Screenshots for Mac – here’s how it’s done

The most important in brief:

• Capture the entire screen + save file to desktop: [Shift ⇧] + [Cmd ⌘] + [3]
• Capture a selected area of the screen + save file to desktop: [Shift ⇧] + [Cmd ⌘] + [4]
• Capture the entire screen + copy to clipboard: [Control ^] + [Shift ⇧] + [Cmd ⌘] + [3] using the key combination [Cmd ⌘] + [v] insert the screenshot in the chosen location
• Capture a selected area of the screen + copy to clipboard: [Control ^] + [Shift ⇧] + [Cmd ⌘] + [4] using the key combination [Cmd ⌘] + [v] insert the screenshot in the chosen location

Regardless of which section you have selected and which buttons you have pushed, the screenshot will automatically be saved on your desktop as a PNG image file. The naming of the file is also done automatically by the operating system – all files names begin with the word ‘Screenshot’ followed by the time and date that it was created.

If you would prefer that a screenshot on your Mac does not directly turn into a file and instead is copied onto the clipboard (as is the standard with screenshots with Windows), then this is also possible: by additionally pressing the [Ctrl] button the Mac will store the screen grab in the clipboard. From here it is easier to transfer it to a word and image processing program that you might be working with. This process works with all Mac screenshot shortcuts.

It might be that you wish to take screenshots on your Mac without using shortcut keys, and this is where the tool ‘Grab’ comes in handy. This software is already installed on every Mac operating system and can be found either in the ‘Utilities’ folder under ‘Applications’ or by using the ‘Spotlight’ search function. This helpful tool is easy to use and can be operated using the menu taskbar. Here you can select which area of a display you wish to save as an image file. Generally, you have the same options as with the keyboard shortcuts: entire screen, a selected window, or a self-determined section.

Furthermore, you can also use the preview tool when creating screenshots. In the tool that you would normally use to open images and PDF files, you will find in the menu a ‘Create PDF’ from which you can select one of the three screengrab options: ‘From Screen Capture’, ‘From Window Capture’, and ‘From Selection Capture’. The screenshot can then be edited directly in the preview or saved in the various formats.

It can sometimes be the case that making a screen capture on a Mac doesn’t work. This usually has something to do with the program that you are attempting to display. For example, Apple has configured it so that it is not possible to make a screenshot of a movie that is being played via the DVD player software. For copyright reasons, Apple has made it impossible to make screengrabs while the playback software is running. This is the case even if you have no desire to record any part of the movie in your screenshot or you have even gone to the effort of getting the rights to the movie.

To produce a screenshot (of course only with material with which you are making no copyright infringement), there are two roundabout ways of doing this:

1. Use an alternative playback program: Mac will not prevent you from making screenshots if you use a different software for playing films and videos.
2. Use a different screenshot program: The limitation outlined above applies only if you wish to produce and edit screenshots directly with macOS or OS X software. There are also third-party providers that offer free software for making screenshots on a Mac.