Have you ever wanted to show off something on your computer screen, but didn’t want to write down what was being shown? This is where screenshots come in handy! A screenshot allows you to take a photo of your computer screen and save it to be shared with other people. Screenshots are especially useful if you are explaining something in an online forum and don’t want to type it all out, or if you want to show someone how to do something without having them look over your shoulder. Here are the four best ways to take a screenshot on a Mac computer!
1) Taking a screenshot in your web browser
When taking a screenshot of your web browser, the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-4 should work. You’ll see the toolbar at the top of your screen indicating that you’re in Capture mode. Make sure you have what you want highlighted before hitting this shortcut and waiting for it to go into Preview mode (i.e., waiting for it to take). The other option is by making sure that what you want is within the frame of your desktop window—say, in front of an open Word document. Hit Command-Shift-3 and all four corners of your screen will appear, signifying that Capture mode has been activated.
2) Taking a screenshot with Preview
On the desktop, open Preview. Press Cmd-Shift-4, then use the mouse or trackpad cursor to drag from any point within the Preview window and release when you have an area selected that you wish to capture as an image. If preview is not already running, open it and press Cmd-shift-4, then use the mouse or trackpad cursor to drag from any point within the Preview window and release when you have an area selected that you wish to capture as an image. Open Camera app, press Spacebar and click in the frame until it says Capture ____ at which point just click anywhere in that frame or preview window. Enter Command+Shift+3 and click anywhere in your desired screenshot area.
3) Taking screenshots directly from your screen
One of the quickest and easiest ways to take a screenshot is by using your keyboard’s built-in function. Hold down the COMMAND and SHIFT keys simultaneously, then press 3. This will capture the entire screen, from top to bottom. To capture just one window (which is more likely what you want), you can use the COMMAND, SHIFT, and four arrow key combination instead. This will capture an individual window as opposed to capturing the entire screen area.
Taking screenshots of your computer’s entire screen is convenient, but it may not always be what you want. Sometimes, you may want just a small section of your screen included in your screenshot. There are two options for capturing different parts of your screen: you can use an existing image editor to do so or you can take advantage of some built-in Mac utilities. If you’d rather use an image editor like Preview, Preview allows users to crop and edit photos and images right inside their program. You can choose whether or not to save after editing by clicking on File and then choosing Save. Users can also crop images with Preview by holding down COMMAND + ALT + C simultaneously while using their mouse wheel or trackpad.
4)Taking screenshots from your iPhone
First, if you have an iPhone X or newer, your phone takes screenshots with the press of a power button and volume up button. Tap these buttons together and voila, the screenshot is saved.
To take screenshots on your Mac computer in iOS 12 without downloading any additional apps, start by selecting the window or area you want to capture as a screenshot. Next, click the trackpad and then press the fn key at the same time. This will cause OSX (on non-touchbar laptops) to make sure it’s saving everything on screen. For touchbar laptops, hit that little control stick that’s shaped like an Eject button (just above Esc). This will show you what options are available for taking your screenshot.