Aug 15, 2018 Press Command-Control-Shift-3 to copy the whole screen. The screenshot will be automatically saved to the clipboard. Select the application where you want to insert the captured image, like Word, Skype, or Outlook; Press Command-V to paste the screenshot. Mac App for Taking Screenshots. Nov 19, 2020 By default, Apple's methods save your screenshot to the desktop, but if you want to copy the screenshot to the clipboard, there's a keyboard shortcut you can use instead. Capture the entire screen.
- Next, hold down Control, and make your selection on the screen using your mouse. Then, pull up whatever document you want to paste the selection into, and press Command (⌘) + V.
- Jun 03, 2016 To take a screenshot of your entire screen, press Command+Shift+3. Press all three keys at once and your Mac's desktop will flash, you'll hear a camera sound, and the screenshot will appear on your desktop as a.png file. Take a Screenshot of Part of Your Screen. To take a screenshot of part of your screen, press Command+Shift+4 instead.
- By using keyboard shortcuts, you can print screen on a Mac. You can capture specific windows or select an area to capture. What they call 'Print Screen' in Windows is known as screenshots or screen capture in Mac. Depending on the screen capture action you need, there are several keyboard combinations to use.
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
- Use Launchpad or go to Finder → Applications and open the Preview app.
- Click on File from the top menu bar.
- Choose Take Screenshot and then select one of the options.
Copy Screen Macbook Air
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:
- Click on the Apple logo → System Preferences.
- Next, click on Extensions → Touch Bar.
- 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
- Press Command + Shift + 5.
- Click on Options.
- 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:
- Click on the Apple logo from the Menu bar and choose System Preferences.
- Now, click on Keyboard → Shortcuts.
- Click on Screenshots.
- Select a shortcut and then press the enter key.
- 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 Key | Windows Key |
| Control | Ctrl |
| Option | Alt |
| Command | Windows |
| Delete | Backspace |
| Return | Enter |
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.
- Press Command + Shift + 5.
- Click on Options.
- 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.
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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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If you are new to the Mac operating system, you may be wondering how to print screen on a Mac. You may have already noticed the lack of a 'Print Screen' button on the keyboard. This should not make you feel that the process is complex. By using keyboard shortcuts, you can print screen on a Mac. You can capture specific windows or select an area to capture. What they call 'Print Screen' in Windows is known as screenshots or screen capture in Mac. Depending on the screen capture action you need, there are several keyboard combinations to use.
You can pick one of the methods to capture screens and get used to it for everyday use. So let's get started and see what are the 7 different ways to print screen on a Mac.
Method 1: Capture the entire screen
Step 1: press keys Command + Shift +3 simultaneously.
This will save a copy of your screen to the clipboard awaiting other actions. You can repeat the key combination without the 'Command' key to save the screenshot as a PNG file on your desktop.
Method 2: Capture a selected area
Step 1: begin by pressing the key combination of Command + Shift + 4 simultaneously.
Step 2: the mouse pointer will turn into a crosshair, use it to select the region you are interested in capturing.
Step 3: the spacebar will let you take a full-screen capture.
The selection will be copied to the clipboard. If you press the key combinations without the 'Command' key, your selection will be saved to the desktop as a PNG file.
Method 3: Using the Touch Bar
With a MacBook Pro featuring a touch Bar, you can use the Touch Bar to pick from 'Selected Portion,' 'Window,' or 'Entire Screen' after you have simultaneously pressed the Command, Shift and 4 keys simultaneously. You can also take screenshots of the Touch Bar display using Shift + Command + 6 or just simply to touch the Screenshot Icon.
Method 4: Take screen shots with grab
If you have no time to memorize keyboard shortcuts, you can use Grab. This program is pre-installed on all Macs and will assist you in creating screenshots from the menu bar. Grab can let you take time-delayed screenshots in case you want to set the stage before you start.
Step 1: launch Grab from the utilities housed within the applications folder. Once launched, its icon will display in your dock, you can also pin this icon for quicker access later.
Step 2: you can either use the Capture menu system or the keyboard shortcuts detailed alongside the respective command.
Method 5: Timed screen shots with Grab
Grab gives you the option to capture screenshots on a Mac of the entire screen, an individual window, or a selection of the window. You can do this with a time delay of ten seconds. This gives you some time to properly position your mouse or open the right window before the shot is taken.
Begin by opening Grab, then select 'Timed Screenshot' or press the shortcut Command + Shift + Z, note that the mouse cursor will not show on the capture but you can change that in the preferences.
Method 6: Using the preview
Preview is well known for its functions like opening photos, PDF and other files on Mac. Print screen on Mac is its other hidden feature you should know about. Open preview then highlights the file in the menu bar; the drop-down menu will give you the option to take the screenshot from where you can select 'From window' or 'From entire screen.'
Even though the keyboard shortcuts methods are faster, the Preview method allows you to choose where the screenshot ends up. You can make edits of the screenshot using Preview before saving with the desired file name and at the preferred location.
Copy Screen Macbook Air
Method 7: Capture selection and save to clipboard
Printscreen on Mac, Command + Control + Shift + 4This method is more advanced but is very useful. It helps you print screen on mac with options like a selected area, opened applications, menu bar, parts of a desktop and anything else.
Option one: capture selected area and save to clipboard. Press Command + Control + Shift + 4 then drag with the mouse to select and save to clipboard. This will change the mouse cursor to +with pixel coordinates. Once you click and drag selection as desired, it will save the area to the clipboard for use in other apps.
Option two: capture selection and save on desktop.
Use the Command + Shift + 4 keys simultaneously then drag with the mouse to select the desired area. When you release the mouse button, the selected area will save on the desktop as a PNG file if not specified otherwise.
Copy Screen Mac Os X
Conclusion
Copy Screen Mac Shortcut
When you print screen on a Mac, it will be sent to the clipboard or time-stamped then save on the desktop as a PNG file depending on the method used. You do not need to memorize all these keyboard shortcuts.
Just one or two that are easiest for you then practice on them and you will find it very easy to print screen on a Mac.
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