If you are a MAC user, then you should be aware of the process of taking screenshots on MAC. To achieve this task, you should be well aware of all the shortcuts. The keyboard shortcuts might seem straightforward and easier to implement, but each technique needs some technical knowledge and expertise to follow them in a hassle-free manner. After the release of Mojave, MAC OS has a built-in screenshot tool, which is almost similar to the one Windows has.
Here is a quick and simple guide that will help you to take the screenshots on Mac easily.
Screenshot of the entire screen
If you are looking for a screenshot of your entire screen, you can opt for the Screenshot tool. You can open that by navigating to Launchpad > Other > Screenshot, or by using the shortcut Shift+Command+5.
This will provide the option to take screenshots on Mac that covers the entire screen, a selected window, or some specific portion of the screen. You also have the option to capture a recorded video, which may include the entire screen or a selected portion of the screen. You will find a drop-down menu that helps you to choose the place where you can save your screenshots, set up a timer, and work on other settings.
Grab the Entire screen
You can capture the entire screen with the help of the screenshot tool else, you can use the shortcut command Shift+Command+3. The capture will be saved on the desktop in .png format.
Partial screenshot of the screen
If you wish to capture a specific part of the screen, you have to click Shift+Command+4. The mouse pointer will appear as a cross-hair, and you need to drag that so that it will include the entire area you need to capture. You can press the Esc key to cancel. To change the shape, size, and position of the capture press, hold the Shift, Option, or Space Bar before capturing. Your system will save it in the .png format.
Capture a window or Menu
If you are interested in capturing a specific window or menu on the screen, you need to click on Shift+Command+5, and the mouse pointer will convert into a camera icon. You have to move the camera icon over the window to highlight it and then save the image on your desktop in .png format. By hitting the space bar key, you can switch back and forth to modify your custom selection.
Take an image of the touch bar of the system
If you own a MAC with the touch bar option, you may take the screenshot of it by clicking Shift+Command+6which will save your capture as a .png file.
Change the locations of the screenshots on MAC system
According to the system defaults, your captured screenshots will be saved in the desktop folders only, but you can alter that if you wish to do it. All you have to do is to open the screenshot tool by clicking Shift+Command+5, or by navigating to Launchpad > Other > Screenshot > Options. If you check, under the menu section Save to, you can choose a new default location, like Documents. Even you can click Other Location to choose a specific folder.
Alternatively, instead of saving screenshots directly to your computer, you can even transfer them to the clipboard by adding the Control key to any shortcut commands. Further, you can paste the screenshot anywhere you wish to.
Change the format of your captured screenshots on Mac
Till now, we know that the default image type of screenshots in MAC is the .png files. If you are interested in changing the format of your image like to .jpg, you need to do a small amount of coding. Navigate to Launchpad > Other > Terminal and type the following command inside the new window:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
If the system prompts for password, restart the computer and for future screenshots it will save in the preferred format that you have saved. Switching back to default settings can always be done according to your wish.
Explore for third-party options
If you wish to explore the third-party applications to assist you, can use Snaggit and it has every facility that you need to but you have to pay some price like 50$.
On a concluding note, these are some basic solutions for capturing screenshots on Mac. If you follow the mentioned steps, it will enable you to complete your task in a quick and easy manner.
If you also have a Windows laptop or PC, then you can also read our guide on How To Take Screenshots On Windows.
