macOS Tips
← All tips

Take screenshots and record the screen

Three shortcuts cover the whole screen, a selection and a single window, and the third one also records video.

Shortcuts Any Mac Basic #screenshots #video #keyboard

Works on: macOS Big Sur 11 and later · checked on macOS Golden Gate 27

Published: · Source: Apple

There is no Print Screen key, but there are three shortcuts, and between them they cover everything.

  • ⇧ + ⌘ + 3 captures the entire screen.
  • ⇧ + ⌘ + 4 turns the pointer into a crosshair: drag to capture a portion. Press Space instead of dragging and you can click a single window or menu.
  • ⇧ + ⌘ + 5 opens the Screenshot toolbar, which adds Record the entire screen and Record a portion of the screen. To stop a recording, click the stop button in the menu bar.

Files land on the desktop with names that start with Screenshot or Screen Recording followed by the date and time — PNG for images, MOV for video.

The Options menu in that toolbar is worth a look: Save to picks another folder, Timer delays the capture and Microphone adds sound to recordings.

And if you only want to paste the image somewhere, add ⌃ to either of the first two shortcuts: the capture goes to the clipboard instead of a file.

Related tips