How Taking Screenshot on Mac Made Easy...

How to take screenshots on Mac?

Screenshots can be really helpful in various situations such as when you want to take a screenshot of your entire screen or a specific window to show something online or want to save that picture message your friend sent you. People use screen capture to take a screenshot in MAC, but it still has some limitations. So you might have to use one of the following options for more control over your screenshots.

Read on to know the best working key combinations to take screenshots with MAC!

Screen Capture Shortcuts:

1. Take a full-screen screenshot, including the hidden dock and menu bar: shift + cmd + 3

2. Take a screenshot of the selected area only, without the hidden dock and menu-bar: shift + cmd + 4

3. Take a screenshot of the selected window only: shift + cmd + 4, then press Space Bar and select the window with your mouse cursor.

4. Take a screenshot of an active window without using the mouse: shift + cmd + 4, then hold down the ALT key and select the window with your mouse cursor.

5. Take a screenshot of the Touch Bar: shift + cmd + 6To copy any one of these screenshots to your clipboard rather than saving it as a file, add CTRL (e.g. shift + CTRL + cmd + 3) to any of these shortcuts. Then open an image editor like MS Paint or Adobe Photoshop and paste the screenshot from the clipboard to edit it.

How to take screenshots using the MacBook Pro Touch Bar?

The Touch Bar is an input device, which uses capacitive multitouch sensors integrated into the keyboard horizontally across the top of the keycaps that replace the function keys. The first generation of MacBook Pro was introduced with this technology in 2016 and built-in features for taking screenshots on the macOS system, but it only works on macOS version 10.12 or later.

Here are some tips you can follow if you want to master these shortcuts for taking screenshots with MacBook Pro Touch Bar :

1. To capture the whole screen, press Command + Shift + 6 To capture part of your screen,
hold down Command + Shift before using one of these methods.

2. Drag the crosshair pointer to select the area you want to capture, hold down Option and drag a rectangle around an area. Press Shift + Option and click a window. This captures only the contents of the window, not everything on your screen.

To dismiss the screenshot preview without saving it, press Escape before releasing your finger from one of these methods.

How to capture delayed screenshots and videos using the Screenshot app?

The Best approach is to use the Screenshot apps that come with OS X. You can take a full-screen screenshot of your screen after a delay of either one second, two seconds, or five seconds:

1. Open the built-in Screenshot application (/Applications/Utilities/).

2. Set up your screenshots - how long you want to wait before it takes the screenshot (up to 5 seconds), where it should be saved, what kind of screenshot you're taking, etc.

3. Drag in apps or windows - If you are trying to highlight something on your desktop for this, I recommend dragging in an app or a window, so you have something to highlight.

4. Take the Screenshot.

5. Open Preview and go to File > Export if you want to save it somewhere else or send it off for editing. Now that the screenshot is taken, open your email client of choice and attach the file.

6. You can also use the Grab utility from the Applications/Utility folder.

‎Where are the screenshots saved on Mac?

1. Saved to the desktop

2. Saved to your computer's Pictures Folder:

Screenshot files are saved to your Mac's pictures folder by default, but you can find them wherever it makes sense for you to go look for them. For example, if you were planning on uploading the screenshot to an online image hosting service like Flickr, then screenshots could get saved to your Dropbox folder because that's where all your cloud-based files live. This becomes especially convenient if someone asks about a specific file or picture and instead of hunting around they just ask you questions about that specific photo which is in the same place every time - ah yes I uploaded that picture last week to my Flickr account so here is the link :)

3. Saved to clipboard:

If you have a screenshot that is just for temporary use, then you can have it saved directly to the clipboard. This is also good if you want to quickly take a shot of a web page or a piece of text without saving it as a file at all. To copy the screenshot to the clipboard, press and hold the control key while you take the screenshot.

4. Saved in your Windows explorer windows by default:

You can set screenshots to be saved within Windows explorer windows, which will make locating them easier, especially on systems with many screens. If you open up the start menu and type " %userprofile%pictures " (without quotes) this should open up the pictures folder relatively quickly where all screenshots are saved by default, but I am not sure if Microsoft has done away with this feature within Windows 7 - although they certainly haven't.

5. Saved as a temporary file to the desktop or other location:

If you want a screenshot that just needs to be saved for a second and then deleted, you can choose where it gets saved by default, but also have it saved as a temporary file which means it will not take up any space on your computer until you delete it yourself manually. This is good if all you need is a quick screenshot of a web page or a piece of text from an email message.

6. Automatically save them to cloud storage accounts like Dropbox:

If all your screenshots get stored online in locations like Dropbox, then you know exactly where they are going to be saved at every single time without having to worry about what folder they might be saved in. Automatically saving screenshots to the cloud also makes it more convenient if you share screenshots with other people by simply having a direct link for them to view or download a screenshot off of the internet.
While saving the screenshots to any of the above folders, a Show Floating Thumbnail option is enabled on your Mac, which puts the small preview thumbnail of your just captured screenshot in the bottom right corner of your screen.

How to crop and annotate screenshots?

Method 1: Using Preview. App

Step 1: Launch the Preview App by clicking on the spotlight icon (magnifying glass icon) or find it under Applications > Utility folder.

Step 2: Once the app launched, you should see a preview of your screenshot in the main window. Go ahead and navigate to the Tools menu and select the Annotate option for editing your screenshot.

Method 2: Using crosshairs tool from Keyboard Viewer utility *Tools Menu*

Step 3: You should be now seeing the Crosshairs icon, go ahead and click on it to make crosshairs appear on your screen as shown in the image below. Now press Command + Shift + 4 simultaneously and release all 3 buttons to take a screenshot.

Step 4: Your screenshot will be saved in the ~/Desktop/ folder if you did not change it, otherwise next time you use the keyboard viewer utility make sure you navigate to wherever your desired directory is set.

Method 3: Using Grab Utility *Tools Menu*

Step 5: Open Applications > Utilities folder on your Mac, double-click on the Grab application icon to open it. Next, go ahead and find the File menu within the grab utility window and select the Capture menu option as shown in the image below. Once done with selecting the capture menu, you should see crosshairs appear automatically on your screen, just like Guide 1 does. Now press Command+Shift+4 simultaneously and release all 3 buttons to take a screenshot.

Step 6: Your screenshot will be saved in the ~/Desktop/ folder if you did not change it, otherwise next time you use the grab utility make sure you navigate to wherever your desired directory is set.

Tip - You can perform all these editing tasks on multiple screenshots quickly by opening all images at once and applying changes to them simultaneously.

Grab is no longer available for macOS Mojave (10.14) and above. Instead, Apple introduced its new Screenshot App.

How to Shoot Mac Screenshots using Screen Sharing?

If you have multiple Macs, you can take a screenshot via screen sharing options. Below is the simple method to do the same.

1. Open Screen Sharing on your Mac by clicking the "sharing options" in the top right corner of the screen sharing window, or choose "Screen Sharing" from the Go menu.

2. When you are prompted with this screen, click "Computer Settings...".

3. Select your Mac under "Allow these computers to control the screen." If it already works, then skip this step.

4. At the bottom of the new popup, select "VNC viewers may control the screen with password." Here, type a password that you want to share with others while connecting through VNC Viewer. Write the password again to confirm it and click the Ok button.

5. You can see that the connection request is ready on the left side of the main screen. Now click "Share Screen" on the right side of the screen to start sharing the screen.

6. Once the connection is established, you will be asked to enter the VNC password which you have created in the previous step and also indicate whether to save this password for future sessions or not by checking the Save Password box as shown below. Note that you can always change saved passwords from the System Preferences → Sharing pane later.

How to Take Screenshots on iOS and iPadOS?

The iPhone is the most popular smartphone in the world. But one thing you will notice about iPhones is that there are tons of different models. This is good for you because you have more choice when it comes to picking out what kind of iPhone you want to buy or which model works best for your needs. One thing that many people find they cannot do with an iPhone is taking screenshots easily and conveniently.

However, taking screenshots on an iPhone can be done without too much trouble.

Before we begin, make sure your phone is updated to the latest version of iOS (iOS 11+) before continuing, as this may help with compatibility issues.

Method 1: Taking screenshots with Assistive Touch

This is the most intuitive way to take screenshots on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It just takes a bit of setup. First, tap the Settings app on your phone to open it up. Scroll down until you see General. Tap on that option to view all its sub-options. Under General, go to Accessibility > Assistive Touch. You should now see an option for Assistive Touch labeled as On/Off. Toggle it so that it turns green, meaning it's turned on. Now, when you want to take a screenshot, simply long-press the home button and choose Screenshot from the list of options below.

This method has the bonus of not requiring you to press the hardware power/wake button and keep it pressed for a second or two until you hear an audible click. Also, if your phone is already unlocked, pressing the power button will turn off your screen right away without leaving Assistive Touch.

If that causes any problems (such as triggering Apple Pay), then you can always turn Assistive Touch back off again when you're done taking screenshots. Just long-press on the home button once more to see all available options; scroll down past Siri and Control Center to find Assistive Touch; toggle it so that it turns white (or gray, depending on your color scheme).

Method 2: Taking screenshots with a hardware button shortcut

The quickest and most effective way to easily take screenshots on iPhone is with a hardware shortcut button. To do that, you'll need a model of iPhone that has a Home Button (iPhone 6 or higher) or a Lock Screen/Wake Button (all older models).

If you have an older phone without this kind of hardware button, then the Assistive Touch method may be better for you. If your phone does have a home button, here's how to set up the hardware button shortcut: Go back into Settings. Scroll down and tap on the Control Center.

Next, make sure the Accessibility Shortcut is turned on. This will allow us to take screenshots with our Home Button. Now, go back to the Control Center. Tap on Customize Controls. Tap the plus sign next to the screenshot so that it adds it to your Control Center. Once you have done all of this, you can lock your screen by pressing the Power button on your phone.

When your screen turns off, quickly press the Home Button three times in a row without pausing between each press. The camera shutter sound will play, and you should see an image of what's currently being displayed on your phone's screen automatically saved as a screenshot in the bottom left corner of the Lock Screen.

The beauty of this method is that once you set up these shortcuts with Assistive Touch or Control Center buttons (which only takes a couple of minutes), then anytime you want to take a screenshot, simply lock your screen and press the Home or Wake/Lock button three times.

Method 3: Taking screenshots from the Apple Watch

The iPhone is not the only device with a built-in screenshot function. Since watchOS 2, Apple Watches have been able to take screenshots as well. To do so, simply hold down on the side button until you see a white flash across the screen. This may take a second or two but will happen automatically without requiring any extra work on your part to get it going.

Once you see that white flash, simply lift your wrist and look at your watch's face; if done correctly, you should see a thumbnail of what was displayed on your watch right before you took the screenshot. If this thumbnail is not immediately visible, then it will show up in your iPhone's Photos App within a second or two.

The main benefit to taking screenshots with an Apple Watch is that you don't need to do anything special after taking the screenshot; it saves itself automatically like any other watch face (meaning there are no complicated steps required to make sure it gets saved).

It also allows you to take multiple screenshots without having to retake one because the screen only flashes white for a single moment and doesn't give much time before it returns to its normal state.

However, if the timing of this process is too slow for your taste or if your phone isn't nearby when you want to take a screenshot, then you might be better off using one of the other methods.

Method 4: Taking screenshots with Control Center shortcut buttons

If none of the previous methods worked for you or if they were too complex to set up every time you wanted to take a screenshot, then this method is all you need.

To use it, simply tap on the arrow next to where it says You are now connected to... in the Control Center.

Then tap Customize Controls.

Next, scroll down until you reach the Accessibility Shortcut.

Make sure the toggle switch next to Accessibility Shortcut is turned on.

Now tap Screenshot.

It will now appear as an option in the Control Center's menu.
To take a screenshot, simply go into the Control Center and then tap on the Capture Screen button that you just added. This method does not require any additional steps after taking the screenshot because it saves itself automatically without any notification at all.

If you have a newer iPhone model with 3D Touch, then you can alternatively use Method 1 from above by pressing firmly on your Power Button icon while in Control Center and tapping Start-Sleep/Wake instead of Customize Controls.

Please Note: currently, this method may only work for iPhones running iOS 10 or higher. If you are on iOS 11 or higher, please see Method 1 instead.

Conclusion:

For more information about screenshots, check out our tutorial section.

Here you'll find guides for practically every operating system Apple devices currently makes. If you want detailed instructions on how to screenshot any other scenarios, just post them in the comments below!

Have fun!