How to Take a Screenshot on Mac

There are different ways to take a picture of something on your Mac screen, whether it's the whole screen or just a part of your desktop. You need to know how to take a screenshot on a Mac if you want to save something on your screen, like an email, an online receipt, or an interesting photo you want to show your friends. Here, we'll show you how to take screenshots on a Mac without using a third-party app or tool, no matter what version of macOS you're using. You can then choose the method you like best. This article also has instructions on how to change screenshot settings like where they are saved and how long they are kept.

How to Take a Screenshot on Mac

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

To screenshot the entire screen of your Mac:

Press and hold these keys together: Shift + Command + 3

The thumbnail of the screenshot will appear in the bottom right corner of your screen.

To screenshot a part of the screen on Mac:

1. Press and hold these keys together: Shift + Command + 4

2. Drag the crosshair icon in order to select your desired area. Then press and hold the Space bar while dragging to move the selection. This time if you want to cancel the screenshot, press Esc.

3. Release your mouse or trackpad button in order to screenshot.

4. You can wait for the screenshot to automatically save to your desktop or click on a thumbnail in the corner of the screen to edit it. 

To capture a certain window or menu:

1. Open the Window or Menu you want to take a screenshot.

2. Press and hold these keys together: Shift + Command + 4 + Spacebar. The pointer will then change to a camera icon. This time if you want to cancel the screenshot, press Esc.

3. Click on the Window or Menu to screenshot. If you want to keep the window's shadow out of the capture, hold down the Option key while you click.

Where are screenshots saved on mac?

By default, the screenshots are located on your Desktop as ”Screen Shot [date] at [time].png.” 

Using the Screenshot App

1. Open the launchpad on your macOS device.

2. Open the Other folder.

3. Launch the Screenshot app.

4. You may now select whether to take a complete screen snapshot, a screenshot of a single window or manually capture a piece of the screen by drawing a portion. Just pick the option you want. Once you've made your decision, click the Capture button to take a screenshot.

So, that's how to take a screenshot on a Mac. Taking a screenshot is easy, and you don't need a third-party app to do it.

How to Crop and Edit a Screenshot on Mac

With the Preview app, you can change your screenshots. It's an app that comes with macOS devices. To get this app going:

1. Right-click on the screenshot thumbnail.

2. Click on Open with.

3. Select the Preview option from the drop-down list.

To crop an image:

1. Launch the Preview app by following the above steps.

2. Hold your right mouse button and drag to select your desired area.

3. Click on Tools then select Crop.

Or you can just press Command + K to crop the image.

The selection you can crop is always a rectangle. If you want to switch to elliptical or lasso selection, just click on the "selection" tool at the top left and choose the option you want. Then, follow the steps above to crop the area you want.

To rotate an image:

1. Launch the Preview app.

2. Click on the 'Rotate' icon at the top right to rotate your image to the left by 90 degrees.

Or you can simply press Command + R to rotate it to the right or Command + L to rotate it to the left.

You can also draw on the image, insert text, shapes, add signature, and customize your image the way you want with different markup tools available in the Preview app.

To open the Markup toolbar:

1. Launch the Preview app

Click on the Show Markup toolbar button or press Shift + Command + A.

To resize an image:

2. Click on the adjust size button from the Markup toolbar.

3. A new pane will show up. Click on the Fit into label and select the size you want from the drop-down list.

You can define the custom width and height by typing a value in the respective fields.

You can also change the unit of values by clicking on the menu beside the Height and Width options.

4. Click on OK to apply your change.

To adjust color of the screenshot:

1. Launch the Preview app.

2. Click on the Adjust color button from the Markup toolbar.

3. A new window will open. You can now change Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, and many different elements by dragging the sliders.

4. Click the X button at the top left to close the window.

How to Adjust Screenshot Settings on Mac

You can also change the options for taking a screenshot. For example, you can choose a folder to store screenshots in or set a certain amount of time for screenshots to be taken.

1. Open the launchpad on your Mac device.

2. Open the Other folder.

3. Launch Screenshot app.

To change screenshot save location on a Mac:

After launching the Screenshot app, follow the steps below to change screenshot location on Mac:

1. Choose the Options tab from the bottom bar.

2. Then, under the Store To portion of the overflow menu, choose the folder where you want to save your screenshots.

3. To choose a directory manually, go to the Other location option and use the Finder to choose one.

To set a timer for a screenshot:

From the Options menu, click on your desired option present under the Timer section.

Then, click on the Capture button to take a screenshot after the set duration.

If you don't want to display the floating thumbnail of a recently captured screenshot, go to the Options menu and deactivate the 'Show Floating Thumbnail' option.

By default, the mouse pointer is not visible in the screenshots you take on your Macbook. If the need arises, you can always enable it by clicking on the Show Mouse Pointer option.

You can edit and crop your screenshots without having to use a third-party app if you use the Preview app.

So, that's all. Now you have more than one way to learn how to take a screenshot on a Mac. If you're having trouble taking a screenshot or editing it, just leave a comment below, and we'll help you figure it out. Follow us now if you want to learn more tricks for getting the most out of your Mac.