Several Ways to Take Screenshots on a Mac

 Yesterday we looked at how to create three types of screenshots on a Windows computer. Today’s tip shows how to do the same thing on a Macintosh computer. 

Take a screenshot of the entire screen

You may want to show more than one window or the context of the material on the desktop of the computer. The easiest way to capture the full screen is to hold down both the Command and Shift buttons and press the 3 keys (Command + Shift + 3) simultaneously. This takes a picture of the full screen:

Take a screenshot of one application window

You may want to show an open window with all its contents. To do so is a three-step process:

1. Hold down the Command and the Shift keys and press the 4 key (Command + Shift + 4). The cursor turns into a crosshair. 
2. Hold down the Space bar. The cursor now turns into a camera icon. 
3. Click on the window that you want to capture. 

Take a screenshot of a portion of the screen

To capture only a portion of the screen, start the same way as capturing a window:

• Hold down the Command and the Shift keys and press the 4 key (Command + Shift + 4). The cursor turns into a crosshair.
• Drag the crosshair cursor over the area you want to capture.

• You can modify the area by holding down the Space bar and dragging the whole capture area to align with the top left of the area you wish to capture.
• Release the Space bar and continue to drag the bottom right corner to enclose the area you want to capture.

• Release the mouse. The area you have defined will be captured.

Where are screenshots saved?

An image of a screen capture is saved on the desktop as a PNG file. The default name of the file will look something like this: “2021-03-03-Screen Shot 2021-03-03 at 11.39.47 AM” and indicates the date the image was created (2021-03-03-), the words “Screen Shot” followed by a space, then the date again (2021-03-03) and the time the image was created (“at 11.39.47 AM”). It helps if you rename the file in order to identify and locate it when you need it. 

You can use these images to illustrate processes or demonstrate how to work with an application. You can embed them in a Canvas page or import them into a Google Doc or Google slides. Treat them just like you would any other image.

Check back for a quick way to edit and annotate the screenshots on a Macintosh computer.