How to Take a Screenshot Mac

Charlotte Daniels

Mac, Tutorials

Are you a Mac user looking to capture what’s on your screen? Taking a screenshot on a Mac is a simple and straightforward process.

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the various methods to take a screenshot on your Mac. Let’s get started!

Capturing the Entire Screen

To capture the entire screen of your Mac, follow these steps:

  1. Step 1: Locate the “Shift” key on your keyboard.
  2. Step 2: Find the “Command” key (also known as the “⌘” key) next to it.
  3. Step 3: Press and hold down both the “Shift” and “Command” keys simultaneously.
  4. Step 4: While holding down these keys, press the number “3” key.

This will instantly capture a screenshot of your entire screen. You will hear a camera shutter sound, indicating that the screenshot has been successfully taken.

Taking a Screenshot of a Selected Portion

If you only want to capture a specific portion of your screen, follow these steps instead:

  1. Step 1: Locate the “Shift” key on your keyboard.
  2. Step 4: While holding down these keys, press the number “4” key.
  3. Step 5: Your cursor will transform into a crosshair.
  4. Step 6: Click and drag the crosshair to select the portion of the screen you want to capture. As you drag, a rectangle will form around the selected area.
  5. Step 7: Release the mouse button to capture the selected portion of your screen.

You will hear a camera shutter sound, indicating that the screenshot has been successfully taken.

Saving a Screenshot as a File

By default, screenshots on Mac are saved as image files on your desktop. The file name will be in the format “Screen Shot [date] at [time].png”. If you want to change the default save location or file format, follow these steps:

  1. Step 1: Open the “Finder” application on your Mac.
  2. Step 2: Click on “Preferences” in the top menu bar.
  3. Step 3: In the Preferences window, click on the “General” tab.
  4. Step 4: Under “Show these items on the desktop”, check or uncheck “Hard disks”, depending on your preference.

If you want to change the file format of your screenshots, refer to Step 5 below:

  1. Note:
    If you prefer saving screenshots in a different file format such as JPEG or TIFF, open Terminal and enter one of these commands:
    • For JPEG: defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
    • For TIFF: defaults write com.screencapture type tiff
  2. Note:
    After entering the desired command, press “Enter” on your keyboard.
  3. Step 6: To apply the changes, enter the following command in Terminal and press “Enter”:
    • killall SystemUIServer

Congratulations! You now know how to take a screenshot on your Mac.

Whether you need to capture the entire screen or just a selected portion, these methods will help you accomplish the task with ease. It’s time to put your newfound knowledge to use!

Remember, practice makes perfect, so don’t hesitate to try it out yourself. Happy screenshotting!

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