The fastest way to capture your screen

On a Mac, you take a screenshot by pressing Shift + Command + 3 to capture your entire screen, or Shift + Command + 4 to select just the part you want. The image saves to your desktop as a file named "Screenshot [date] at [time].png" — you can find it right there without opening any app.

If you want to capture a single window instead of hunting through a full screenshot, press Shift + Command + 4, then press the spacebar. Your cursor changes to a camera icon, and you can click any open window to capture just that one.

All three of these keyboard shortcuts work the same way on every Mac running macOS 10.14 or later. The file appears on your desktop within a second or two, and you can move it, email it, or delete it like any other file.

Key Takeaways

  • Shift + Command + 3 captures your entire screen; Shift + Command + 4 lets you select a portion with your mouse.
  • Press the spacebar after Shift + Command + 4 to switch to window-capture mode and click a single window.
  • Screenshots save to your desktop automatically as PNG files with the date and time in the filename.
  • You can change where screenshots save and what format they use by opening the Screenshot app from Spotlight.

Using the Screenshot app for more control

If you want options beyond the keyboard shortcuts, macOS includes a dedicated Screenshot app. Press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight, type "screenshot", and press Enter. The Screenshot app opens with a toolbar at the bottom of your screen.

From this toolbar, you can choose to capture the entire screen, a window, or a selected area — the same three options as the keyboard shortcuts, but with buttons instead. You can also set a timer (5 or 10 seconds) so you have time to position your cursor or open a menu before the capture happens. After you take the screenshot, a thumbnail appears in the corner of your screen; click it to edit, crop, or mark up the image before saving.

The Screenshot app also lets you change where your screenshots save. Click Options in the toolbar, then choose "Other Location" to save to a folder instead of your desktop, or pick a specific folder like Documents or Downloads.

Changing the file format and location

By default, macOS saves screenshots as PNG files, which are lossless (they don't lose quality when compressed) but take up more space than JPG. If you want to change the format, open the Screenshot app, click Options, and select a different format from the dropdown — JPG, TIFF, GIF, or PDF are available.

You can also change the default save location from the same Options menu. Most people leave it on Desktop for quick access, but if you take a lot of screenshots, saving them to a dedicated folder keeps your desktop cleaner. Once you pick a location, all future screenshots go there automatically unless you change it again.

If you want to copy a screenshot to your clipboard instead of saving it as a file, hold down the Control key while you press your screenshot shortcut. For example, Control + Shift + Command + 3 copies the full screen to your clipboard, and you can then paste it directly into an email, document, or messaging app.

Taking screenshots of menus and dropdown lists

One common problem: when you press Shift + Command + 4 to select a portion, opening a menu or dropdown list makes it disappear. The Screenshot app solves this with its timer feature. Open the Screenshot app, click Options, set the timer to 5 or 10 seconds, then click Capture. You have time to open the menu or dropdown, and the screenshot captures it before it closes.

Alternatively, use Shift + Command + 4 and then press the spacebar to switch to window-capture mode. If the menu is part of an open window, you can sometimes capture the whole window and crop it later — click the thumbnail that appears in the corner and use the crop tool to remove the parts you don't need.

Editing and annotating screenshots

After you take a screenshot, a small thumbnail appears in the bottom right corner of your screen for a few seconds. Click it to open the editing panel. From there, you can crop the image, rotate it, adjust brightness and contrast, or add shapes, text, and arrows to mark things up.

The markup tools are useful if you're sending a screenshot to someone and want to highlight a specific area or add a note. You can draw freehand, add rectangles or circles, insert text, or use the magnifier tool to zoom in on a detail. When you're done, click Done, and you can save the edited version or copy it to your clipboard.

Capturing video of your screen

If you need to record what's happening on your screen rather than take a still image, the Screenshot app can do that too. Open it, and instead of clicking the screenshot buttons, click the Record button. A floating toolbar appears; click the red Record button to start, and click Stop when you're done. The video saves as an MP4 file to your desktop or your chosen save location.

Screen recording is useful for tutorials, bug reports, or showing someone how to do something on your Mac. The audio from your Mac's speakers is recorded by default, but you can also record your voice using the microphone. Open the Screenshot app, click Options, and choose your microphone from the Audio Input dropdown before you start recording.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do my screenshots go if I don't see them on my desktop?

Check your Downloads folder or Documents folder — you may have changed the save location in the Screenshot app's Options menu. Open Spotlight (Command + Spacebar), type "screenshot", open the app, click Options, and look at the "Save to" setting to see where new screenshots will go.

Can I take a screenshot of my entire screen if it's bigger than my monitor?

Shift + Command + 3 captures only what's visible on your monitor, not content that's scrolled off-screen. If you need to capture a long webpage or document, use your web browser's built-in screenshot tool or a third-party app designed for scrolling captures.

How do I screenshot just the menu bar or dock?

Use Shift + Command + 4 to select a portion, then click and drag to draw a box around just the menu bar or dock. You can also use the Screenshot app's window-capture mode (Shift + Command + 4, then spacebar) if the menu bar or dock is part of a window you want to capture.

What's the difference between PNG and JPG for screenshots?

PNG is lossless, so it keeps all the detail but creates larger files. JPG compresses the image more, making smaller files, but can lose some sharpness. For text and diagrams, PNG is usually better; for photos, JPG is fine and saves space.

Can I take a screenshot on an older Mac?

The keyboard shortcuts (Shift + Command + 3 and Shift + Command + 4) work on all Macs. The Screenshot app is available on macOS 10.14 and later. If you have an older Mac, the keyboard shortcuts still work, but you won't have the Screenshot app's extra features like timers or video recording.