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Free Image Format ConversionWhile macOS doesn't have an official screenshot tool like Windows, the built-in Screenshot app can do similar things. If you're new to the MacBook world, read on to learn how to take a **screenshot on Mac**. Additionally, for those who are more seasoned with Apple's laptop, we've also got answers on where screenshots save and how to **recover deleted screenshots** on a MacBook.
How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac [5 Ways]
The screenshot tool that comes with your Mac lets you capture the entire screen or a specific section, just like on a Windows device. This article will show you five tested and surefire ways to take a screenshot on a Mac.
Solution 1: Keyboard shortcut to capture the entire screen on a Mac
To capture the entire screen on a Mac, do the following:
Step 1: Press and hold these three keys together: Shift+Command+3.
How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac
Step 2: After taking the screenshot, click the small thumbnail that appears in the bottom right corner of your screen to edit it.
Step 3. Alternatively, wait for the screenshot to save to your desktop.
You can enable or disable this from the Screen Capture menu.
Solution 2: Capture part of the screen
Before you try capturing a portion of your Mac's screen, watch this short video for more details.
- 00:00 - 00:29 Capturing screenshots on a Mac using keyboard shortcuts
- 00:30 - 00:38 Selecting and editing the screenshot
- 00:40 - 01:09 Finding screenshots on a Mac
Here are the steps:
Step 1. Press Shift + Command + 4 at the same time.
Step 2. Launch the screenshot tool on your Mac.
Step 3: A crosshair will appear on the screen.
Step 5: Press Esc to exit the screenshot tool.
The portion of the screen you're cropping will dim. While using the Crop tool, you can hold down Space to move the dimmed area around. macOS's screenshot tool also has an option to show the cursor.
If no Dark Zone is showing, you can also press the Touchpad, or, if you're using a mouse, right-click or Control-click.
Fix 3: Capture the Whole Window
A Mac screenshot tool also allows you to record the entire window. While pressing Shift + Command + 4 + Space, your cursor will turn into a camera icon.
When you're ready to take the screenshot, release the Touchpad or mouse button. A thumbnail of your screenshot will appear in the corner of your screen. If you have a Touchpad, drag the thumbnail to the right to save it to your Desktop. If you don't do anything, the screenshot will save automatically after a few seconds.
To capture it, click the window or menu. To capture without the window shadow, hold down the Option key while clicking.
To cancel the screen shot, press Esc.
Solution 4: Use the Mac Screenshot Menu
You can open the Mac screenshot toolbar at the bottom of the screen by pressing Shift + Command + 5 on a MacBook running macOS Mojave or later.
It lets you perform several screen-capture tasks, including taking a snapshot of the screen, selecting a portion of the screen, and recording a screen video to make tutorials and how-to videos.
Apple also provides some useful settings that you can use to further customize your workflow, if needed. You can also set a new default save location for your screenshots by choosing Other Location from the Destination pop-up menu.
Fix 5: Screenshots of the Touch Bar
To take a screenshot of the Touch Bar to show someone else, press Shift+Command+6. This will capture your Touch Bar in its entirety.
Not all Macs have a Touch Bar, but if yours does, you can take a screenshot with it.
If you found this article helpful, please share it on your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to help others find it too.
Location of Mac Screen Shots
When you take a screenshot on a Mac, it automatically saves to the Desktop folder so that you can easily find it after you take the picture. You can find the “Desktop” section in the Finder app, or look for a thumbnail of the screenshot on your desktop, to determine where it's saved.
If you can't find your screenshots on Mac, try either of these two methods to locate them:
- 1. Click your desktop, then select **File** > **Find** from the Finder menu. You can also use the keyboard shortcut **Command + F**. This opens a Finder search window.
2. You can open Spotlight by clicking the Spotlight icon in your Mac's menu bar or by pressing **Command + Spacebar** from anywhere in macOS. Your screenshot should appear in Spotlight immediately!
How do you cut and paste on a Mac? See answers on Twitter.
Capture screenshots easily without cluttering your desktop.
— Apple Support (@AppleSupport) June 15, 2022
When taking a screenshot on your Mac, hold down Control to temporarily save it to the clipboard and paste it anywhere you like, such as in an email or Keynote. Check out this time-saving tip from Cheryl at Apple: pic.twitter.com/YLTXfmatml
How to Recover Deleted Screenshots on a MacBook
However, you can't find the desired screenshot via Finder, Spotlight, or even Terminal. Did you delete the screenshot? If yes, then you dragged the image to the Trash, no worries – just restore them from there. But what if you emptied the Trash? How to recover files from Trash on Mac?
Emptying the Trash will permanently delete or lose your screenshots. The easiest way is to use the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool.
Follow these steps to recover deleted or lost screenshots on your Mac:
Note: You can create a backup by clicking Disk Backup on the left first. If your disk fails or photos are accidentally deleted from it, you can recover them from the backup image.
Step 1: Search for the Missing Photos
Select the location from where your precious photos were lost and click on the “Start Scan” button to search for the lost files.
Step 2: Choose the photo you want
"tools MobiSaver" will immediately scan the disk volume you selected. The scanning results will be displayed in the left pane. You can quickly filter your previously lost photos by "Path" and "Type".
Step 3: Recover Lost Photos
Select the photos you want to restore, then click the “Recover” button to get them all back at once.
Configuring macOS Screen Capture Settings
The Mac screenshot tool also offers additional options that let you choose where on your Mac to save any screenshots or videos you take with the tool. The desktop is the default location for screenshots taken with the Mac screenshot tool.
Alternatively, you can send them to:
- Documents folder
- Clipboard
- Mail app on Mac
- Messages app
- Preview app on macOS or a custom location of your choice
Other options include showing a thumbnail preview, remembering the last selection, showing the mouse cursor, and setting a five- or ten-second countdown.
If your MacBook has a Touch Bar and you don't like pressing so many keys at once, you can add a Screenshot app shortcut to the Touch Bar. To do this:
- 1. Choose "System Preferences" > "Keyboard."
2. Hover over "Touch Bar shows" and select "App controls."
3. Click the "Customize Control Strip" button. You'll see a set of app shortcut icons on the screen.
4. Tap and hold the screenshot app shortcut, then drag it to the Touch Bar. It will be added immediately.
If your MacBook Touch Bar isn't working, check out that page for some simple fixes.
Last Words
You can access the main screenshot controls panel on a Mac by pressing Shift + Command + 5, but you can also quickly take a screenshot of the entire Mac screen with Shift + Command + 3 or a portion of the Mac screen with Shift + Command + 4.
Choose the method that suits you best from the discussion above. Almost all screenshot utilities are flexible and effective in their work. Comparing their compatibility will help you choose the best option. You can also try using the Mac Data Recovery Wizard to restore accidentally or intentionally deleted screenshots.
Frequently Asked Questions on How to Screenshot on a Mac (UTF-8)
After learning how to take a screenshot on a Mac, you might have more related questions. See if you can find your answer here:
1. How do I take a screenshot on a Mac and paste it?
Press Command + Control + Shift + 4 to copy a section of your screen to the clipboard. You'll see a crosshair cursor that you can use to select the area you want to capture, then release the mouse button to paste the screenshot into another program.
How do I take a screenshot on Windows?
Press Windows key + Shift + S. Your screen will dim while you select what to capture. By default, it will choose a rectangular snip. You can change the shape of your snip by selecting one of the following from the toolbar: Rectangle, Window, Full Screen, or Freeform.
**How to take a screenshot on MacBook Pro 2022?** To take a screenshot on your MacBook Pro 2022, you can use one of the following methods: 1. **Full-screen screenshot:** - Press `Command` + `Shift` + `3`. The entire screen will be captured and automatically saved to your desktop. 2. **Selected area screenshot:** - Press `Command` + `Shift` + `4`. Your cursor will change into a resizable crosshair. Click and drag to select the area you want to capture. Release the mouse or trackpad, and the screenshot will be saved to your desktop. 3. **Specific window screenshot:** - Press `Command` + `Shift` + `5`. A toolbar will appear on the screen. Click the "Select" button, then click on the window you want to capture. The screenshot will be saved to your desktop. 4. **Screenshot to clipboard:** - To copy a screenshot directly to the clipboard without saving it to the desktop, press `Command` + `Control` + `Shift` + `4`, then select an area and release. The screenshot will be stored in the clipboard and can be pasted into any application that supports image pasting. Please note that these keyboard shortcuts apply to macOS Big Sur and later versions. If your MacBook Pro is running an earlier version of macOS, some features might differ.
- Press and hold Command+Control+Shift+4 at the same time.
- To select a specific area of the screen, drag the crosshairs.
- Release the trackpad button or mouse to take the screenshot on your Mac.
- If a thumbnail appears in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot.
4. Where are the screenshots saved?
By default, screenshots captured with Shift + Command + 3, Shift + Command + 4, or Shift + Command + 5 save to your desktop as a PNG file. Each file is named "Screen Shot," followed by the date and time (for example, "Screen Shot 2022-06-03 at 10.58.12 AM").