Screen captures on a MacBook
1. Capture the Entire Screen
Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 3
A screenshot of your entire screen is saved to your desktop by default.
⸻
2. Capture a Selected Portion
Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 4
Your cursor becomes a crosshair:
• Click and drag to select the area you want to capture.
• Release to take the screenshot.
Other options while in this mode:
• Press Spacebar to switch to window capture (camera icon appears).
• Press Esc to cancel.
⸻
3. Capture a Specific Window
Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 4, then press Spacebar
Click the window you want to capture.
⸻
4. Screenshot + Recording Menu
Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 5
This opens a control panel with options to:
• Capture entire screen
• Capture a window
• Capture a selected portion
• Record the entire screen
• Record a portion of the screen
You can also choose where to save your captures.
⸻
5. Capture Touch Bar (if your Mac has one)
Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 6
⸻
6. Change Screenshot Settings
Open the screenshot menu (Shift + ⌘ + 5) → click Options to choose:
• Save location (Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, etc.)
• Timer (5 or 10 seconds)
• Whether to show the floating thumbnail
• Whether to include the mouse pointer in captures