How to Screenshot on Mac: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Screenshot on Mac: The majority of Apple’s venerable Macs are now available in M1 and M2 variants, but the screenshotting process remains the same. Even so, the majority of Apple users are unsure of how to take screenshots on a Mac. On any modern Mac, there are three conventional keyboard shortcuts for taking a screenshot, and on a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar, there is a fourth shortcut in case there is any confusion about how to screenshot on mac. Apple’s MacOS software offers Mac users a variety of options for saving, removing, and opening the snapshot for annotation.

Apple recently updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a new M2 processor, and a MacBook Air with a similar design that has undergone substantial physical changes is expected to be released shortly.

Listed below are various techniques for taking screenshots on a Mac. If there is confusion about how to take screenshots on a Mac, be sure to follow each step in order.

How to Screenshot on Mac

First Method: Cmd-Shift-3

With this keyboard shortcut, you can take a screenshot of the entire screen.

Second method: Cmd-Shift-4

This keyboard shortcut allows the user to transform the cursor into a crosshair that can be used to select an area of the screen to record. To capture the photograph, release the mouse or trackpad trigger.

After selecting Cmd-Shift-4, you have a variety of alternative options for taking screenshots on a Mac, including:

When you hold and release the spacebar, the crosshair transforms into a tiny camera icon that you can move over any open window. To capture a screenshot of the desired window, click on it. This technique generates screenshots with a white window border and a subtle drop shadow.

After dragging to designate a region, pressing and holding the spacebar while still holding the mouse button or trackpad enables you to move the selection area on the screen while preserving its size and shape. If your initial selection region is off by a few pixels, you can easily reposition it by pressing and holding the spacebar prior to releasing the mouse button to capture a screenshot.

Holding down the Shift key locks in all sides of the crosshairs-created selection area except for the bottom edge, allowing you to move the mouse up or down to position the bottom border after dragging to select an area but before releasing the mouse button or trackpad.

Release the Shift key while holding down the left mouse button to reposition the right border of your selection. By pressing and holding the Shift key while using the mouse or touchpad, you can toggle between moving the bottom and right boundaries.

Third Method: Cmd-Shift-5

A keyboard shortcut, Cmd-Shift-5, displays a small interface with screen capture options at the bottom of the screen. It appeared for the first time in macOS Mojave in 2018.

Using one of the three buttons, you can capture a screenshot of your full screen, a window, or a portion.

Using the two video recording buttons, you can record your entire screen or a portion of it. This is the next stage for how to take a screenshot on a Mac. You can dismiss the screenshot panel using the X button on the left, or by pressing the Escape key.

There is an options icon located on the right. You can specify a 5- or 10-second delay to enable you to align elements that would otherwise be lost when taking a snapshot. It also allows you to choose where the screenshot will be saved: Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview, or Other Location.

The Show Floating Thumbnail option, which is enabled by default, displays a small preview thumbnail of the screenshot you just captured in the bottom-right quadrant of the screen, similar to how iOS handles screenshots. On your Mac, unlike your iPhone, you have the option to disable this preview thumbnail. Finally, you have the option of including either a screenshot or a video of your mouse pointer.

If the screenshot panel is obstructing your view, grasp its left edge and drag it to a new location.

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How do you take screenshots on a Mac?

Cmd-Shift-6 is an added benefit for MacBooks with a Touch Bar.

If you have an older 15- or 16-inch MacBook Pro or the current 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is the very last model with the Touch Bar, you can also take a screenshot of what’s presently displayed on the Touch Bar. Press Cmd-Shift-6 to capture a very broad and thin screenshot of your Touch Bar.

Additionally, discover how to take a screenshot on Windows without using Snipping Tools.

Simple Commentary on How to Take Screenshots on a Mac?

Utilising the Floating Thumbnail will provide you with fast access to Markup tools for annotating your screenshot.

You can swipe away the Floating Thumbnail or simply let it go, and it will be saved to the location where the last screenshot was saved.

When you select the Floating Thumbnail, a Markup View preview window will open (instead of Preview) containing all of the markup tools available in Preview.

Right-click the Floating Thumbnail in order to:

• Capture a screenshot and save it to the desktop, the Documents folder, or the clipboard.
• Access it through Mail, Messages, Preview, or Photos in the third step.
• Display in Finder
• Delete
• Open the file in the previously mentioned Markup preview window.
• Close (and save) the file.

Long-time Mac screenshotters may be hesitant to use the Cmd-Shift-5 keyboard shortcut, but users appreciate the ability to annotate screenshots without launching Preview and to rapidly delete errant screenshots. In addition, the 5- and 10-second delay options are welcome additions.

There are many more options available, but between the ones mentioned above and the ones integrated into macOS, all bases are covered for how to take screenshots on a Mac.

Also see: How to record the iPhone’s screen.