How to Take a Screenshot on Mac — Complete Guide (macOS 14/15)
Press Cmd+Shift+4 to select an area and take a screenshot. The file saves to your Desktop by default as a PNG. Use Cmd+Shift+5 for the full screenshot toolbar, including screen recording. Add Ctrl to any shortcut to copy to clipboard instead of saving a file.
Taking a screenshot on a Mac is one of those things every user does constantly — and most people only ever learn one shortcut. But macOS has a surprisingly powerful set of built-in screenshot tools, from precision area selection to full-screen capture, window-only screenshots, Touch Bar capture, and even video screen recording. And it has had them for years, completely free, no third-party app needed.
This guide covers every Mac screenshot method available in macOS Sonoma (14) and Sequoia (15), plus how to change the save location, change the file format, remove the window shadow, include your cursor, and fix screenshots when they stop working.
All Mac Screenshot Shortcuts at a Glance
Cmd + Shift + 3 — Full Screen Screenshot
INSTANT — Most CommonCaptures everything visible on the screen in a single keystroke. If you have multiple monitors, each screen is saved as a separate file. The screenshot is saved to your Desktop immediately.
- Captures the entire screen including menu bar and Dock
- One file per monitor if using multiple displays
- Add Ctrl (Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+3) to copy to clipboard instead of saving
Cmd + Shift + 4 — Select an Area
HIGH Impact — Most UsefulYour cursor turns into a crosshair. Click and drag to draw a selection rectangle around exactly the area you want to capture. Release the mouse button to take the screenshot. You can hold Shift while dragging to constrain the selection, or Space to move the selection box.
- Most precise screenshot method — captures only what you need
- Press Escape before releasing to cancel without taking a shot
- Add Ctrl (Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4) to copy to clipboard
Cmd + Shift + 4, then Space — Window Screenshot
HIGH ImpactPress Cmd+Shift+4, then immediately press Space. The crosshair turns into a camera icon. Hover over any open window — it highlights in blue. Click to capture that window only, including a subtle drop shadow. The shadow can be suppressed by holding Option while clicking.
- Captures a single window with a clean transparent background and shadow
- Works for any app window, including menus and floating panels
- Hold Option when clicking to remove the drop shadow
- Add Ctrl to copy to clipboard instead of saving
Cmd + Shift + 5 — Screenshot Toolbar
HIGH Impact — All Options in OneOpens the full screenshot and screen recording toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Five buttons let you choose: capture entire screen, capture a window, capture a selected area, record the entire screen, or record a selected portion. The Options menu controls the save location, timer delay, microphone input, and more.
- Combines all screenshot and screen recording tools in one panel
- Set a 5 or 10 second timer to capture menus or hover states
- Change default save location from here — persists across all future screenshots
- Option to show or hide the floating thumbnail after capture
Cmd + Shift + 6 — Touch Bar Screenshot
MEDIUM — Touch Bar Models OnlyCaptures the entire Touch Bar as a long, thin PNG image. Only works on MacBook Pro models equipped with a Touch Bar (2016–2021). The screenshot saves to your Desktop like any other screenshot.
- Captures the Touch Bar at its native resolution
- Saved as a wide PNG (approximately 2170 × 60 pixels)
- Not available on MacBook Pro models without a Touch Bar
Clipboard-Only Shortcuts (Add Ctrl)
MEDIUM — Paste DirectlyAdding Ctrl to any screenshot shortcut copies the screenshot to your clipboard instead of saving it as a file. This is ideal for pasting directly into emails, documents, Slack, or design tools without cluttering your Desktop.
- Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+3 — full screen to clipboard
- Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4 — selected area to clipboard
- Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4, then Space — window to clipboard
- Paste with Cmd+V anywhere after capturing
Preview App — Take Screenshots via Menu
MEDIUM — Alternative ToolThe built-in Preview app has its own screenshot functions under File › Take Screenshot. It offers the same three capture modes (From Selection, From Window, From Entire Screen) but opens the result directly in Preview, ready for immediate annotation and export in any format.
- Opens screenshot instantly in Preview for editing without saving first
- Useful when you want to annotate immediately with Markup tools
- Export directly to PDF, JPEG, TIFF, or PNG from within Preview
QuickTime Player — Screen Recording
MEDIUM — Video RecordingFor recording video of your screen, QuickTime Player (built into every Mac) is the native solution. Open QuickTime, go to File › New Screen Recording, choose whether to record the full screen or a selected area, and click Record. Stop with the Stop button in the menu bar or by pressing Cmd+Ctrl+Esc. The same functionality is also accessible through the Cmd+Shift+5 toolbar.
- Records screen video with or without internal/external microphone audio
- Saves as .mov file to your Desktop by default
- No time limit — suitable for long tutorials or screen shares
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Screenshot Methods Comparison Table
| Shortcut | What It Captures | Saves To | Clipboard Variant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cmd+Shift+3 | Entire screen | Desktop (PNG) | + Ctrl |
| Cmd+Shift+4 | Selected area (drag) | Desktop (PNG) | + Ctrl |
| Cmd+Shift+4, Space | Single window | Desktop (PNG) | + Ctrl |
| Cmd+Shift+5 | Toolbar (all options) | Configurable | Via Options menu |
| Cmd+Shift+6 | Touch Bar only | Desktop (PNG) | N/A |
| QuickTime / Cmd+Shift+5 | Screen video recording | Desktop (.mov) | N/A |
How to Change the Screenshot Save Location
By default, all Mac screenshots save to the Desktop. If that is getting cluttered, you can change the default location permanently in just a few clicks.
Open the Screenshot Toolbar
Press Cmd+Shift+5. The toolbar appears at the bottom of your screen with five capture icons and an Options button.
Click Options
Click the Options button in the toolbar. A dropdown menu appears showing the current save location and alternative choices: Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview, and Other Location.
Select a New Destination
Click your preferred save location, or choose Other Location to navigate to any folder on your Mac. Your selection is saved permanently — all future screenshots (regardless of which shortcut you use) will go to the new location until you change it again.
How to Change the Screenshot File Format (PNG to JPG or PDF)
macOS saves screenshots as PNG files by default. PNG is lossless and great for quality, but files can be large. You can change the default format to JPEG (smaller file size), PDF, TIFF, or GIF using the Terminal.
Open Terminal
Go to Applications › Utilities › Terminal, or press Cmd+Space, type "Terminal", and press Enter.
Enter the Format Command
Type one of the following commands and press Enter. Replace the format word at the end with your desired format.
Restart SystemUIServer
The change takes effect immediately in macOS Ventura and later. On older versions, run this command to apply it without restarting:
How to Remove the Drop Shadow from Window Screenshots
When you capture a window using Cmd+Shift+4 then Space, macOS automatically adds a drop shadow around the window. This looks polished, but some designers and documentation writers prefer a clean window with no shadow.
To remove the shadow for a single screenshot: hold Option while clicking the window with the camera cursor. The screenshot is taken without any shadow.
To disable window shadows permanently for all screenshots, run this Terminal command:
To re-enable shadows, run the same command with false:
How to Include Your Cursor in a Screenshot
By default, the mouse cursor is hidden in Mac screenshots. If you need to show the cursor — for tutorials, documentation, or bug reports — there are two approaches.
For a single screenshot with cursor: use the Cmd+Shift+5 toolbar, click Options, and check "Show Mouse Pointer" if that option is available, or set a 5-second timer (Options › Timer › 5 Seconds) so you can position the cursor exactly where you want it before the screenshot fires.
For all screenshots with cursor, run this Terminal command:
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Troubleshooting: Why Are My Mac Screenshots Not Working?
If pressing the screenshot shortcuts produces no result, or the files never appear, work through these checks in order.
1. Screen Recording Permission is Blocked
Since macOS Mojave, certain screenshot operations require Screen Recording permission. Go to System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen Recording and make sure Screenshot (or the app you are using) is enabled. If it is not listed, try taking a screenshot first — macOS will prompt you to grant permission.
2. Another App Has Remapped the Shortcuts
Apps like Dropbox, Lightshot, or other screenshot utilities sometimes claim the Cmd+Shift+3/4/5 shortcuts for themselves. Go to System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Screenshots and verify the shortcuts are assigned to the system. If they are unchecked or reassigned, re-enable them here.
3. Your Startup Disk is Almost Full
If your Mac's storage is critically low (under 1 GB free), macOS may silently fail to write screenshot files. Go to Apple menu › About This Mac › Storage and check available space. Free up storage by emptying the Trash, removing large files, or offloading items to iCloud.
4. The Screenshot is Going to an Unexpected Location
If you changed the save location in Cmd+Shift+5 Options, screenshots are no longer on the Desktop. Open Cmd+Shift+5, click Options, and check where "Save to" is currently set. If it says Clipboard, screenshots are being copied to clipboard instead of saved as files — paste with Cmd+V to see the most recent one.
5. Restart the Mac
A quick restart resolves the vast majority of transient screenshot failures. If the issue persists after a restart, contact IT Cares for remote Mac diagnostics.
Frequently Asked Questions
By default, Mac screenshots are saved to the Desktop as PNG files. They are automatically named with the date and time — for example, Screenshot 2026-04-16 at 10.34.21 AM.png. You can change the default save location at any time by pressing Cmd+Shift+5 and clicking Options › Save to.
Press Cmd+Shift+5 to open the screenshot toolbar. Click Options. Under the "Save to" section, select Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, or choose Other Location to navigate to any folder. The setting is saved permanently and applies to all screenshot shortcuts (Cmd+Shift+3, 4, and 5) going forward.
macOS does not have a native scrolling (full-page) screenshot feature. The most practical workarounds are: in Safari, go to File › Export as PDF to save the entire webpage as a single document; in Firefox, right-click the page and choose Take Screenshot, then select Full Page; or use a free third-party app like Shottr (free, Mac-native) which adds a scrolling screenshot button. For web developers, Chrome DevTools also has a full-page screenshot option under the three-dot menu › More Tools › Developer Tools › Rendering.
The most common causes are: Screen Recording permission blocked (check System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen Recording), a third-party app has taken over the shortcut keys (check System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Screenshots), the startup disk is critically full preventing file saves, or the save location is set to Clipboard so files are copied rather than saved. A Mac restart fixes most transient screenshot failures. If none of these resolve the issue, IT Cares can diagnose your Mac remotely in under an hour.
Press Cmd+Shift+6 to capture the Touch Bar as a PNG image. The file saves to your Desktop instantly with the date-time filename format. This shortcut only works on MacBook Pro models that include a physical Touch Bar (2016 through 2021). MacBook Pro models from 2021 onward dropped the Touch Bar, so this shortcut does nothing on those machines.
Yes. When you take a screenshot, a small thumbnail appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen for a few seconds. Click that thumbnail before it disappears and it opens in the Markup editor, where you can crop, draw, add text, arrows, shapes, and highlight areas — all without opening any app. If you miss the thumbnail, double-click the saved PNG on the Desktop to open it in Preview, which has the same full Markup toolbar available via the pencil icon at the top right.
Comments
I had no idea about Cmd+Shift+4+Space for capturing a single window — this is a game changer! I used to take a full screenshot and crop it every time. The option to hold Option to remove the shadow is also super useful for my presentation slides. Thanks!
The Terminal command to change the format to JPG saved me a lot of storage space. I take screenshots constantly for work documentation and the PNG files were enormous. Switched to JPG and the difference is significant. Easy to follow instructions — worked on the first try on macOS Sequoia.
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