Taking a screenshot, or “snip,” on a Mac is a simple process that can help you capture exactly what you see on your screen. Whether you need a full-screen image, a specific window, or just a portion of your screen, macOS offers built-in tools to do it quickly without installing extra software. Knowing these shortcuts and options will help you work faster and share visuals with ease. Here is how to snip on Mac.
- Capture the Entire Screen
To take a full screenshot, press Shift + Command (⌘) + 3. This will save an image of your entire screen to your desktop by default. If your Mac has sound enabled, you’ll hear a camera shutter noise to confirm the capture. - Capture a Selected Portion of the Screen
Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 4 to turn your cursor into a crosshair. Click and drag to select the exact area you want to capture. Release the mouse button to take the snip, and the image will be saved to your desktop. - Capture a Specific Window
For a single window, press Shift + Command (⌘) + 4, then tap the Spacebar. Your cursor will turn into a camera icon. Move it over the window you want to capture and click once. This method captures only that window, including its shadow effect. - Use the Screenshot Toolbar
Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 5 to open the screenshot toolbar. From here, you can choose to capture the full screen, a selected window, or a custom portion. The toolbar also allows you to record your screen and change where the snip is saved. - Copy a Snip to the Clipboard
If you want to paste a screenshot directly into another app without saving it, hold Control along with your chosen screenshot shortcut. For example, Control + Shift + Command (⌘) + 4 will copy the snip to the clipboard instead of saving it. - Capture the Touch Bar (If Available)
If your Mac has a Touch Bar, press Shift + Command (⌘) + 6 to take a screenshot of what’s displayed on it. This is useful for saving settings or controls shown on the Touch Bar. - Edit and Mark Up Your Snip
After taking a snip, a small preview appears in the bottom-right corner of your screen. Click it to open the Markup tool, where you can crop, draw, add text, or highlight parts of your screenshot before saving or sharing. - Change the Save Location
By default, screenshots save to your desktop. You can change this by opening the screenshot toolbar (Shift + Command (⌘) + 5), clicking “Options,” and selecting a new save location.
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