The shortcuts
| What you want | Press |
|---|---|
| Whole screen | Shift-Command-3 |
| Part of the screen | Shift-Command-4, then drag |
| One window or menu | Shift-Command-4, then Space, then click |
| Screenshot toolbar (including recording) | Shift-Command-5 |
| Touch Bar (older MacBook Pro) | Shift-Command-6 |
| Copy to clipboard instead of saving | Add Control to any of the above |
After you take a screenshot, a thumbnail appears in the bottom-right corner for a few seconds. Click it to mark up, crop or share, or ignore it and it saves automatically.
Whole screen: Shift-Command-3
Press all three keys together. If you have more than one display, you get one file per screen.
Part of the screen: Shift-Command-4
The pointer becomes a crosshair. Drag to select the area, then let go to take the shot. While dragging:
- Hold Shift to lock the width or height.
- Hold Option to resize from the centre.
- Hold Space to move the whole selection.
- Press Esc to cancel.
One window: Shift-Command-4, then Space
The pointer turns into a camera, and the window under it is highlighted. Click to capture just that window, with a soft shadow.
- To leave out the shadow, hold Option while you click.
- This works on open menus and the Dock too.
The Screenshot toolbar: Shift-Command-5
This opens a toolbar at the bottom of the screen with buttons for:
- Capture entire screen, selected window or selected portion.
- Record entire screen or record selected portion. Press the stop button in the menu bar, or Control-Command-Esc, to stop.
- Options, where you can:
- choose where screenshots save (Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview or another folder)
- set a 5 or 10-second timer
- show or hide the mouse pointer
- turn the floating thumbnail on or off
- choose a microphone for recordings
The toolbar remembers your last settings. For more on recording, including iPhone and Windows, see our guide to screen recording on any device.
Edit, crop and mark up
Click the thumbnail after taking a screenshot to open Markup. You can crop, draw, add text, shapes and a signature, or highlight. For more editing, open the file in Preview and use the markup toolbar.
To make a screenshot smaller before sending, open it in Preview and choose Tools > Adjust Size.
Change the file format
Screenshots save as PNG by default, which is sharp but can be large. To change it to JPG, open Terminal and enter:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpgThen log out and back in, or restart. Replace jpg with png to switch back.
Screenshots of web pages and long documents
macOS has no built-in full-page scrolling screenshot. Options:
- Safari: choose File > Export as PDF to save a whole page.
- Chrome: open developer tools (Option-Command-I), press Command-Shift-P, and type Capture full size screenshot.
- Long documents: export or print to PDF from the app.
If shortcuts do not work
- Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Screenshots and check the shortcuts are turned on.
- Check that another app has not taken over the same shortcut.
- Some apps, especially streaming services, block screenshots of protected video. You will get a black image. This is deliberate.
- If screenshots are not appearing, open the toolbar (Shift-Command-5) > Options and check where they are saving.
- Restart the Mac.
On Windows instead? See how to take a screenshot on Windows.
Key takeaways
- Shift-Command-3 for the whole screen, 4 for a selection, 4 then Space for a window, 5 for the toolbar.
- Add Control to copy instead of saving.
- Change the save folder and timer in the Shift-Command-5 toolbar's Options.
- Black screenshots in streaming apps are caused by copy protection, not a fault.