Published 2021-04-02 by TechNet New England
macOS has powerful screenshot capabilities built in. No additional software needed. ## Full Screen Screenshot Press **Command + Shift + 3**. The screenshot is saved to your Desktop as a PNG file. You will see a thumbnail preview in the bottom right corner briefly. Click it to edit, or let it disappear and find the file on your Desktop. ## Selected Area Screenshot Press **Command + Shift + 4**. Your cursor turns into a crosshair. Click and drag to select the area you want to capture. Release the mouse button to take the screenshot. The file saves to your Desktop. **Tip:** After pressing Command + Shift + 4, press the **Spacebar** to switch to window capture mode. Your cursor becomes a camera icon. Click any window to capture just that window with a nice drop shadow. ## Screenshot to Clipboard (Not File) Add **Control** to any screenshot shortcut to copy to clipboard instead of saving a file: **Control + Command + Shift + 3**: Full screen to clipboard. **Control + Command + Shift + 4**: Selected area to clipboard. Then paste with **Command + V** into any application. ## Screenshot App (More Options) Press **Command + Shift + 5**. This opens the Screenshot toolbar at the bottom of your screen with options: **Capture Entire Screen** **Capture Selected Window** **Capture Selected Portion** **Record Entire Screen** (video) **Record Selected Portion** (video) Click **Options** to change where screenshots are saved, set a timer, and choose whether to show the mouse cursor. ## Touch Bar Screenshot (MacBook Pro with Touch Bar) Press **Command + Shift + 6** to capture the Touch Bar display. ## Where Are Screenshots Saved? By default, screenshots save to the Desktop. To change this: 1. Press **Command + Shift + 5**. 2. Click **Options**. 3. Under **Save to**, choose a different location (Documents, Clipboard, or a custom folder). ## Tips Screenshots on Mac are PNG files by default. If you need JPEG or another format, open the screenshot in Preview and use **File > Export** to convert. When reporting an IT issue, use **Command + Shift + 4** to capture just the error message or problem area, then paste or attach it to your support email.