How do I take a screenshot on my Mac?

Sep 03, 2020 | 11:27 PM | Filed in: Tech Tips

You have the option to capture your entire screen or just a selected portion of it. The screenshot you create is automatically saved to your desktop, as a .png file in the following format: Screen Shot date at time.png. Screenshots can be opened with Preview, Safari, and other apps that can edit or view images.

How to take a screenshot of your entire screen

Press Shift-Command (⌘)-3.

How to take a screenshot of a selected portion of your screen

Press Shift-Command-4. The pointer changes to a crosshair.
Move the crosshair to where you want to start the screenshot, then drag to select an area.
While dragging, you can hold Shift, Option, or Space bar to change the way the selection moves.
When you've selected the area you want, release your mouse or trackpad button. To cancel, press the Esc (Escape) key before you release the button.

How to take a screenshot of a window

Press Shift-Command-4. The pointer changes to a crosshair.
Press the Space bar. The pointer changes to a camera.
Move the camera over a window to highlight it.
Click your mouse or trackpad. To cancel, press the Esc (Escape) key before you click.
(This works with windows in the Finder and most apps.)

How to take a screenshot of a menu

Click the menu to reveal its contents.
Press Shift-Command-4. The pointer changes to a crosshair.
Drag to select the menu.
Release your mouse or trackpad button. To cancel, press the Escape (esc) key before you release the button.

These steps capture the contents of a menu, but not its title:

Click the menu to reveal its contents.
Press Shift-Command-4. The pointer changes to a crosshair.
Press the Space bar. The pointer changes to a camera.
Move the camera over the menu to highlight it.
Click your mouse or trackpad. To cancel, press the Esc (Escape) key before you click.

To save your screenshot to the Clipboard instead of your desktop