Quick guide on how to take screenshots on a Mac

Posted on January 6, 2010
Filed Under Apple | 1 Comment

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I have been using a PC for so many years that I sometimes forget the command keys to use to take a screenshot when I use my Mac. Since I need to remind myself, I thought it might be a better idea to blog a quick guide so that my readers can refer to it when needed.

The main keys to use on your Mac keyboard is the Command & Shift key. There are three keys to remember when taking a screenshot. The Command, Shift & 3,4 (numeric keys).

Shortcuts:

Command-Shift-3:
Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Shift-4,
then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Shift-4,
then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Control-Shift-3:
Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it to the clipboard

Command-Control-Shift-4,
then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it to the clipboard

Command-Control-Shift-4,
then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it to the clipboard

In Leopard, the following keys can be held down while selecting an area (via Command-Shift-4 or Command-Control-Shift-4)

Thank you to macrumors.com for the tip.