2025 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-23 12:04
From making witty visual jokes to reporting problems to get technical support, taking screenshots is a useful trick to get to know your computer. Luckily, taking screenshots (or screen grabs) in OS X is super easy. Here are some commands for taking various screenshots on your Macbook or any other Mac computer.
Step
Method 1 of 5: Taking a Screenshot of the Entire Screen
1
Step 1. Hold down the Command and Shift keys and press 3
You will hear a short camera sound. This is the most basic screenshot: it will take a picture of your entire screen at that moment.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 2
Step 2. Look for the screenshot as a-p.webp" />
Method 2 of 5: Taking a Screenshot of a Selection
Special 3
Step 1. Hold down the Command and Shift keys and press 4
Your cursor will turn into a small purse with a pixel coordinate number on the bottom left.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 4
Step 2. Click and hold your mouse or trackpad and drag the cursor to select a rectangular area for the screenshot you want
You can press the ESC key to restart without taking a photo.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 5
Step 3. Release the click to take a picture
Again, your file will be saved on your desktop.
Method 3 of 5: Taking a Screenshot of a Window
Special 6
Step 1. Hold down the Command and Shift keys and press 4 then Space
This will turn your cursor into a small camera icon and any window you hover your mouse over will be highlighted blue.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 7
Step 2. Highlight the window you want to take a screenshot of
To find the correct window, you can cycle through your open applications with Command + Tab or use F3 to organize all your open windows. Press ESC to cancel the command without taking a photo.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 8
Step 3. Click the highlighted window
Look for your files on the desktop.
Method 4 of 5: Saving Screenshot to Clipboard
Special 9
Step 1. Hold down the Control key and perform one of the above commands
This will save your screenshot to the clipboard instead of as a file stored on the desktop.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 10
Step 2. Paste the screenshot into a word processing document, email or image editor by holding down the Command key and pressing V or selecting "Paste" from the "Edit" menu
Method 5 of 5: Taking Screenshots in Preview
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 11
Step 1. Open Preview
Look for Preview in the application folder in the Finder, and double-click its icon.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 12
Step 2. Open the File menu and move your cursor to Take Screen Shot
"From Selection" will turn your cursor into a reticle (a circle like a telescope view). Click and drag across the rectangular area you want to capture.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 13Bullet1
"From Window" will turn your cursor into a camera icon. Highlight the window you want to capture and click it.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 13Bullet2
"Entire Screen" will start the countdown. Set the screen you want to capture and wait for the timer to count down.
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 13Bullet3
Take a Screenshot With a Macbook Step 14
Step 4. Save your new image
The screenshot will immediately open as a nameless Preview image window. Open the File menu and select "Save." Give the file a name, choose a location and file type, and click "Save."
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