Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac
You can take pictures (called screenshots) or recordings of the screen on your Mac using Screenshot or keyboard shortcuts. Screenshot provides a panel of tools that let you easily take screenshots and screen recordings, with options to control what you capture—for example, you can set a timer delay or include the pointer or clicks.
Take pictures or screen recordings using Screenshot
On your Mac, press Shift-Command-5 (or use Launchpad) to open Screenshot and display the tools.
Click a tool to use to select what you want to capture or record (or use the Touch Bar).
For a portion of the screen, drag the frame to reposition it or drag its edges to adjust the size of the area you want to capture or record.
Action
Tool
Capture the entire screen
Capture a window
Capture a portion of the screen
Record the entire screen
Record a portion of the screen
Click Options if you want.
The available options vary based on whether you’re taking a screenshot or a screen recording. For example, you can choose to set a timed delay or show the mouse pointer or clicks, and specify where to save the file.
The Show Floating Thumbnail option helps you work more easily with a completed shot or recording—it floats in the bottom-right corner of the screen for a few seconds so you have time to drag it into a document, mark it up, or share it before it’s saved to the location you specified.
Start the screenshot or screen recording:
For the entire screen or a portion of it: Click Capture.
For a window: Move the pointer to the window, then click the window.
For recordings: Click Record. To stop recording, click the Stop Recording button
in the menu bar.
When the Show Floating Thumbnail option is set, you can do any of the following while the thumbnail is briefly displayed in the bottom-right corner of the screen:
Swipe right to immediately save the file and make it disappear.
Drag the thumbnail into a document, an email, a note, or a Finder window.
Click the thumbnail to open a window where you can mark up the screenshot or trim the recording, or share it.
Depending on where you chose to save the screenshot or recording, an app may open.
Take pictures using keyboard shortcuts
You can use various keyboard shortcuts on your Mac to take pictures of the screen. The files are saved to the desktop.
Tip: To copy a screenshot so you can paste it somewhere—like in an email or to another device—press and hold the Control key while you press the other keys. For example, to copy the whole screen, press Shift-Command-Control-3.
Action | Shortcut | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capture the entire screen | Press Shift-Command-3. | ||||||||||
Capture a portion of the screen | Press Shift-Command-4, then move the crosshair pointer to where you want to start the screenshot. Press the mouse or trackpad button, drag over the area you want to capture, then release the mouse or trackpad button. | ||||||||||
Capture a window or the menu bar | Press Shift-Command-4, then press the Space bar. Move the camera pointer over the window or the menu bar to highlight it, then click. | ||||||||||
Capture a menu and menu items | Open the menu, press Shift-Command-4, then drag the pointer over the menu items you want to capture. | ||||||||||
Open Screenshot | Press Shift-Command 5. | ||||||||||
Capture the Touch Bar | Press Shift-Command-6. | ||||||||||
You can customize these keyboard shortcuts in the Shortcuts pane of Keyboard preferences. On your Mac, choose Apple menu 
, then click Shortcuts.
Screenshots are saved as .png files and screen recordings are saved as .mov files. Filenames begin with “Screen Shot” or “Screen Recording” and include the date and time.
You may not be able to take pictures of windows in some apps, such as DVD Player.