How to take a screenshot on MAC? — Complete guide. How to take a screenshot on a Mac and MacBook: different ways How to take a screenshot on a Mac with Windows

Today I'll show you how to take a screenshot in MacBook Air. Previously, what is described below was stored in Notes, now I decided to post it here, maybe someone will need it. The methods we will discuss are used not only in the MacBook Air, but also in other MacBook and iMac models.

When I encountered the Mac OS operating system for the first time, I realized that Windows environment Screenshots can be taken faster by pressing one button Print Screen(PrtScr). On Macs, there are more buttons to press to take screenshots, but there are shooting options for every taste. Keep a list of hotkeys using Mac OS High Sierra as an example:

Screenshots with auto-saving to the MacBook Air desktop

If it’s more convenient for you to first take a bunch of screenshots and then edit them, then the following key combinations are just right:

• Cmd+Shift+3 – screenshot of the entire MacBook Air screen
• Cmd+Shift+4 – screenshot of the required selected area
• Cmd+Shift+4+Space – screenshot of the selected window or menu
• Cmd+Shift+6 – combination only for MacBooks with touch panel Touch Bar

By applying this key combination, a file in PNG format, with the title "Screenshot-Date-Time". Moreover, the contents of the screenshot will differ from screenshots made in other ways (which we will consider below), since here, when taking a picture of a window or menu, the shadow will be saturated and there will be a full stroke.

If you just switched from Windows and are experiencing discomfort in Mac OS, then try running -, which will be more convenient to work with.

Screenshot to MacBook Air clipboard

MacBook Air, like any other Mac, allows you to take a screenshot, while saving it not to the desktop, but to the clipboard (i.e. temporary memory). This method of capturing screen content is convenient for those who immediately after the screen insert (cmd+v) an image from memory into the editor. The advantage of this method is that you do not need to delete stacks of screen files from the screen after the work is certified. If you find this method more attractive, then use the following hotkeys:

Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+3 – snapshot of the entire screen
Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4 – snapshot of the selected area
Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4+Space – snapshot of the selected window or menu
Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+6 – snapshot for MacBooks with Touch Bar

Here, when capturing windows using the clipboard, the shadows will be more transparent and the window's outline will be partial.

If your line of work requires you to take a lot (and often) of screenshots on a MacBook, then you can try out advanced secret settings that can help optimize the process even more. I didn’t repost from someone else’s blog, I’ll just share the link.

Standard program Screenshot

In the arsenal of any standard Mac OS package there is a program - Screenshot. Of course, if you decide to use it, you will need to make additional body movements. It can be used probably only in three cases:

• It's just more convenient than pressing a bunch of buttons
• If, when taking a screenshot of a window or menu, shadows and strokes are unnecessary.
• To take a delayed photo. This option helped to display a pressed button or the selection of a menu item, which could not be done with screenshots using hotkeys.

In the operating room Mac system OS program Screenshot is here:

1. Click on Launchpad in the bottom dock (rocket icon)
2. Select the folder - Others
3. Click – Screenshot (scissors icon)

You can also find this program using the magnifying glass located in the upper right corner near the clock. Click on the magnifying glass, write in the line that appears: “Screenshot” and click on the program that appears in the search results.

Screenshot app on MacBook Air

How to use the program Screenshot is shown in the picture above: go to the Screenshot section and select the required action in the context menu.

Similar context menu can be called by pressing right button, on this icon running program, in the lower dock. There are shortened hotkeys here, but they only work in active Screenshot mode. After taking a screenshot, you will be prompted to save the image, and you can select the location and image format.

Exist third party programs to take screenshots on a MacBook, but I didn’t use them, since the methods described above are quite satisfactory.

One of the advantages of MacOS over Windows is the presence of a large number of hot commands (keyboard shortcuts). Today we’ll talk about how to take a screenshot on a MacBook.

Types of skinshots

MacOS has a very convenient built-in service for taking screenshots. Using key combinations you can make a screenshot:

How to do

Let's move on to the process of creating a screen capture. IN operating system from Apple, interacting with this function is much easier than in Windows.

Whole screen

A screenshot of the entire screen is made using the hot command “⌘ (Command) + ⇧ (Shift) + 3”.

Separate window

You can take a screenshot of a specific application window using the combination “⌘ (Command) + ⇧ (Shift) + 4 + Space”.

Screen fragment

The creation process is no different in complexity from the previous one. To save a separate piece The hot command “⌘ (Command) + ⇧ (Shift) + 4” is used.

Keyboard shortcuts

Below is a table with hotkeys for creating screenshots.

Keyboard regular computer has more keys than a MacBook. Even without the additional numeric pad, the ratio is 84 versus 78. In its laptops, Apple never uses a block of so-called control and navigation keys. Windows users they are also not particularly needed, and only Print Screen is more or less “usable”. You can use it to take screenshots. Let's figure out how to make a PrintScreen on a Mac if there is no special button for this.

The Grab application in Russian localization has the name “Screenshot”, directly indicating its role in the system. You can find the program by opening the “Utilities” folder.

There are no settings as such here. The user can only select the type of cursor displayed on the screen.

You can manage Grab from the top menu. The screenshot shows the available snapshot options and the hotkeys for creating them.

The second menu is called up on the program icon in the Dock panel. You can open it in two ways: by imitating a double click on the trackpad or by simply touching and holding the Control key.

Any selected command displays a control window with a hint for the action being performed. As an example, the screenshot shows what preparation for taking a screenshot looks like.

Grab is included in the standard set of software and is present on all Mac computers: from the compact Air to stationary all-in-one computers iMac Pro. The created image immediately opens in the Preview program, where the user can evaluate the quality of the resulting image. In it you can also give the file a name and save it in the iCloud cloud in PNG format. The print created in this way becomes available on all devices connected to the user's Apple ID.

The second option, through the save dialog, gives more options. The standard location selection dialog for this “Axis” opens, where the user can specify where to place the photograph taken. The file format is selectable between JPEG, TIFF and PNG.

If you need to use a program quite often, you can pin it to the Dock so you don't have to search for it in the Finder every time.

Hotkeys

On a Mac, there is another option to take a screenshot. It does not require the use of programs, and in terms of functionality it complements Grab well. Combinations of several hot keys allow you to quickly capture the moment of interest. By pressing Shift +⌘ +3 together, we get a full screen shot in PNG format. The finished image is placed on the desktop.

By adding the “Control” button to this combination, we copy it to the clipboard so we can immediately place it in a text editor.

Snapshot of the area

The combination Shift +⌘ +4 allows you to select a specific area of ​​the screen. When pressed, the cursor turns into the crosshair with coordinates shown in the screenshot. After it appears, the keys can be released. By pointing with the trackpad, you set the desired area of ​​the screen. The photo is taken the moment the user removes his finger.

While the trackpad is held down, modifier keys can be used:

• Option. By clicking this button, you can simultaneously stretch the selected area in all directions in proportion to its center;
• Shift . The first click allows you to expand the selection left and right with a fixed vertical border. The second press activates similar function to move up and down. The direction of movement will depend on the location of the cursor;
• Space . Fixes the selection area within the boundaries specified at the time of clicking and makes it possible to move it around the screen.
• Control. By holding the button while taking a photo, the user copies the image to the clipboard without saving.

The Escape key allows you to cancel a photo at any time. The cursor then takes on its normal appearance.

Capture a window or menu

Using the combination Shift +Command ⌘ +4 allows you to take a screenshot not only for the selected area. You can remove the active window or drop-down menu. To do this, you need to point the crosshairs at the object of interest and press the space bar. The cursor will change to a stylized camera, and the selected window will be indicated by a translucent blue haze.

The required context menu must first be called. Then use the key combination and, hovering the cursor over it, press the space bar.

The menu is captured completely with a “tail” coming from the icon and a cast shadow. Pressing the trackpad initiates a photo. You can hold down Control to send it to the clipboard. If necessary, the taken screenshots can be edited in the Preview program. Clicking on the element indicated by the arrow activates an additional toolbar.

Setting screenshot options

Using the Terminal, you can adjust some parameters of screenshots created using hotkeys. All changes are made by two teams. The first sets a new value, the second restarts the UI service.

Save directory

By default, all new screenshots are sent to the desktop. If for some reason you are not satisfied with this, the final destination can be easily changed. For example, we use the “Screen” folder in the “Images” system directory. Enter into the Terminal window:

The following command restarts the service, applying the changes:

Now, when we create a new image, it will automatically be saved to the specified directory, leaving the desktop clean. To return the preset value back, change the end of the first command to “~/Desktop”.

You can choose any one for storage. convenient folder. In this case, put a space after “location”, open “Finder” and move it to the Terminal window. When a green plus symbol appears next to the folder icon, release it. The path to the desired directory will be substituted in command line automatically.

MacOS supports saving screenshots in five formats. The main one is PNG. When looking at Grab, we saw the option of using JPG and TIFF. In the Terminal you can additionally specify PDF or GIF. Having decided on the format, enter the command:

To return the default settings, replace JPG with PNG.

Screenshot name

Screenshots created in the system are given the name “Screenshot” and a timestamp. This can be changed if desired. For example, we use the designation “Newscreen”. Enter the command that changes the file name:

Accordingly, to return everything back, we indicate the default name in the command.

Shadow under the screenshot

The visual design of the macOS interface gives the impression that windows rise above each other when overlaid and “float” above the desktop, casting a shadow downward. Exactly the same effect is obtained in the screenshot. You can make the window look flat with the following command:

To return the shadow effect to pictures, type in the Terminal:

After executing the specified command, as well as each of the above, the user interface must be restarted.

Finally

As you can see, the system’s capabilities are enough to take screenshots and process them initially on any MacBook, starting with Air. Owners of professional models equipped with a Touch Bar can additionally display a virtual button on the Control Strip.

Video instruction

The video below is visual material, which allows you to better explore the capabilities of taking screenshots using macOS.

How to take a screenshot?

In the operating room Windows system in order to take a screenshot (screenshot), just press the Print Screen key, but Apple computers Mac simply doesn't have it, instead it uses a keyboard shortcut.

The simplest option is Command + Shift + 3 (⌘+⇧+3) - a snapshot of the entire screen. When using the combination Command + Shift + 4 (⌘+⇧+4), selecting the desired area with the cursor, you will receive a screenshot of part of the screen. And the third option is Command + Shift + 4 and then immediately press the spacebar (⌘+⇧+4+ spacebar). The picture will show only the active this moment window.

After this, it should appear on the desktop graphic file with an image of the option you have chosen. By default the name is Screenshot [date].png

Settings

To change the file format, open Terminal and enter the following commands:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg | tiff | pdf | png | bmp
killall SystemUIServer
Select from jpg, tiff, pdf, png, bmp the one you need. To return settings to default, enter:

defaults delete com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow
killall SystemUIServer

By default, screenshots are saved to the desktop and to avoid waste, you can choose where to save them. For this we need a Terminal. enter the command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/path/to/file
killall SystemUIServer

To return the default settings, type:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Desktop
killall SystemUIServer

You can also change the names of the files. To do this, in the Terminal we type:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "File name"
killall SystemUIServer

To return we use the command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "New screenshot"
killall SystemUIServer

Taking screenshots in Mac OS may seem like an overwhelming task for first-time users or those who have recently switched to devices Apple. In Windows, the Print Screen key is used for this task, which is simply not available on the Mac. This is understandable, because there is not a need to use this button very often. However, Mac OS provides slightly more features to take screenshots by using keyboard shortcuts. So how do you take a screenshot using this operating system?

What is a screenshot and how to take it on Mac OS

Screenshot (screenshot, or screenshot for short) is an image received by a device and showing exactly what the user sees on the screen of a monitor or other visual output device. Typically, this digital image is obtained by the operating system or other program at the command of the user. Much less often, screenshots are obtained using external device, such as a photo/video camera, or by intercepting a video signal from a computer to a monitor.

Wikipedia

Using MacBook keyboard shortcuts

All of these combinations can be used with the Ctrl key. For example, command + ctrl + shift + 3. Then, instead of saving to the desktop, the picture will be placed on the clipboard. This can be useful if you want to correct the screenshot in a photo editor before putting it in your working folder.

Using the Screenshot program on your computer

If you do not want to burden yourself with remembering various key combinations, you can use a special utility. To launch it, go to Programs > System Programs and select the Screenshot application.

Open the Applications folder Open the Utilities folder Launch the Screenshot program (Grab)

Launch the program and select required action in the Snapshot menu.

Video on the topic

For a more detailed look at the possibilities of taking screenshots on Mac OS, I recommend watching the video.

These keyboard shortcuts work on all versions of Mac OS. They can help, for example, to capture an error in a program for later reference. technical support. If you write instructive articles on working in the Mac OS operating system, then you definitely cannot do without these functions.