Screen capturing on a Mac is a useful feature that allows you to take screenshots or record your screen. Whether you want to capture an image, create a tutorial, or share something interesting with others, the built-in screen capture tools on Mac make it easy and convenient. In this tutorial, we will explore different methods to screen capture on a Mac.
Capturing the Entire Screen
If you want to capture the entire screen on your Mac, follow these simple steps:
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Press Command + Shift + 3:
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Press Command + Control + Shift + 3:
This keyboard shortcut captures the entire screen and saves the screenshot as a file on your desktop. The file name will be in the format “Screen Shot [date] at [time].png”.
This keyboard shortcut captures the entire screen and saves the screenshot to your clipboard. You can then paste it into an application like Preview or an image editing software.
Capturing a Specific Area of the Screen
If you only want to capture a specific area of your screen, follow these steps:
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Press Command + Shift + 4:
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Drag the crosshair:
- To capture a specific area: Click and drag to select the desired area. You can adjust the selection by holding down Spacebar while dragging.
- To capture a window: Press the Spacebar after dragging the crosshair.
The cursor will change into a camera icon. Move the camera icon over a window and click to capture it.
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Release the mouse button:
This keyboard shortcut turns your cursor into a crosshair.
Once you have selected the desired area, release the mouse button to take the screenshot. The screenshot will be saved as a file on your desktop or saved to your clipboard depending on the keyboard shortcut used.
Capturing a Specific Window
If you want to capture a specific window, follow these steps:
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Press Command + Shift + 4:
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Press the Spacebar:
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Move the camera icon over a window:
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Click on the window:
- If you want to capture only the highlighted window, click once.
- If you want to exclude the shadow around the window, hold down Option while clicking. This will remove the shadow from the captured image.
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Release the mouse button:
This keyboard shortcut turns your cursor into a crosshair.
The cursor will change into a camera icon.
The window under the camera icon will be highlighted in blue.
The screenshot of the selected window will be saved as a file on your desktop or saved to your clipboard depending on which keyboard shortcut was used.
In Conclusion
Screen capturing on a Mac is a handy feature that allows you to capture screenshots or record your screen effortlessly. By utilizing the built-in keyboard shortcuts, you can quickly capture the entire screen, specific areas, or specific windows with ease. Whether you’re a professional needing to create tutorials or simply sharing interesting content with friends, these screen capture methods will undoubtedly come in handy.