While my desktop is usually neat and organized, it quickly fills up with screenshots each and every day. Usually, I end up putting them in a folder or just trash them, but why not make the entire process of taking and organizing screenshots easier by changing their default save location?
There may be times when you need to take a screenshot on your Mac. You might have a software bug to report, an important pop-up, threaded web conversations, or even just a payment receipt you need for your records.
There are several ways to take a screenshot on a Mac computer running OS X or MacOS operating systems. You can
- Take a screenshot on Mac with Grab Utility.
- Use keyboard shortcuts to grab a screenshot.
- Use third-party applications to take your screenshot.
Keep in mind, you can also record your screen instead of taking a picture by using the QuickTime application.
How to take a screenshot on Mac with Grab Utility
The most common way to take a screenshot on a Mac is by using the built-in Grab application. This application can be found within your Utility folder located inside Finder and Launchpad.
- Click on Finder or Launchpad to locate the Utility folder.
- Click on Finder.
- Select Applications from the sidebar.
- Locate and double-click the Utilities folder to open it.
- Click on Launchpad and then click again on the Utilitiesbubble to open it.
- Locate the Grab icon inside the Utility folder/bubble and launch the application.
Using the grab application is easy. There is no “windowed” user interface for this application. It is completely controlled from the MacOS or OS X menu bar and/or keyboard shortcuts.
Using the grab application, you can choose four different types of screenshots.
- Selection: This option allows you to highlight the desired area you want to capture. Select Selection or press Shift+Command+A on your keyboard. Click and drag the highlighted box to make your selection.
- Window: The Window option allows you to choose a specific window to capture. Select Window or press Shift+Command+W. Click on the desired window.
- Screen: Choosing the Screen selection lets you to capture the whole screen. Select Screen or press Command+Z. Click anywhere on the screen.
- Timed Screen: The Timed Screen choice captures the whole screen on a ten-second delay. Select Timed Screen or press Shift+Command+Z. Click anywhere on the screen to start the timer.
Choose the option that works best for your needs. Once you have taken the screenshot, a pop-up will appear to show you a preview of your shot. When you close the preview, your Mac will prompt you to save your image. If you are happy with the results, label the image, select a save destination, and click on the Save button. Otherwise, click Don’t Save and try again.
Grab saves in
.tiff
format automatically. If you need to convert the image into a friendlier format, you will have to do so with another application.How to take a screenshot on a Mac using keyboard shortcuts
If you do not want to deal with launching the Grab application or converting your images from
.tiff
to formats such as .png
or .jpeg
, then you are in luck. Mac has offered a way to take screenshots with keyboard shortcuts for decades now. This little-known feature is easy to use.- Screen: Press Shift+Command+3 and a
.png
of the entire screen will automatically save to your desktop. - Selection: Press Shift+Command+4, click and drag curser to make your selection. Press Escape (esc) to cancel. A
.png
of your selection will be waiting on your desktop. - Window:Press Shift+Command+4 and the spacebar. Select desired window. Press Spacebar again to return back to selection mode or esc to cancel. A
.png
of the selected window will be saved to your desktop.
If you are using a PC keyboard, the following commands are as follows:
- Control is the Ctrl key.
- Option is the Alt key.
- The button with the Windows logo is the Command key.
Newer versions of Mac OS or OS X label the saved file as “Screen Shot” followed by the date and time. Older versions of Mac OS or OS X label the saved file as “Image” followed by a number, but only if more than one file labeled “Image” is located on your desktop.
How to take a screenshot on a Mac using third-party applications
There are numerous applications available for taking screenshots. You can scour the web or look inside the Mac App Store for any screenshot application that might appeal to you.
- Click on the App Store located on the MacOS and OS X dock to launch the application.
- Type the word screenshot in the search box and hit enter.
Be aware that many screenshot applications do cost money. Check to see the cost before you download. If you do decide to download an application that costs money and you are not happy with it, you must remove it promptly in order to receive a refund.
Keep in mind, there are countless applications to try and using them will likely differ from the MacOS and OS X native process.
Lightshot, Apowersoft Screenshot, and Cloud App, are the top-rated applications in this category.
How to record your screen on a Mac using the QuickTime application
To record your screen instead of taking a photo, simply launch the Quickytime.app from Finder or Launchpad and press Control+Command+N on your keyboard.
- When the black box appears labeled “Screen Recording,” click on the Record button.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to finish recording your screen.
If you are a diehard Apple fan and also own iOS devices, you can take screenshots with them by pressing the Home and Lock buttons at the same time. The image will be saved to your camera roll and you can access it through the Photos app.
Looking for an easy way to take screenshots, screen captures, or even screen recordings in Mac OS X? There are some convenient keyboard shortcuts and built-in OS X tools that make taking screenshots on a Mac easier than ever.
To get daily tips on Apple related products, such as Macs, iPhone, iPad, etc, check out our sister site Switching To Mac. Also, read our ultimate guide to taking screenshots in Windows article too.
Screenshots
Screenshots are basically a picture of the entire screen, or the entire desktop. Screenshots work by taking a shot of everything exactly how it is arranged, with active windows open and everything. For example, if you have Safari and iTunes open, but iTunes is active and Safari is minimized, a screenshot will take a screenshot of your Mac OS X desktop just as you see it.
Alternatively, if you use COMMAND + CONTROL + SHIFT, 3 at the same time, Mac OS X will snap a screenshot and copy it to the clipboard, rather than save it to the desktop.
Screen Captures and Snippets
Screen captures and snippets are similar to screenshots in the fact that they take a photo of the active windows/desktop. However, they are also different because they allow you to specify a certain region or portion of the screen. Screen captures and snippets are basically the Mac OS X equivalent of the Sniping Tool, for Windows users.
Press the key combo and drag to select the portion of the screen to capture. Alternatively, if you use COMMAND + CONTROL + SHIFT + 4 at the same time, Mac OS X will copy the snippet to the clipboard rather than save it as an image to the desktop.
Additional Mac OS X screenshot shortcuts:
This takes a screenshot of an individual window and saves it to the desktop. Note that you only have to hold down CMD, SHIFT and 4 together, but can then let go of the keys and press Space separately. You can then click on any window to capture a screenshot. The cursor will also turn into a camera icon when you press Space.
Takes a screenshot of an individual window and copies it to the clipboard.
Screen Capture with Cursor
If you want to capture a screenshot in OS X with the cursor, you have to use Preview. None of the shortcut keys allow you to capture the cursor by default. Open Preview and then click on File – Take a Screenshot – From Entire Screen.
A countdown dialog will appear and after a few seconds, the entire screen will be captured along with whatever the current cursor is. Some websites say to use the Grab utility, but using that tool, you have to pick the cursor you want captured whereas Preview will capture whatever the current cursor is.
Screenshot of Touch Bar
If you have a Mac with the new Touch Bar, you can easily take a screenshot by using the following key combo:
The screenshot will automatically be saved to the desktop as a PNG file.
Screen Recording
In some circumstances, you may want to do a screen recording rather than capture still frames with a snapshot. For example, screen recordings are highly popular for video tutorials. In Mac OS X, screen recording is actually quite easy. No software downloads required.
- Navigate the path Finder > Applications > QuickTime Player.
- Double click the QuickTime Player icon to launch QuickTime Player.
- With QuickTime active, select File > New Screen Recording.
- Click the red record button on the Screen Recording tool. You can also click on the dropdown arrow and choose a microphone if you want audio in the recording. You can also capture the mouse clicks in the recording too.
- Read over the general guidelines and click anywhere on the screen to record full screen. If you want to record just a portion of the screen, click and drag your mouse over the area.
- To to stop recording, click the Stop Recording icon in the menu bar. OR Press COMMAND + CONTROL + ESC.
Those are pretty much all the ways you can capture a screenshot in OS X without using third-party software. If you need more advanced editing features, etc., then I would suggest Snagit for Mac. Enjoy!