Taking a screenshot is much easier on macOS than on Windows. There is no Imp button. gasp.’ on the keyboard, but we also don’t have to go to Paint to save the image. Pretty much anything can be done with keyboard shortcuts, and there are many different options. On the other hand, thanks to different configurations in the operating system, we can Adjust the recordings to our workflow on the Mac.
In macOS we can take different types of screenshots. That is, it can be different areas of the screen with different elements or shots. If you want to record Mac screen, there are two official apps available for you on your computer.
Take a screenshot of the entire screen
This is the simplest and most common screenshot of them all. This recording allows us to save an image of the entire computer screen. Just press the keyboard combination Command-Shift-3. A screenshot of the entire screen is automatically taken, which is displayed in the lower right corner of the desktop:
Clicking on this thumbnail gives you access to basic editing options such as B. share the image or open it with the preview. If you do nothing, the thumbnail will disappear after a few seconds and the image file will be automatically saved to your desktop.
Take a screenshot of only part of the screen
We don’t always want to capture the entire screen, most of the time we’re only interested in a small part to show a certain aspect. To do this, macOS allows us to select the area that interests us by dragging the cursor. Press the keyboard combination Command-Shift-4the cursor automatically turns into a cross. Drag to select the part of the screen that interests you and when you let go, the recording is complete.
Didn’t you select correctly? Nothing happens. You can change the selected area before releasing the cursor. Depending on the key you press during the selection, a different action is performed:
- Layer: Changes the area with horizontal or vertical borders.
- Possibility: Changes the selected area from the center outwards.
- spacebar: allows you to move the selected area.
Take a screenshot of a single window
Not the entire screen, nor a specific area, but a specific window. macOS allows us to take a screenshot of one of the windows open on the desktop, completely isolating it from the rest of the elements, capturing more cleanly only the window or app that interests us. It’s very easy, Press Cmd-Shift-4 and then Spacebar. The cursor moves from a crosshead to a camera icon. Select the window you want to capture with it and click on it.
The recording is generated automatically and appears as in the other cases in the thumbnail at the bottom right. The window has a transparent background and a shadow so that the contrast with the background is not too strong.
This applies not only to app windows, but also, for example, to the menu bar or any pop-up menu or dialog box that is displayed in an app. Before clicking, move the cursor so that the area is highlighted This is recorded so that you can easily see it. As a final trick, holding down the Option key while clicking won’t apply a white background with shadows to the screenshot.
Take a screenshot of the lock screen
The lock screen in macOS is displayed before logging in or after waking from sleep. There’s little reason to take a screenshot of this interface, but it’s possible if you want to. Sign out or lock the screen with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Command-Q and then press the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-3. When you unlock the screen again, the screenshot will appear on the desktop or in our default save location.
Take a screenshot with a timer
For this screenshot we need to use the command Command-Shift-5 to enable screenshot options. There we will see that we can select the size of the recording, as well as an option button. If you click on it, several of them will appear. Just choose 5 or 10 seconds to take a timed screenshot on Mac.
Take a screenshot that includes the mouse pointer
To mark an element that we want to highlight on the screen, the most logical way is to use the mouse pointer. However, this is not usually shown on screenshots, but you can have it displayed.
In this case, you need to use the Preview app. Go to the app menu File > Screenshot > Entire Screen. A small timer will start giving you time to go to the interface you want to capture and hover your cursor over it. The image is saved with the mouse pointer and you can edit it directly in the preview.
5 tricks to get more out of your screenshots
These are all the ways to take a screenshot in macOS, although there are more things to consider if you want to be a pro at taking screenshots of Apple’s operating system. Most of these tricks require you to use Terminal, but don’t worry, you don’t have to be a hacker to do it.
Change the default name of screenshots
“Screenshot 2018-05-18 at 12.35.02” is not a very nice name for an image, it is descriptive, but maybe you want something simpler or more Distinguish your recordings from those of others. You can change the default name.
- Open Terminal.
- Copy and paste the following command: Defaults write com.apple.screencapture name “Applesphere”
- Replace the content of the quotes with what you want to display.
- Copy and paste the following command: killall SystemUIServer
Remove default date and time from screenshots
The previous trick allowed us to change the name, but the date and time still appear in the screenshots. You can also remove it:
- Open Terminal.
- Copy and paste the following command: Defaults write com.apple.screencapture “include-date” 0
- Copy and paste the following command: killall SystemUIServer
If you want to include the date and time again, follow the same steps again, but at the end of the command change the “0” to a “1”. In my case, I prefer to leave the date and time as is because it makes it easier for you to find the shots if you take multiple shots, and it also prevents them from being numbered since they all have different names.
Change the default save location for screenshots
By default, screenshots are saved to the macOS desktop. If you don’t want to reduce your image desktopThere is a terminal command for that:
- Open Terminal.
- Copy and paste the following command: Default values write the location com.apple.screencapture ~/Documents/Screenshots
- Copy and paste the following command: killall SystemUIServer
In this case, the command specifies that they are saved in the Documents folder and in that folder in the Camera Roll folder. You can create your own custom location.
Change the format of the screenshots
By default, the operating system saves screenshots as PNG images. They’re higher quality and allow for transparency, but they also take up a lot more space and sometimes we just want to share something quickly. You can use a smart folder to change the format of the images you drag in, but you can do that too change format from the terminal to create JPEG files from it:
- Open Terminal.
- Copy and paste the following command: Defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg;killall SystemUIServer
Don’t want a JPEG? There are a few more options, just use one of the following commands:
- JPEG: Defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg;killall SystemUIServer
- gif: Defaults write com.apple.screencapture type gif; kill all SystemUIServer
- PNG: Defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png;killall SystemUIServer
- PDF: Defaults write com.apple.screencapture type PDF; kill all SystemUIServer
- TIF: Defaults write com.apple.screencapture type tiff;killall SystemUIServer
Copy screenshot directly to clipboard
Finally, if you don’t want the image to be saved anywhere and doesn’t have a name or date, you can save it directly to the clipboard. If necessary, use one of the screenshot combinations shown above accompanied by the Ctrl key They are saved directly to the clipboard.
In Applesphere | Updating macOS Ventura is much faster. This is how Apple made it possible
Source : www.applesfera.com