Taking a screenshot on your Mac might seem like basic computer knowledge, but there might be an even easier shortcut than what you’re used to. Watch our video for instructions, or keep reading for descriptions of the commands you might use.
- Command-Shift-3
You’re probably already familiar with holding down the command button (you know, ⌘, the one with that weird “looped square”), shift, and 3. That takes a screenshot of your whole Mac screen, and saves the file to your desktop.
- Command-Shift-4
Then there’s command+shift+4, which lets you use your cursor to draw a box around a specific area on-screen that you want to capture —like the “Giz” in this image below:
Screenshot: Gizmodo
This techique is useful if you want to hide certain details, like taking a photo of a website without showing all your bookmarks or the window’s scroll bars.
- Command-Shift-4-Spacebar
If you press command+shift+4 and then also add the spacebar, it will highlight the entire contents of a single window. You’ll see a little image of a camera, and if you click once you will screenshot that window, menu bars and all. (Press the option key before the shortcut to get rid of the drop shadow that macOS will add to the window capture.)
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- Command-Shift-5
If you don’t want to memorize a bunch of shortcuts, just memorize one: Command+shift+5 brings up a whole menubar where you can click an icon to select any of your Mac’s screenshot options.
Screenshot: Gizmodo
You can also record video of your screen or a portion of your screen, and choose where to save your screenshots. You can also store screenshots on your clipboard to paste anywhere.
Command+shift+5 tends to be the shortcut that blows people’s minds, so if you already knew it existed, share your knowledge with friends and family, and check out the video above for a full walk-through of these shortcuts at work.
