Mac comes with screenshot tools to capture exactly what you want to like your entire screen, a small portion of your screen or a particular window with or without shadow. If you know some tricks to use screenshot tools, then it is very easy to take a Screenshot on Mac. This guide will teach you how to take a screenshot on your Mac by using different methods.
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| How to take a screenshot on Mac |
Method 1:
Take a screenshot on Mac using the keyboard shortcut:
Capture entire screen:
- To take a screenshot of the entire screen, you have to press on Command + Shift + 3 at the same time. Now you can hear a brief camera sound.
- This keyboard shortcut will take the picture of your entire screen at that time.
- The taken picture is saved as a png file on your desktop in the name screenshot with time and date.
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| Capture entire screen |
- If you want to save the image to the clipboard instead of on the desktop, you can press the same combination keys with the control key. Then you can also check GarageBand for PC.
Capture a selected area:
- To take a screenshot of some part or selected part of the screen, you have to press the Command + Shift + 4 keys simultaneously.
- Now your cursor will turn into a small reticule with pixel coordinate numbers of the lower left.
- Click your mouse or trackpad and drag the cursor to select the area you want to take a screenshot.
- After selecting the area, release the click to take the picture. The screenshot will be saved on your desktop.
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| Command + Shift + 4 keys simultaneously |
- If you are using macOS Mojave or later, you can simply press the command + shift + 5 keys simultaneously and you can get a marquee on the screen showing what will be captured. You can resize it as your wish.
- This key combination also gives you a menu with options such as where to save the screenshot, how to show the pointer and more.
- To save the selected screen image on the clipboard, press the Ctrl key with the combination of keys.
Capture a single window:
To take the screenshot of a single window, hold down the Command + Shift + 4. And then tap on the Space bar. This will turn your cursor into a small camera icon, and whatever window you are hovering will be highlighted in blue.
- To find the window which you want to take a screenshot, you can cycle through your open applications with Command + Tab or use F3 to sort your open windows.
- Click on the window in which you want to take a screenshot and its image will be saved to the desktop.
- The image you saved will the window’s transparent png file along with its shadow.
- If you do not wish to add shadow, hold down the option key (or Alt key) when you click to save the image.
How to edit screenshot on Mac?
Step 1: Open the saved screenshot which you want to edit.
Step 2: Right-click on the image and select ‘open with’ option.
Step 3: Then choose ‘Keynote’ from the list of applications or ‘other’ to locate Keynote in your Finder.
Step 4: In Keynote, you can add a shadow, add a reflection and remove the screenshot’s background.
You can also use Apple Preview to edit screenshot, in that you can expand the edit toolbar to add shapes, change the screenshot’s color composition, and incorporate text and more.
Method 2:
Take a screenshot on Mac using Grab applications:
You can also take a screenshot on Mac by using an in-built Grab application. Take a screenshot using Grab utility is much easier than the above method. Simply follow the given steps to take a screenshot using the Grab application.
Step 1: First open the Grab app on your Mac. This app can be found within the utility folder located inside Finder and Launchpad.
Step 2: After opening the program, go to the tab ‘capture’ and then choose the options you need. The options are Selection, Window, Screen and Timed screen.
Selection: This option allows you to capture a specific portion of the screen by dragging around it. The shortcut key to use this option is ‘Command + Shift + A’Window: This option lets you capture an open window that you clicked with your mouse on the Mac. The shortcut key to use this option is ‘Command + Shift + W’Screen: It allows you to capture the entire screen of your Mac. The shortcut key to use this option is ‘Command + Z’.
Timed Screen: This option allows you to use menus and sub-menus, if necessary. It captures the entire screen on a ten-second delay. The shortcut key to use this option is ‘Command + Shift + Z’
Method 3:
Take a screenshot on Mac using third party applications
There are plenty of applications to take a screenshot on Mac. You can search on the web or look inside the Mac App Store for any screenshot app you find attractive. Here we briefly explain two apps that we think are best for taking screenshots on Mac.
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| best for taking screenshots on Mac |
CleanShot: It is one such application that helps you to capture Mac screen without desktop icons in the background, annotate or blur specific parts, set custom wallpapers, quick access relay and more. This is a great tool if you have a messy desktop or need to hide some elements of your screenshot for confidentiality reasons.
Capto: Capto is also a screenshot capture application for Mac that helps you to stimulate ideas and create interesting designs in addition to taking simple screenshots. You can take a screenshot, edit it, crop it where needed, add some text to the image and more. It also allows you to instantly upload the picture to one of the many social networks that are directly connected to the Capto.
Final words:
Now you know how to take a screenshot on Mac in different ways. You can use any of the above-mentioned methods to capture a specific screenshot according to your requirements. Capture screenshot and share it with someone to show what you exactly see on your screen.
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