Here’s a quick, SEO-focused guide on how to take a screenshot on a Mac, using all the main built‑in macOS shortcuts.

# 1. Basic Mac Screenshot Shortcuts

# Capture the entire screen

  • Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 3
  • What it does: Captures your entire screen.
  • Where it saves: By default, to your Desktop as a .png file.

# Capture a selected portion of the screen

  • Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 4
  • Steps:
    1. Press Shift + Command + 4.
    2. Your cursor turns into a crosshair.
    3. Click and drag to select the area you want.
    4. Release the mouse or trackpad to take the screenshot.

# Capture a specific window

  • Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 4, then press Space
  • Steps:
    1. Press Shift + Command + 4.
    2. Press Space once.
    3. Cursor becomes a camera icon.
    4. Hover over the window you want and click.

# 2. Screenshot Toolbar on macOS (More Options)

On newer versions of macOS (Mojave and later), you can open the Screenshot Toolbar:

  • Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 5

From there you can:

  • Capture entire screen
  • Capture selected window
  • Capture selected portion
  • Record screen (full screen or a portion)
  • Choose where to save screenshots
  • Set a timer (5 or 10 seconds)
  • Show / hide the mouse pointer

Apple’s official guide to this tool is here:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201361

# 3. Copy Screenshot to Clipboard (Instead of Saving a File)

If you want to paste directly into an app (e.g., Messages, Mail, Photoshop, Google Docs):

  • Entire screen to clipboard:
    Control + Shift + Command (⌘) + 3
  • Selected area to clipboard:
    Control + Shift + Command (⌘) + 4
  • Specific window to clipboard:
    Control + Shift + Command (⌘) + 4, then Space, then click the window

After that, just press Command (⌘) + V in a supported app to paste.

# 4. Where Screenshots Are Saved & How to Change It

# Default save location

By default, macOS saves screenshots to your Desktop with names like:

Screenshot 2025-12-05 at 12.00.00.png

# Change the default folder (using Screenshot Toolbar)

  1. Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 5.
  2. Click Options.
  3. Under Save to, choose:
    • Desktop
    • Documents
    • Clipboard
    • Mail
    • Messages
    • Preview
    • Or Other Location… to pick a custom folder.

# 5. Adding / Removing Drop Shadows on Window Screenshots

When you screenshot a window using Shift + Command + 4, then Space, macOS adds a shadow.

  • Without shadow: hold Option (⌥) while clicking the window.
  • With shadow: just click normally.

# 6. Changing Screenshot File Format (PNG, JPG, PDF, etc.)

By default, macOS uses .png. You can change this using Terminal:

  1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal).
  2. Type one of the following and press Enter, then restart your Mac or log out and back in.
  • For JPG: 
    defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
killall SystemUIServer
  • For PNG (default): 
    defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png
killall SystemUIServer
  • For PDF: 
    defaults write com.apple.screencapture type pdf
killall SystemUIServer

More on file formats and options:
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/take-a-screenshot-mh26782/mac

# 7. Taking Screenshots on a MacBook with Touch Bar

If you have a MacBook with a Touch Bar, you can even screenshot the Touch Bar:

  • Shortcut: Shift + Command (⌘) + 6
  • Saves an image of the current Touch Bar display.

You can also customize the Touch Bar to add a screenshot button:
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/customize-the-touch-bar-mchlbfd5b039/mac

# 8. Editing and Markup After Taking a Screenshot

On recent macOS versions, a small thumbnail appears in the bottom-right after you take a screenshot:

  • Click it to open Markup, where you can:
    • Draw, highlight, or add shapes
    • Add text or signatures
    • Crop or rotate
    • Share via Mail, Messages, AirDrop, etc.

If you ignore it, the screenshot simply saves to your default location.

# 9. Using Preview to Capture Screenshots

You can also take screenshots with the Preview app:

  1. Open Preview.
  2. Click File in the menu bar.
  3. Choose:
    • Take Screenshot → From Selection
    • Take Screenshot → From Window
    • Take Screenshot → From Entire Screen

This is useful if you prefer a menu-driven approach instead of keyboard shortcuts.

# 10. Quick Summary of Mac Screenshot Shortcuts

  • Entire screen: Shift + Command (⌘) + 3
  • Selected portion: Shift + Command (⌘) + 4
  • Specific window: Shift + Command (⌘) + 4, then Space
  • Screenshot toolbar: Shift + Command (⌘) + 5
  • Record screen (video): Shift + Command (⌘) + 5, then choose a recording option
  • Touch Bar (if available): Shift + Command (⌘) + 6
  • Copy to clipboard: add Control to any of the above (e.g., Control + Shift + Command + 3)

For more official details, you can refer directly to Apple’s help pages:

If you tell me which macOS version you’re using (e.g., Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey), I can narrow this down to the exact steps and features available on your Mac.