
Teaser graphic made with help from Shutterstock. While keyboard shortcuts often provide a faster and more efficient way to perform tasks in OS X, the ability to take screenshots from within Preview will save many users the trouble of remembering specific key combinations.
It should also be noted that holding the “Control” key down while taking a screenshot from within Preview will copy the captured image to your clipboard, just as it does when used with the screenshot keyboard shortcuts. This countdown will appear in the center of your screen (but won’t be visible in the final screenshot image) and it lets you move things around to get your desktop items in the correct position before the virtual shutter snaps.

Using the shortcut Command-Shift–3 will take a screenshot of your entire display (or multiple displays, one for each, if you have them) immediately.īut selecting to take a screenshot “From Entire Screen” in Preview will give you about a 10 second countdown before it takes the shot. There is one important difference between using Preview and the keyboard shortcuts, however. These options correspond to the keyboard shortcuts for taking screenshots:įrom Window: Command-Shift–4, then the Spacebar Here you’ll see three options: “From Selection, From Window, and From Entire Screen.” Then, in Preview’s menu bar, go to File > Take Screen Shot. It will show the current setting for 'Save a picture of screen as a file' which is normally Command+Shift+3 as well as 'Save picture of.

On Episode 425, listener Scott let us know about a great tip for using Apple’s Preview app to take screenshots in OS X 10.4 and later.įirst, open Preview, located in your Applications folder. Normally to look at the current shortcuts you would open System Preferences then select 'Keyboard' icon, then select 'Shortcuts' tab and then select 'Screen Shots' in the list on the left. Thankfully, the Mac Geek Gab audience has come through with a solution.
#APPLE MAC SCREENSHOT KEYBOARD SHORTCUT HOW TO#
How to take screenshots with the Touch Bar If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can create a button that. For some users, however, keyboard shortcuts are hard to remember, especially if screenshots are taken infrequently. You hit the Shift, Command, 4 and Spacebar keys, then click the window you want to be recorded. There are several ways to take screenshots within Apple’s OS X, and we’ve covered the keyboard shortcuts for each method before.
