Apple’s Mac ecosystem is a really nice one, especially if you’re all in and have an iPhone, Apple Watch or other Apple devices to loop into your system.
It can sometimes be a little confusing for those who are new to Apple to work out how basic things are done, though. One good example is taking a screenshot or screen snip – here’s how you can accomplish that seemingly mundane goal.
How to take a screenshot on a Mac
Apple has an app literally called Screenshot that can handle all of your snipping and ‘shotting needs (as well as letting you record your screen or a portion of it).
So, firstly, you can just do a Spotlight search for “Screenshot” and open it up to use it.
Alternatively, there are some keyboard shortcuts to use.
- Shift, Command, 5 will open up the app
- Shift, Command, 3 will take a whole-screen screenshot
- Shift, Command, 4 will take a partial screenshot, turning your mouse pointer into a crosshair to select your area of choice
The third of these variations has some extra shortcuts you can use – tapping the spacebar changes your mouse into a camera icon and will give the screenshot a border; holding the spacebar once you’ve drawn your area will let you reposition it without losing its dimensions; holding the shift button lets you edit only the bottom edge of the selection you’re making.
Each of these has to be done while you’re still holding down the mouse button – since releasing it will capture your screenshot!
How to use the screenshot app on Mac
When using the Screenshot app you’ll see plenty of options for selecting areas and making recordings, but you can find even more customisation on this front by hitting the Options button itself.
When you finish a screenshot you can quickly edit it by adding drawings or annotations, but once you hit Done it’ll save to your Desktop by default (this is something you can change if desired using the Options menu).
Once you start to use Screenshot you’ll soon see that it’s a pretty versatile tool, so we’d imagine most people will find that it more than meets their needs for screenshotting on a Mac.
Liked this?
If you’re looking for more ways to get the most from your Mac, whether it’s a MacBook or iMac, check out our handy list of tips and tricks for Mac owners. There’s almost certainly something in there that you don’t already know about, and it could completely chance how you use your computer.