There are a million reasons for taking a screenshot - also referred to as a screencap or screengrab - even on a Mac.
A screenshot lets you capture exactly what you’re seeing on your MacBook or iMac screen, either for yourself to reference later or to share with others. you’re able to screenshot an image, a web page, a spreadsheet, a folder, you name it. It’s a very handy feature that we honestly use dozens of times a day, whether it’s capturing an entire screen or maybe just a window or a portion of a window.
We’ve even changed where our screenshots save to on our laptop. Here’s everything you need to know about screenshotting on a Mac.
How to take a screenshot on your Mac
There are two ways to capture your entire screen, a portion of the screen, or a window or menu: Using keyboard shortcuts or the Screenshot app. In either instance, after taking a screenshot, if you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, you may click it to edit the screenshot. You can also copy a screenshot to paste somewhere else - just by pressing and holding Control while you take it.
Browse the gallery above to learn screenshotting keyboard shortcuts and helpful Screenshot app tips.
Capture the entire screen
To take a screenshot of your entire screen, press and hold these three keys: Shift, Command, and 3.
Alternatively, you can use the Screenshot app. Press Command + Shift + 5 to open it, and select the capture entire screen option from the menu. You will also see the option to record the contents of your entire screen, not just image capture, in the Screenshot app’s menu.
Capture a portion of the screen
To take a screenshot of a portion of the screen, press and hold these three keys: Shift, Command, and 4. Drag the crosshair cursor to select the area of the screen you wish to capture and then release your mouse or trackpad button to actually capture. But, before you release, if you want to move your selection around, just press and hold the space bar while dragging. To cancel, press Escape.
Alternatively, use the Screenshot app. Press Command + Shift + 5 to open the app, and select the capture portion option from the menu. You will also see the option to record the contents of your selection.
Capture a window or menu
Open the window or menu that you want to capture, and then press and hold these keys: Shift, Command, 4, and Space bar. The cursor will change to a camera icon. You can then click the window or the menu to capture it (to exclude the window’s shadow from the screenshot, just press and hold the option key while you click). To cancel taking the screenshot, press the Escape key.
Alternatively, use the Screenshot app. Press Command + Shift + 5 to open the app, and select the capture window option from the menu. You will also see the option to record the contents of your window, not just capture in an image, in the menu of the Screenshot app.
Where to find screenshots on a Mac
By default, your screenshot will save to the desktop with the name ”Screen Shot [date] at [time].png.”
Change where screenshots save on a Mac
MacOS Big Sur or later
If your Mac is running a newer version of MacOS (specifically, Big Sur or later), you can use the Screenshot app to change the default location of saved screenshots on a Mac. Once you open the app, just go to Options in the menu bar, and select where you’d like screenshots to go.
Older versions of MacOS
If your Mac is running something older than Big Sur, you may use the Terminal to change where screenshots save. It’s so easy. First, create your screenshots folder and name it whatever you want to call it. Now, let’s point all future screenshots to it. Follow these steps:
To access your screenshots folder on the desktop, just create an alias (right-click on folder, select Create Alias, and move Alias to the desktop).
