How to Capture Screen on Mac

Joel Mason

Mac, Tutorials

If you’re a Mac user, you might have come across situations where you wanted to capture your screen. Whether it’s for documenting a bug, creating a tutorial, or simply sharing something interesting with others, the ability to capture your screen can be incredibly useful. In this tutorial, we will explore different methods to capture your screen on a Mac.

Capturing the Entire Screen

If you want to capture everything that is currently displayed on your screen, including all open windows and applications, you can use the following keyboard shortcut:

Command + Shift + 3

Pressing these keys simultaneously will take a screenshot of your entire screen. Once captured, the screenshot will be saved as a PNG file on your desktop.

Capturing a Specific Area

Maybe you don’t need to capture the entire screen and only want to focus on a specific area or window. In that case, you can use the following keyboard shortcut:

Command + Shift + 4

When you press these keys, your cursor will turn into a crosshair reticle. Click and drag over the area or window that you want to capture. As soon as you release the mouse button, the selected area will be captured as a PNG file and saved on your desktop.

Capturing a Specific Window

If you have multiple windows open and want to capture only one specific window instead of the entire screen or an area, follow these steps:

  1. Step 1: Press Command + Shift + 4.

  2. Step 2: Press the Spacebar. Your cursor will change into a camera icon.

  3. Step 3: Move your cursor over the window you want to capture. The window will be highlighted in blue.

  4. Step 4: Click on the mouse or trackpad to capture the highlighted window as a PNG file on your desktop.

Capturing a Menu or Contextual Menu

If you want to capture a menu or a contextual menu, follow these steps:

  1. Step 1: Click on the menu or contextual menu you want to capture.

  2. Step 2: Press Command + Shift + 4.

  3. Step 3: Press the Spacebar.

  4. Step 4: Move your cursor over the menu or contextual menu. It will be highlighted in blue.

  5. Step 5: Click on the mouse or trackpad to capture the highlighted menu as a PNG file on your desktop.

Capturing Touch Bar (MacBook Pro)

If you own a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, you can also capture its contents using these steps:

  1. Step 1: Press Command + Shift + 6.

  2. Step 2: The Touch Bar will be captured as a PNG file on your desktop.

Capturing Screen and Saving to Clipboard

If you don’t want to save the captured screenshot as a file on your desktop, but instead want to save it directly to your clipboard for pasting into another application, add the Control key to any of the previous keyboard shortcuts. For example:

Command + Control + Shift + 3

This will capture the entire screen and save it to your clipboard. You can then paste it into an image editing software or any other application that supports image pasting.

In conclusion,

Capturing your screen on a Mac is an essential skill that can greatly improve your productivity and allow you to share information visually with others. Whether you need to capture the entire screen, a specific area, a window, or even menus, Mac provides built-in tools that make it easy and convenient.

Remember these keyboard shortcuts and start capturing your screen effortlessly! Happy screenshotting!

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