Whether you’re working on a presentation or looking to share an interesting image from the Internet, there are plenty of simple and easy ways to take screenshots on your Mac. From keyboard shortcuts to easy-to-use applications, taking screenshots will take your ability to share images to the next level.
Keyboard shortcuts
The simplest way to take quick screenshots on your Mac is to learn a variety of keyboard shortcuts that will soon become second nature in helping you to capture and save images on your screen. Here is a list of keyboard shortcuts that will have you saving screenshots in no time.
- Command + Shift + 3: Hold these keys simultaneously to take a screenshot of the entire screen area and to save the image directly on your desktop.
- Command + Shift + 4: Using this key combination will allow you to select a specific area of the screen and saves an image of this selection on your desktop. Simply hold down these keys and then use the selection tool by clicking the mouse and dragging the cursor to select your chosen area.
- Command + Shift + 4 + space: In holding down these four keys simultaneously, a small camera icon will appear that will allow the selection of an entire window to copy, with the screenshot image saved automatically on the desktop.
- Command + Control + Shift + 3: This key combination will copy the image of your screen to the clipboard, allowing you to paste it into any document.
- Command + Control + Shift + 4: Holding down this key combination will allow you to select a specific area of your screen and save the image to your clipboard for easy pasting into any document.
Applications
If you’d prefer not to use keyboard shortcuts, there are still a variety of options on your Mac that will allow you to easily capture screenshots and save them for future use.
The Grab application comes standard on your Mac and includes features to help you take a variety of different screenshots quickly. Simply open the Utilities folder by first opening the Applications folder on your hard drive, and select the “Grab” application. Double click on the Grab icon to launch this application.
Once open, use the Capture menu in Grab for a variety of options to capture images on your screen. Use the “Selection” option to select a specific area of your screen, choose “Window” to capture an entire open window or “Screen” to capture an image of the entire screen. For a more advanced option, select “Timed Screen” that will allow you to set a timer to activate part of your screen and then take a screenshot of your modified screen area. This option is especially useful in capturing an active window with a selected drop-down menu as seen in the image below.
Another application that comes standard on your Mac that will allow you to easily capture screenshots is the Preview application. Launch Preview from your application dock or from the application folder. Once open, simply expand the “File” menu in Preview and select the “Take Screen Shot” option towards the bottom of the menu. The menu will expand further to reveal three different options for taking screenshots. Select “From Selection” to capture a specific part of the screen or window, select “From Window” to capture the entire window or “From Entire Screen” to capture the entire screen. Each of these options will create an image that can be renamed, saved and used to share the selection in a variety of ways.
Regardless of whether you choose to learn the handful of keyboard shortcuts or use the standard applications on your Mac to capture screenshots, in minutes you will be saving screenshots and sharing them with ease.
