will be saved as a PNG image on your desktop.

(4) To copy a screenshot of an active window to the clipboard, do the following:

  1. Press Command-Control-Shift-4 to change a pointer to a crosshair.
  2. Tap on the spacebar on your keyboard. The cursor will change to a camera.
  3. Select the active application window you want to capture by moving your cursor.
  4. When you move the cursor over an application, the window will be highlighted.
  5. Click the mouse button on the window you want to capture. The screenshot will be saved to the clipboard.
  6. Select the application where you want to insert the captured image, like Word, Skype, or Outlook
  7. Press Command-V to paste the screenshot.

Capture the Entire Screen

Figure 4 – Keyboard shortcut for capturing the entire screen on a Mac

(5) To capture a screenshot of a whole page, do the following:

  1. Press Command-Shift-3 to take a screenshot of the whole screen.
  2. The screenshot will be saved as a PNG image on your desktop.

(6) To copy a screenshot of a whole page to the clipboard, do the following:

  1. Press Command-Control-Shift-3 to copy the whole screen.
  2. The screenshot will be automatically saved to the clipboard.
  3. Select the application where you want to insert the captured image, like Word, Skype, or Outlook
  4. Press Command-V to paste the screenshot.

Mac App for Taking Screenshots

Figure 5 – Parallels Toolbox: The ultimate Mac application for screen and video capturing

Sometimes, remembering all the dozens of shortcuts to take a Mac screenshot is not our main priority. All we need is a simple application that has everything ready for us with just one click.

Parallels® Toolbox Screen and Video Pack is the best Designed to help optimize your workday, it has all the important tools for everyday needs, such as screen and video capturing, video converter, YouTube video downloader, and more.

You can try Parallels Toolbox without any obligations and decide for yourself whether a small introductory price is a fair cost for all the time saved.

Where to Find Screenshots on a Mac

Manual Screenshot On Pc

Figure 6 – The primary location for all screenshots on a Mac is the desktop

Once you’re done taking them, where do screenshots on a Mac go?

Normally, screenshots are saved as PNG images (titled with the current date and time stamp) right on the desktop. The format looks as follows: “Screen Shot 2018-07-04 at 12.25.36.png”. Alternatively, a user can copy Mac screenshots to the clipboard by adding Control to the key combination and then pasting it right in the needed document. Here at Parallels, we practice this often—we love taking a MacBook® screenshot and sharing it with coworkers. It’s an easy and quick way to effectively communicate what we see on our end.

Manual Screenshot On Mac Shortcut

What to Do if Screen Capture on Mac Is Not Working

Manual Screenshot On Mac Windows 10

The shortcuts for screen capturing may not work for a few reasons. One of the most common ones: they are simply disabled.

To fix that, do the following:

Manual Screenshot On Mac Os

  1. From the Apple menu in the top left corner, open System Preferences and click on the Keyboard.
  2. In the new window, click on Shortcuts.
  3. Find Screen Shots in the left menu.
  4. Check if the shortcuts are active and have the same key combos you type.
  5. To change a shortcut, select it and click the new key combination.

If the shortcut is working but screenshots turn out blank, the reason is often copyright issues with the third-party application on the screen. To solve that, use the Parallels Toolbox application for screen capturing.