How to Take a Screenshot on Mac (+ More)

Wondering how to take a screenshot on Mac? Well, it’s easy. There are multiple shortcuts and ways to take a screenshot on Mac.

If you need to capture a portion of the screen, you can do that. Or, if you need to capture a window, you are also covered. Let’s dive into it.

What is a screenshot?

A screenshot is an image of whatever you’re seeing on your screen. It can be shared as other images stored on your system. Sharing screenshots has become a very important element of internet culture.

Why do you need a screenshot?

Now we know what a screenshot is, but then comes the question, how it is beneficial for any of us. Depending on who you are, and what your workflow is- a screenshot can come in handy in various ways.

Screenshots are a superior way of sharing any details and ideas from any website, app, or so on. The information a screenshot holds can save the hiccup of sending something like a pdf or doc file!

You can help your friend demonstrating any task s/he’s having trouble with guiding through screenshots. On today’s web, taking screenshots has become a trend for a reason. As we know, a picture is worth thousands of words. These days, netizens keep track of what’s happening on the web using screenshots more than ever.

Screenshots on modern Macs (post-Mojave Macs)

The macOS Mojave update brought huge flexibility regarding taking screenshots on Mac computers. Apple introduced various new screenshot features, including a screen recorder with the Mojave 10.14 update. Here go some proven methods to take screenshots on a post-Mojave or modern Mac.

Shortcut 1 – Take any screenshot or screencast on Mac

• Press Command Key + Shift Key + 5 (⌘ + Shift + 5)
• A small panel will pop up at the bottom of the screen
• There you’ll see options for taking a full screen or partial screenshot
• You’ll also get a screen video recording option
• Click the option you need to take your desired screenshot
• At the very right, there will be an option called “Capture”
• Click the Capture button
• You’ll see a preview at the bottom right corner of the screen
• Click that and press “Done” to save the screenshot

Shortcut 2 – Take a screenshot of the MacBook Pro touch bar

• Press Command Key + Shift Key + 6 (⌘ + Shift + 6)
• This action will take a screenshot of the second Macbook Pro display, the touch bar
• You’ll see a preview at the bottom right corner of the screen
• Click that and press “Done” to save the screenshot

Shortcut 3 – Select and capture a screenshot on your Mac

• Press Command Key + Shift Key + 4 (⌘ + Shift + 4)
• A sniper sign will appear as your mouse cursor
• Click, drag, and select your desired area
• You’ll see a preview at the bottom right corner of the screen
• Click that and press “Done” to save the screenshot

Shortcut 4 – Take an instant full screenshot in Mac

• Press Command Key + Shift Key + 3 (⌘ + Shift + 3)
• This will take a screenshot of the entire screen
• You’ll see a preview at the bottom right corner of the screen
• Click that and you can crop your necessary portion
• After cropping, press “Done” to save the screenshot

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Taking a screenshot on pre-Mojave Mac computers

If you haven’t updated your Mac to the Mojave one for any reason, you may have to follow a different path while taking a screenshot on your Mac. You might not have the storage to do the update or whatever, but you can still take screenshots on your Mac. Here goes how to take a screenshot on a pre-Mojave Mac. 

Capture the entire screen

• Press Command Key + Shift Key + 3 (⌘+ Shift + 3)
• If you’re using multiple apps, every app’s visible screen will be captured after performing that given shortcut

Take a screenshot of a selected area

• Press Command Key + Shift Key + 4 (⌘+ Shift + 4) to take a screenshot of a selected area on your screen
• After you press the shift command shortcut (followed by 4), the Mac will ask you to select the portion you want to take a screenshot of
• Pressing the space bar after performing the shortcut will show a camera icon on the screen
• Select the window you want to take a screenshot of

More than just keyboard shortcuts (The Crosshair)

• After pressing Command Key + Shift Key + 4 (⌘+ Shift + 4), your Mac cursor will turn into a crosshair
• Drag and select part of the screen you want to capture using the crosshair
• After releasing the mouse, a screenshot of the selected area will be taken
• It will show a floating thumbnail option
• Click the floating thumbnail that appeared to the bottom right corner
• Click the window to get editing options
• It will open the screenshot in editing mode
• If you click the Done button, it will be saved to your desktop
• You can press and hold the spacebar just after selecting the highlighted area to lock the shape and size of the selected area on the screen
• If you press and release the spacebar, the crosshair on the screen converts into a miniature cam icon
• You can select the window you want to take a screenshot of
• Hold the ‘Shift’ key after selecting the highlighting area to lock the bottom or the right side of the selection area
• If you press ‘Shift + Option’ after selecting the screenshot area, you can lock both horizontal and vertical constraints
• After you release your selected screen, a window (miniature) appears to the bottom right corner of your display
• You can click that thumb and edit or save your screenshot

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Save a screenshot to the clipboard on Mac

You can press the Control Key + Command Key + Shift Key + 3 (Ctrl + ⌘+ Shift + 3) to take a screenshot and save it to the clipboard instantly. You can press Command + V (⌘ + V) to paste the screenshot saved on the clipboard. Remember, it will only be available until you copy something else.

Taking screenshots on Mac using third-party apps

You can press ⌘ + Shift + 5 to use the native screenshot app on Mac. But the features it offers are pretty basic. If you’re looking for more, then you might look into the world of third-party solutions. Here is a third-party app for Mac that can help you take screenshots (obviously) and do more.

Take a screenshot on Mac using Monosnap

Monosnap is a good screenshot tool to use on your Mac. You can find the Monosnap icon in the status bar after launching the app. You can see the basic menu then which includes the capture area, capture fullscreen, record video, etc.

Take a screenshot on Mac using Grab (before macOS Mojave 10.14)

You can take a screenshot on Mac using Apple’s native utility tool, Grab (only for Mac OS versions before Mojave 10.14). You can capture a specific marquee selection, an entire window, an entire screen, timed screenshots, and more. You can search using the keyword, Grab. You can use the function of your choice to take screenshots then.

Where to find saved screenshots on Mac?

The screenshots taken by Mac are usually stored on the desktop. The default name format of the screenshot is – current date and time stamp. So, the name of a screenshot would like “Screenshot 2021-04-15 at 08.33.21.png”

Conclusion

If you follow the instructions provided in this article, you shouldn’t face a problem with taking a screenshot on your Mac, no matter which version you’re using. Please let us know your ideas and questions in the comments.

Feature image credit: Apple