How To Take A Screenshot On A Mac

Tips
1

I just switched from Windows to a Mac and I can’t figure out the screenshot shortcuts or tools. I need to capture specific parts of my screen for work tutorials and bug reports, but I’m not sure which keys to press or how to save and find the images afterward. Can someone walk me through the easiest ways to take and manage screenshots on a Mac, including any built‑in options or useful tips?

2

Here’s the quick Mac screenshot rundown you want, coming from a former Windows person too.

  1. Whole screen
    Press: Shift + Command + 3
    Mac saves a PNG to your Desktop by default.
    No selection, it grabs all monitors.

  2. Selected area
    Press: Shift + Command + 4
    Your cursor turns into a crosshair.
    Click and drag to select.
    Release to capture.
    Press Esc to cancel if you mess up.

  3. Specific window
    Press: Shift + Command + 4, then tap Space
    Cursor turns into a camera icon.
    Move over a window, it highlights.
    Click, it captures that window with a small shadow.

  4. Screenshot toolbar (most useful for tutorials)
    Press: Shift + Command + 5
    You get a toolbar at the bottom:
    • Capture entire screen
    • Capture selected window
    • Capture selected portion
    • Record entire screen (video)
    • Record selected portion (video)

Click “Options” in that toolbar to:
• Change save location (Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, etc)
• Set timer (5 or 10 seconds)
• Show / hide mouse pointer in video
• Choose mic for screen recording with narration

  1. Copy to clipboard instead of file
    Add Control to the shortcut. Examples:
    • Shift + Command + Control + 3, whole screen to clipboard
    • Shift + Command + Control + 4, selected area to clipboard
    Then press Command + V into Slack, email, whatever.
    This skips the Desktop clutter.

  2. Change save folder
    Open Shift + Command + 5
    Click “Options”
    Choose a folder or “Other Location”
    All screenshots go there next time.

  3. No sound, no thumbnail
    If the little preview in the corner drives you nuts:
    Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots
    Or quicker: in the Shift + Command + 5 toolbar, Options → uncheck “Show Floating Thumbnail”.
    Also toggle “Play sound” if you hate the shutter sound.

  4. For bug reports
    For a specific bug window: Shift + Command + 4, then Space, then click the app window.
    For a sequence:
    Use Shift + Command + 5, record selected area as video, with mic on.
    Good for showing steps to QA.

  5. Extra tip for tutorials
    Use Preview to annotate:
    • Double click the screenshot
    • Markup toolbar icon (pen-tip icon)
    You get arrows, boxes, text, blur via shapes plus opacity, etc.

If any shortcut fails, check System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots and make sure they are enabled.

3

@kakeru covered the main shortcuts really well, so I’ll skip rehashing those and throw in the “stuff you only find after you’ve suffered for a while” version.

  1. Use Quick Look for fast markup
    After you take a screenshot and that little thumbnail pops up bottom-right:
  • Click it once before it disappears
  • You’re in a mini editor: draw arrows, boxes, text, highlight, crop
  • Hit Command + S if you changed it, or just close and it auto-saves over the same file

This is way faster than opening Preview manually.

  1. Change format (PNG → JPG, etc.)
    macOS defaults to PNG, which is huge for bug reports in trackers. To change it, use Terminal once:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
killall SystemUIServer

You can swap jpg for png, pdf, tiff, gif.
If that sounds too geeky, yeah, it is, but you only do it once.

  1. Get rid of the drop shadow on window shots
    The window screenshots (the camera icon thing) add a shadow which some tools hate. To disable it globally:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
killall SystemUIServer

Set it back with false if you miss the “pretty” look.

  1. Use Preview to capture, not just edit
    A lot of people ignore this:
  • Open Preview
  • File → Take Screenshot
    • From Selection
    • From Window
    • From Entire Screen

Handy if you forget shortcuts or you’re on a weird keyboard layout.
Honestly, I find this slower than shortcuts, so I don’t really agree with relying on it like some tutorials suggest, but it’s there.

  1. Use “New from Clipboard” trick
    If you’re using the Control variants to copy to clipboard (as @kakeru mentioned):
  • Take screenshot to clipboard
  • Open Preview
  • File → New from Clipboard
    Now you can annotate, crop, export to whatever format you want.
  1. Organize by using Smart Folders
    If you’re spamming screenshots for tutorials:
  • In Finder: File → New Smart Folder
  • Set Kind → Image
  • Click “+” and add “Name includes: Screenshot”
    Now you have a virtual bucket of all screenshots no matter where they are. Drag that Smart Folder into the sidebar.
  1. Redact sensitive info quickly
    For bug reports with private data:
  • Open screenshot in Preview
  • Show Markup Toolbar
  • Draw a rectangle over the sensitive area → fill with solid color → bump opacity to 100%
    Blur is overrated; hard blocks are safer.
  1. For tutorials, separate “clean” and “messy” spaces
    I keep one Desktop dedicated just to screenshots so I don’t accidentally capture 47 random icons:
  • Mission Control → add a second Desktop
  • Keep your app + empty wallpaper there
    Take tutorial screenshots only in that space. Makes them look way more pro.

If you’re coming from Windows Snipping Tool / Snip & Sketch, the macOS feel is a bit clunkier at first, but once you combine:

  • shortcuts for capture
  • thumbnail Quick Look for markup
  • and Preview when you need heavier editing

you’ll cover basically everything you described for tutorials and bug reports without needing extra apps.