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how doi take a screenshot on my mac

Here’s the fastest way to take a screenshot on your Mac, plus a few extra tricks.

Super quick answer

  • Entire screen: Press Shift + Command + 3.
  • Part of the screen: Press Shift + Command + 4 , drag to select, then let go.
  • Screenshot tools menu: Press Shift + Command + 5 to see all options (screenshot and screen recording).

Your screenshot usually saves to the desktop by default.

Main keyboard shortcuts

  1. Entire screen
    • Press Shift + Command + 3.
    • You might see a small thumbnail in the corner; you can click it to quickly edit or just wait and it will save.
  1. Selected area
    • Press Shift + Command + 4.
    • Your cursor turns into a crosshair; click and drag over the area you want, then release.
 * To cancel, press Esc before releasing.
  1. Screenshot menu (most flexible)
    • Press Shift + Command + 5.
    • A small bar appears at the bottom with options to: capture entire screen, a window, a selected portion, or record video of your screen.
  1. Touch Bar (older MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar)
    • Press Shift + Command + 6 to capture the Touch Bar.

Handy extras (that feel “pro”)

  • Copy instead of save
    • Hold Control with any of the shortcuts above (for example, Control + Shift + Command + 3).
    • This copies the screenshot to your clipboard so you can paste it into a document, chat, or email with Command + V.
  • Change save location and options
    • Press Shift + Command + 5 , then click Options.
    • You can choose where screenshots save (Desktop, Documents, custom folder), set a timer delay, or decide whether to show the floating thumbnail.
  • Quick edits
    • When the small thumbnail appears after a screenshot, click it.
    • You can crop, draw, add text or shapes, and then save or share it right away.

If you like a tiny bit of story

Think of Shift + Command + 3 as the “panic button” when you just want everything on your screen right now.

When you want to highlight only one part (like a single chat message or a section of a webpage), Shift + Command + 4 is your precision tool.

And when you’re not sure what you need yet—or you want timer, video recording, or different save locations—Shift + Command + 5 is the control center.

Quick TL;DR at the bottom

  • Full screen: Shift + Command + 3.
  • Selection: Shift + Command + 4.
  • Menu with all tools & screen recording: Shift + Command + 5.
  • Copy to clipboard: add Control to any shortcut.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.