Mac Tips: Screenshots

Taking pictures of your desktop is as easy as pressing Command, Shift, 3.  In your Mac, you can take a picture of your entire desktop or just a selection.  This is useful if you would like to provide illustrated instructions for your students or for class presentations.

  • Command+Shift+3:  captures the entire desktop.
  • Command+Shift+4: gives you a cross-hair cursor.  Click and drag to select the area you want to capture; then release. 
  • Command+Shift+4, then spacebar: takes a picture of the active window (see picture above).  To change the selection, move the camera icon over the window or icon you want to capture. 

All images are saved automatically to the desktop.  If you prefer to save them to clipboard for pasting, hold down the control key while you take the image.

This post is part of a series of “Mac Tips” about the latest Mac operating system (Mac OS X).  You can find these tips and a lot more in the category “Technology Survival Guide.

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