# How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac: Every Way
> Press Shift-Command-3 for the whole screen, Shift-Command-4 for part of it, or Shift-Command-5 for the toolbar. Every way to take a screenshot on a Mac.
Published: 2026-10-22
Author: Elisei Nicolae
Source: https://snapix.app/tutorials/how-to-screenshot-on-mac/
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Press ⇧⌘3 (Shift-Command-3) to take a screenshot of your whole screen on a Mac, or ⇧⌘4 (Shift-Command-4) to drag over just part of it. ⇧⌘5 (Shift-Command-5) opens the Screenshot toolbar, and by default every screenshot is saved as a PNG file on your desktop.
The keys are the same on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, MacBook Neo, iMac or Mac mini. Below is each built-in way, step by step, then how [Snapix](/) puts every shot on your clipboard with a preview you can mark up, pin or drag into any app.
## How to take a screenshot on a Mac
1. **Press ⇧⌘3 for the whole screen or ⇧⌘4 for part of it.** Press and release the three keys together. ⇧⌘3 takes the shot right away, so go on to step 3.
2. **For part of the screen, drag over it.** The pointer turns into a crosshair. Click and hold, drag a box around what you want, then let go to take the shot. Press Esc to cancel.
3. **Find it on your desktop.** A thumbnail appears in the corner of the screen. A few seconds later it slides away, and the screenshot is saved to your desktop as a PNG file.
4. **Or click the thumbnail to mark it up.** Click it before it slides away to draw on, crop or share the screenshot first.
Five shortcuts cover the everyday built-in screenshots. Add Control to ⇧⌘3 or ⇧⌘4 to copy instead of saving a file.
## The built-in ways at a glance
| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⇧⌘3 | Saves the whole screen. With several displays, each one becomes its own file. |
| ⇧⌘4 | Saves an area you drag over. |
| ⇧⌘4 then Space | Saves a window, a menu, the menu bar or the Dock. |
| ⇧⌘5 | Opens the toolbar: screen, window or area, plus a timer and options. |
| ⌃⇧⌘3 or ⌃⇧⌘4 | Copies the whole screen or an area to the clipboard, with no file. |
Saved screenshots go to the desktop by default. Pick another folder once in the toolbar, and ⇧⌘3 and ⇧⌘4 save there too. For Snapix's shortcuts and the rarer ones, see [every Mac screenshot shortcut](/tutorials/mac-screenshot-shortcuts/). If a shortcut does nothing, see [screenshot not working on Mac](/tutorials/screenshot-not-working-mac/) for the fixes.
## How to take a full screen screenshot
Press ⇧⌘3 to screenshot the full screen. Your Mac takes the shot right away and shows a thumbnail in the corner. If you have two or more displays connected, you get one file for each display.
## How to screenshot part of the screen
The steps at the top of this page use ⇧⌘4. While you drag, a few keys change the box:
- Hold Space to move the box without changing its size.
- Hold Shift to change only the width or only the height.
- Hold Option to grow the box out from its center.
To capture a menu, open it first, then press ⇧⌘4 and drag over it. There's more in [how to screenshot part of your screen](/tutorials/screenshot-part-of-screen-mac/), and for menus and tooltips see [how to screenshot a menu](/tutorials/screenshot-menu-mac/).
## How to screenshot a window
1. Press ⇧⌘4, then press Space. The pointer turns into a camera.
2. Move the camera over the window you want. It's highlighted.
3. Click. Hold Option as you click to leave out the window's shadow.
This works for a window even when other windows cover part of it, and for the menu bar and the Dock too. For more, including how to drop the shadow for good, see [how to screenshot a window on Mac](/tutorials/screenshot-window-mac/).
## How to use the Screenshot toolbar
1. Press ⇧⌘5. You can also open the **Screenshot** app from the Utilities folder in Applications.
2. Choose **Capture Entire Screen**, **Capture Selected Window** or **Capture Selected Portion**.
3. Click **Options** to set a **Timer** of 5 or 10 seconds, choose a folder under **Save to**, or turn on **Show Mouse Pointer**.
4. Click **Capture**. For a window, click the window instead.
Press Esc to close the toolbar without taking anything.
## How to copy a screenshot instead of saving it
Add Control to the shortcut. ⌃⇧⌘3 copies the whole screen and ⌃⇧⌘4 copies an area, or a window if you press Space. Nothing lands on the desktop. Paste it with ⌘V into a message, an email or a document. The clipboard holds one image, so the next copy replaces it.
To copy every time without adding Control, press ⇧⌘5, click **Options** and choose **Clipboard** under **Save to**. See [copy a screenshot to the clipboard](/tutorials/copy-screenshot-to-clipboard-mac/) for more.
## What you can do with the thumbnail
For a few seconds after each shot, the thumbnail in the corner is your screenshot. You can:
- Click it to mark up, crop or [share the screenshot](/tutorials/share-screenshot-mac/).
- Drag it straight into an email, a document, a note or a Finder window.
- Swipe it to the right to save the file at once.
- Control-click it for more, like **Save to Clipboard**, **Show in Finder** or **Delete**.
Hold the pointer over it and it stays on screen until you're ready. There's more in [how to use the screenshot thumbnail](/tutorials/screenshot-preview-mac/).
## Where screenshots are saved on a Mac
By default, screenshots go to your desktop as PNG files named with the date and time, like "Screenshot 2026-10-13 at 10.15.32 AM.png" (no AM or PM with a 24-hour clock). The file is written when the thumbnail slides away, a few seconds after the shot, which is why it can seem to show up late.
**Tip:** Turn off **Show Floating Thumbnail** in the toolbar's **Options**, and screenshots save the moment you take them.
To use another folder, press ⇧⌘5, click **Options** and pick a place under **Save to** (**Other Location…** lets you choose any folder). There's more in [where screenshots go on a Mac](/tutorials/where-do-screenshots-go-mac/).
## How to take a screenshot with Snapix
By default, macOS saves each screenshot as a file on your desktop. Snapix is a menu bar app for macOS 14 Sonoma or later that puts each shot on your clipboard first, with a floating preview you can copy, save, mark up, pin or drag into any app. It all happens on your Mac, and your screenshots stay there. An area shot uses the same ⇧⌘4:
1. **Press ⇧⌘4.** The crosshair appears. You can also click the Snapix icon in the menu bar and choose **Capture Area**.
2. **Drag over what you want, then let go.** Press Space before you drag to pick a window instead, or hold it while you drag to move the box. Shift and Option work as they do in macOS. Press Esc to cancel.
3. **Paste it.** The screenshot is already on your clipboard, so ⌘V drops it into a chat, an email or a document.
4. **Or use the preview.** A preview floats in the bottom-right corner, for 5 seconds by default. Hover it to **Copy** or **Save**, click it to mark it up, or drag it into any app.
By default, Snapix doesn't save a file until you click **Save**, and the first time, it asks which folder to use. Every shot also goes to [Recent Captures](/tutorials/screenshot-history-mac/) (⇧⌘S), which keeps your last 50 by default, saved or not. You can [try Snapix free](#get-snapix).
Every Snapix capture is in its menu bar menu, with the shortcut beside it.
The other two shortcuts do different jobs from macOS:
- **Capture Full Screen** (⇧⌘3) takes the display your pointer is on, not every display. Move the pointer to the monitor you want first. The shot includes the mouse pointer by default. To leave it out, turn off **Settings ▸ Capture ▸ Include mouse cursor**.
- **Capture Window** (⇧⌘5) takes the place of the macOS Screenshot toolbar. The pointer turns into a camera. Click a window and Snapix captures all of it, even the parts hidden behind other windows, and places it on your desktop wallpaper by default. You can change that in **Settings ▸ Capture**.
**Note:** Snapix asks you to sign in and to allow Screen Recording before it takes its first screenshot. Here's how to [set up Snapix](/tutorials/set-up-snapix-mac/).
## Using Snapix alongside the macOS shortcuts
While a Snapix shortcut sits on ⇧⌘3, ⇧⌘4 or ⇧⌘5, Snapix switches off macOS's own shortcut for it, so only one app answers. ⌃⇧⌘3 and ⌃⇧⌘4 are never touched and still copy to the clipboard the macOS way.
macOS gets its shortcuts back when you quit Snapix or sign out, or when you click **Hand these back to macOS** in **Settings ▸ Shortcuts**. Snapix's captures stay in its menu, and you can [change the screenshot shortcuts](/tutorials/change-screenshot-shortcut-mac/) to other keys.
## Do more with a screenshot
- [Screenshot just one monitor](/tutorials/screenshot-one-monitor-mac/) when you have more than one display.
- [Take a timed screenshot](/tutorials/timed-screenshot-mac/) to catch a menu or a tooltip.
- [Edit a screenshot](/tutorials/edit-screenshot-mac/) with arrows, text and numbered steps.
- [Crop a screenshot](/tutorials/crop-screenshot-mac/) after you take it.
- [Pin a screenshot on top](/tutorials/pin-screenshot-mac/) of your other windows.
- [Find your recent screenshots](/tutorials/screenshot-history-mac/) when you need one again.
- [Turn off the screenshot sound](/tutorials/turn-off-screenshot-sound-mac/) for quiet captures.
Coming from Windows? See the [Snipping Tool for Mac](/snipping-tool-for-mac/) guide.
## Frequently asked questions
### How do I take a screenshot on a Mac without the keyboard?
Open the **Screenshot** app from the Utilities folder in Applications (or find it with Spotlight), then choose what to capture in its toolbar and click **Capture** (for a window, click the window). In Preview, choose **File ▸ Take Screenshot**. With Snapix, click its icon in the menu bar and choose **Capture Area**, **Capture Full Screen** or **Capture Window**.
### How do I take a screenshot on a Mac with two monitors?
Press **⇧⌘3** and macOS saves one file for each display. For just one display, press **⇧⌘5**, click **Capture Entire Screen** and click that display, or use Snapix's **⇧⌘3**, which takes only the display your pointer is on. There's more in [how to screenshot just one monitor](/tutorials/screenshot-one-monitor-mac/).
### Are the screenshot shortcuts the same on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iMac?
Yes. **⇧⌘3**, **⇧⌘4** and **⇧⌘5** are part of macOS, so they work the same on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, MacBook Neo, iMac or Mac mini. On a keyboard made for Windows, press the Windows key where you'd press Command.
### How do I automatically save screenshots on my Mac?
macOS already does: **⇧⌘3** and **⇧⌘4** save a PNG to your desktop once the thumbnail goes away. To use another folder, press **⇧⌘5**, click **Options** and pick one under **Save to**. Snapix copies each shot to the clipboard instead. Turn on **Settings ▸ Saving ▸ Save every screenshot automatically** and Snapix also writes each one to a folder (Documents ▸ Snapix unless you pick another). See [where screenshots go on a Mac](/tutorials/where-do-screenshots-go-mac/) to find or change that folder.
