Take pictures of the screen

Pictures of the screen (called screenshots) are saved automatically as files on the desktop.

If you prefer to instead copy the screenshot to the Clipboard so you can paste it into a document, hold down the Control key while you press the other screenshot keys.

Take a picture of the whole screen

  • Press Shift-Command-3.

Take a picture of part of the screen

  1. Press Shift-Command-4.

  2. Move the crosshair pointer to where you want to start the screenshot.

  3. Press the mouse or trackpad button, then drag over the area you want to capture.

  4. When you’re ready to take the screenshot, release the mouse or trackpad button.

    To cancel, press Escape before you release the mouse button.

Take a picture of a window or the menu bar

  1. Press Shift-Command-4.

  2. Press the Space bar.

  3. Move the camera pointer over the area to highlight it, then click.

    To cancel, press Escape before you click.

Take a picture of a menu

  1. Open the menu to display the menu commands.

  2. Press Shift-Command-4.

  3. Drag the crosshair pointer over the entire menu.

If you want to exclude the menu’s title, press Shift-Command-4, press the Space Bar, move the camera pointer over the menu to highlight it, then click.

Some apps, such as DVD Player, may not let you take pictures of the screen.

You can also take pictures of the screen using the Grab app.

Open Grab for me