Taking a screenshot on a Mac is quick and uses simple keyboard shortcuts. Here are the three ways to do it, depending on what you want to capture:
1. Capture the Entire Screen
Press Command ($\mathbf{\mathscr{A}}$) + Shift + 3 simultaneously.
A thumbnail will briefly appear in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
The image will automatically save to your Desktop as a
.pngfile.
2. Capture a Selected Portion of the Screen
Press Command ($\mathbf{\mathscr{A}}$) + Shift + 4.
Your mouse cursor will change into a crosshair.
Click and drag the crosshair over the exact area you want to capture, then release the mouse button.
Tip: If you want to move the selected box before capturing, hold down the Spacebar while dragging.
3. Capture a Specific Window or Menu
Press Command ($\mathbf{\mathscr{A}}$) + Shift + 4, and then immediately press the Spacebar.
Your cursor will change into a camera icon.
Hover over the open window, browser tab, or menu you want to capture (it will highlight in blue) and click. This creates a clean screenshot of just that window with a nice drop-shadow effect.
Pro-Tips:
Copy to Clipboard instead of saving: If you just want to paste the screenshot into a chat or document without saving it to your desktop, add the Control key to any of the shortcuts above (e.g.,
Command + Control + Shift + 4).Open the Screen Capture Menu: Press Command ($\mathbf{\mathscr{A}}$) + Shift + 5 to pull up an on-screen toolbar. This gives you advanced options, including a timer, changing where screenshots are saved, or recording your screen as a video.