Taking a screenshot on your Mac, often referred to as “print screen” for those familiar with Windows, is a fundamental skill for anyone using macOS. Whether you need to capture your entire screen, a specific window, or just a selected portion, macOS offers a range of built-in tools and keyboard shortcuts to get the job done quickly and efficiently. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to master taking screenshots on your Mac.
Capture the Entire Screen on Your Mac
The quickest way to capture everything visible on your Mac’s screen is with a simple keyboard shortcut. Here’s how:
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Press and hold the Shift (⇧), Command (⌘), and 3 keys simultaneously.
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Release all three keys at the same time.
Keyboard keys for capturing the entire screen on Mac: Shift, Command, and 3 keys are highlighted.
After taking the screenshot, you might see a small thumbnail appear briefly in the corner of your screen.
- To edit the screenshot immediately, click on the thumbnail before it disappears. This opens Markup, allowing you to crop, annotate, and share your screenshot.
- To save the screenshot directly, simply wait a few seconds, and it will automatically be saved to your desktop as a PNG file, named something like “Screen Shot [date] at [time].png”.
If you miss the thumbnail, don’t worry, your screenshot is safely saved on your desktop, ready for use.
Capture a Portion of Your Mac Screen
Sometimes you only need to capture a specific area of your screen. macOS lets you easily select and screenshot just a portion:
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Press and hold the Shift (⇧), Command (⌘), and 4 keys together. Your cursor will change into a crosshair pointer.
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Click and drag the crosshair to select the rectangular area you want to capture. As you drag, you’ll see a selection box outlining the area to be screenshotted.
Selecting a portion of the screen to capture a screenshot on macOS Safari browser. -
Release the mouse or trackpad button to take the screenshot of the selected area.
During the selection process, you have a few handy options:
- To reposition the selected area without resizing it, press and hold the Space bar while dragging the selection.
- To cancel the screenshot at any time before releasing the mouse button, press the Esc (Escape) key.
Just like with full-screen captures, a thumbnail might appear for quick editing, or the screenshot will save directly to your desktop.
Capture a Specific Window or Menu on Mac
To capture a single window or a dropdown menu, macOS provides an even more refined method:
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Open the window or menu you intend to capture. Ensure it’s active and visible on your screen.
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Press and hold Shift (⇧), Command (⌘), and 4 keys, then press the Space bar once. The crosshair cursor will transform into a camera icon.
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Click on the window or menu you want to capture. The selected window will be highlighted as you hover the camera icon over different windows.
Screenshot of a specific Safari browser window on macOS Big Sur.- To exclude the window shadow from the screenshot, press and hold the Option (⌥) key while clicking on the window.
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Click to capture the window. Again, look for the thumbnail for instant editing, or find the saved screenshot on your desktop.
Utilizing the Screenshot App for Advanced Options
For more control and features, macOS includes a dedicated Screenshot app. This app, introduced in macOS Mojave and later, offers a toolbar with various screenshot and screen recording options.
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Open the Screenshot app by pressing Shift (⇧), Command (⌘), and 5 keys together. Alternatively, you can find it in the Utilities folder within your Applications folder.
A toolbar will appear at the bottom of your screen, providing buttons for:
- Capture Entire Screen: Takes a screenshot of the whole screen.
- Capture Selected Window: Allows you to select a window to screenshot, similar to Shift-Command-4 and Space bar.
- Capture Selected Portion: Lets you drag to select an area for screenshot, like Shift-Command-4.
- Record Entire Screen: Starts recording a video of your entire screen.
- Record Selected Portion: Allows you to select an area to record, creating a screen recording of just that section.
- Options: Provides settings to choose where screenshots are saved (Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, etc.), set a timer for screenshots, and choose whether to show the floating thumbnail.
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Choose your desired capture type from the toolbar and follow the on-screen instructions.
The Screenshot app is particularly useful for setting a timer (perfect for capturing menus or timed actions) and changing the default save location.
Finding and Managing Your Screenshots
By default, all screenshots are saved to your Desktop. They are named starting with “Screen Shot” followed by the date and time, and saved as PNG files. Screen recordings are also saved to the desktop as MOV files, named similarly starting with “Screen Recording”.
If you can’t immediately see your screenshot, it might be hidden behind other windows. You can easily view your desktop in Finder:
- In Finder, click Go in the menu bar, then select Desktop.
- Alternatively, click Desktop in the sidebar of any Finder window.
This will bring your desktop files, including your latest screenshots, to the front.
Additional Tips for Print Screen on Mac
- Save to Clipboard: To save a screenshot to your clipboard instead of saving a file, hold down the Control (⌃) key while using any of the screenshot shortcuts (e.g., Control-Shift-Command-3). You can then paste the screenshot directly into documents, emails, or image editing software.
- Screenshot Thumbnail Options: If you find the floating thumbnail distracting, you can disable it in the Options menu of the Screenshot app (Shift-Command-5).
- App Restrictions: Some applications, especially those dealing with copyrighted video content like Apple TV, may prevent screenshots from being taken within their windows. This is a security feature implemented by these apps.
Mastering screenshots on your Mac is straightforward once you understand the different methods and shortcuts available. Whether you need to quickly grab your entire screen or precisely capture a specific element, macOS provides the tools you need. Experiment with these techniques to find the fastest and most efficient ways to “print screen” on your Mac for your daily tasks.
