They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and it's true. Most of the time, it is easier to explain things when you have images to use. Take for example screenshots. Screenshots are very helpful when you exhausted all the words you can master when talking to someone who needs your help or someone who will help you especially if it's a technical problem that needs a technical solution. Screenshots are also helpful for documentation or when you just want to show something cool to someone.
How to Take and Save Screenshots Using Your Mac
There are 3 easy options when you are using your Mac. Just follow the steps below on how to do a screen capture on a Mac.
1. Screenshot of Your Whole Screen.
Pressing Command + Shift + 3 at the same time takes a screenshot of your whole screen. When you hear a shutter sound that means a screenshot was taken and the image file is saved on your Desktop. The screenshot will be saved as a PNG and the file name will include the date and time. You can choose to rename the file by following these steps:
- Click the icon of the file or image.
- Hit the Return key.
- Type in the new filename.
The simplest and quickest way to screenshot a Mac is command + shift + 3. This Mac screenshot shortcut captures the entire screen. It's good for the times you want to grab a quick screenshot from a. Take screen pictures on a Mac with Screenshot (for macOS Mojave, 10.14, and above) For macOS Mojave or macOS Catalina, the Screenshot utility app is equivalent to Grab in prevoius versions. Using Screenshot, you can take pictures of your desktop and also record your workflow on screen.
Note that everything is included in the screenshot except for videos protected with HDCP or High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection.
2. Taking Screenshots of a Portion of Your Screen.
Sometimes, a screenshot that shows only a portion of your screen is needed. This is possible, all you need to do is hold Command + Shift + 4. A cross-like cursor will appear. You can drag this to the area you want screen captured. There is also another combination you can use that will help you, hold Command + Shit + 4 at the same time and hit Space key. A camera will appear and you need to move the camera over the item you want to include. The item or window you want to take a picture of will be highlighted. Next, click the mouse or Trackpad button to take a picture. Alternatively, you can press Return to take the screenshot. All parts of your target item or application will be included, regardless of whether the window is covered by another app or off-screen.
To take a screenshot of any part of the screen, follow these steps:
- Hold Command + Shift + 4. Crosshairs will appear and you'll notice numbers showing the horizontal and vertical location in the pixel.
- Drag the area you want to capture.
- Release the mouse or Trackpad button, and the screen will be captured.
- If you want to drag the screen selection, hold down the mouse button or Trackpad and then hold Space.
- If you want to restrict the resizing to the vertical or horizontal axis, hold the Shift button while holding down the mouse.
- To resize the selection from the center, press Option while also holding down the mouse.
- To cancel your selection, press Escape.
3. Taking Timed Screen Capture on Mac.
There are times when you want to take a picture of your screen at a specific time or your screen display will change. In this scenario, you can use the Grab app to take pictures. To take a timed screenshot, follow these steps:
- Open the Grab app and go to Preferences. Choose whether you want to have the cursor displayed.
- Go to Capture and select Timed Screen.
- Click Start Timer. You have 10 seconds before the screenshot is taken.
- Once the screenshot has been taken, the image will open in the Grab app.
- Save the image by clicking File, then click Save.
- Type in the filename and choose the format you want. The default file format in Grab is TIFF.
Saving Your Screenshots
When you take a screenshot using your Mac device, the file is saved automatically on the desktop. However, this will make your desktop messy, especially if you need to take a lot of screenshots. Clean the folders on your desktop with Tweakbit MacRepair and keep your files organized.
You can also choose to save your screen captures to another folder or location. To save the images to the clipboard, hold Control then press Command + Shift + 3. This action will make it easier to copy the image to a document or an email. You also have the option to change the default save location of your screenshots from your desktop to another existing folder. You can create a new folder and designate it to be the new location to store your screen grabs.
To change the standard save location, follow these steps:
- Open Terminal using the Spotlight.
- Type in: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location
- Then, drag the new save location or folder to the Terminal window.
- If you want to use the Pictures folder as the new save location, type in: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Pictures/
- If you want to use a Screenshots folder (make sure you create the folder first) within Pictures, type in: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Pictures/Screenshots/
- Press Return, then type in: killall SystemUIServer
- Press Return again.
- When you want to revert the save location back to Desktop, just change ~/Pictures/ to ~/Desktop.
Here's an additional tip: you can add tags when saving your screenshots so it is easier for you to organize and find the screen grabs.
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Nov 16, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
There is no doubt that taking a screenshot on Mac is quite straightforward because Apple has given an easy way to do that. However, a lot of users have complained that they have encountered a 'screenshot on Mac not working' problem. If you are also one of those users who are going through this same issue, then you might be looking for methods to fix it.
Well, you have come to the right place. Here, in this article, we have mentioned several ways you can try to come out of this problem without much hassle.
Mac Airbook Screenshot
Part 1. What Is a Screenshot?
The term 'Screenshot' also known as a snapshot or screen capture, or print screen. It is a picture that shows the contents of your computer display. In simple words, it allows you to capture whatever you are seeing on your device screen. Once a screenshot is taken, you can save it as an image file where you can open it to edit.
At present, the screenshot feature is quite helpful and that's it is present in all electronic devices, such as smartphones, computers, and tablets. The feature is very useful in many situations, such as when you have to share the screen picture with others or to provide software reviews.
Part 2. How to Take a Screenshot on Mac?
Before you go for a solution to fix the 'screenshot on Mac not working' issue, you need to first learn how to take a screenshot on Mac in the right way. It might be the case that you are capturing your system screen using wrong commands and that's why you met with this annoying problem.
1. Screenshot a window
How To Take A Screenshot On Mac Pc
To screen capture for a window on Man, you need to follow the below steps:
- Use 'Command + Shift + 4' at the same time. As you see crosshairs on your screen, use the 'Space' key to hover the cursor over the window. Next, click either on the trackpad or mouse. Don't forget to hold the Space bar when you are dragging.
- Now, you will see the Camera icon, and your window will turn into a grey color. If you end up opening multiple windows, then select the one you like to capture. Finally, tap on the mouse, and you are done with capturing the screenshot for the window.
- After that, you can either right-click on the application icon and choose 'Move to Trash' option or you can simply drag the program icon to the Trash.
2. Screenshot the entire screen
To capture the entire screen, follow the steps:
- To start with, you have to use 'Command + Shift+ 3' keys at the same time.
- Next, you'll the camera shutter sound, and your screenshot will be saved on the desktop.
3. Screenshot a portion of the screen
Follow the below steps to capture a part of your screen:
- Use 'Command + Shift + 4' Keys at the same time. Using this shortcut, you will be able to take a screenshot of a specific portion.
- After pressing the keys, you will see a cross with some numbers. So, drag the cross across the region that you like to capture.
4. Screenshot a dropdown menu
Follow the steps to capture a dropdown menu on Mac:
- First, open the menu and then, use 'Command + Shift + 4' keys at the same time, and next, drag the cross to the region of the menu.
- Now, release the mouse to screenshot the region, and next, use the Space key to alter the pointer to a camera. Finally, press the menu to take a screenshot.
That's how you can take a screenshot on Mac. If the above steps didn't work to take and save a screenshot on your Mac, then check out the next section where we have mentioned some solutions that can fix the problem you're going through.
Video Guide on How To Take A Screenshot on Mac
Part 3. How to Fix 'Screenshot on Mac Not Working'?
Well, you now got an idea about how to take a screenshot on Mac in the right way. But, if you still met with a 'screenshot on Mac not working' problem, then try below methods that can probably help you to fix the issue with ease.
1. Check the Keyboard Shortcut Settings
You can use the keyboard shortcut 'Command + Shift + 3' to take a full-screen screenshot and shortcut 'Command + Shift + 4' to capture selected area unless you've activated the screenshots shortcuts.
By default, the screenshot keyboard shortcuts are activated. But, it might be the case that you have configured the settings and don't remember at all. Thus, in this case, all you have to do is to check if the screenshot shortcut is active on your Mac.
Here are simple steps on how you can check:
- To start with, go to the 'Apple' menu and then, navigate to 'System Preferences'.
- Next, tap on 'Keyboard' and next, tap on the 'Shortcuts' tab.
- After that, tap on the 'Screenshots' option from the left side of the window.
- Finally, make sure that all options here are check or active.
Once you ensure keyboard shortcuts for screenshots on your Mac are active, try again to take a screenshot and see whether the problem is gone. If no, then don't be panic as you can try the following solutions to fix it.
2. Restart the Mac
Another thing you can try is simply restarting your Mac. Applications and programs won't work perfectly if you've not restarted your system for a long time. Thus, in such cases, a simple restart on Mac can probably fix the problem without many efforts. Luckily, many users have fixed the problem with this method and so, you must try it too.
There are three ways you can try to restart your Mac, which include:
- Press and hold down the 'Power' button and choose the 'Restart' option. Alternatively, you can use 'Control + Eject' and choose 'Restart'.
- Go to the 'Apple' menu and next, choose 'Restart'.
- Use 'Control + Command + Eject' or 'Control + Command + Power' and next, choose 'Restart'.
After restarting your Mac, the problem should be fixed now. But, if not, then go for the next solutions to fix the 'screenshot on Mac not working' issue.
3. Use Grab to Screenshot on Mac
There are also other ways to take a screenshot on Mac you might don't aware of them. So, instead of taking screenshots using keyboard shortcuts, use Grab to capture screen on your system. Grab is a pre-installed application for Mac OS X and macOS that allows you to take screenshots of the entire screen, the whole window, or only a specified area of your screen.
Here are the simple steps on how to use Grab utility to take screenshots on Mac:
- To start with, you need to open 'Applications' and next, tap on 'Utilities'.
- After that, look for 'Grab' and select it.
- Now, click on 'Capture'.
As per your requirements, you can choose any one option and take a screenshot.
4. Use Preview to Screenshot on Mac
If you encounter a problem like a screenshot on Mac not working, then you can use Preview to capture screenshots. Well, Preview is nothing, but default utility that lets you open and modifies or edit images. Besides this, you can also take a screenshot on Mac using the Preview tool.
Here are simple steps on how to use Preview to screenshot on Mac:
- To begin with, navigate to 'Preview'.
- Next, tap on 'File' and after that, select 'Take Screenshot'.
- Now, choose any one option as per your need.
Descompresor para mac. As you can see there are many alternatives to take a screenshot on Mac. Hopefully, the above methods help you to resolve the problem for you.
Part 4. How to Recover Lost Screenshots on Mac?
In some cases, although screenshots are saved by resolving the problem 'screenshot on Mac not working', there are chances that you still lost them due to unknown reason. But, don't be panic if this situation happens to you because you still have a powerful method to recover your lost screenshots on your Mac. And that method is using Recoverit data recovery for Mac.
Luckily, Recoverit Data Recovery software is primarily designed to help those users who accidentally lost their files, such as photos, videos, audio, and documents. No matter how you lost your screenshots whether deleting by mistake, virus attack, or sudden power failure, the tool is powerful enough to work under numerous data loss scenarios.
Recovering media files with this tool takes a few minutes and three easy steps. In order to get back lost screenshots using Recoverit, you need to first download and install the software on your computer. Once you installed the software, follow the below steps:
Step 1: Select the screenshot drive
To start with, run Recoverit. Now, you need to choose a hard drive location from where you have lost your screenshots and click the Start button.
Step 2: Scan the Location
Now, the program will start looking for lost files by performing a scan on your selected hard drive location. Here, it may take several minutes to complete the entire scan process.
Step 3: Preview and Recover
Finally, preview the files and choose the desired files you want to get back after the scan is complete. And click on the 'Recover' button to save recovered screenshots on your Mac.
So, you now know what you can do if you ever lost your important files on Mac. However, while you are saving recovered screenshots on Mac, don't save them to the location from where they get lost.
Part 5. Tips against 'Screenshot on Mac Not Working'
Hopefully, the problem 'screenshot on Mac not working' is fixed for you with the help of the above-mentioned methods. However, here are some more tips and tricks you can try to avoid facing the same problem again in the future.
- If you're not good at remembering keyboard shortcuts, then use Grab or Preview to take a screenshot on your system.
- It might be the case that keyboard shortcuts of your Mac are damaged and that's why you are not able to capture a screen using keys.
- You may have changed the default location for saving screenshots and that's why it seems to you that screenshots aren't working on your Mac. So, check the location where your Mac screenshots are saved.
- Sometimes, third-party applications installed on your system prevent the proper functioning of other Mac utilities or programs. So, uninstall or get rid of third-party apps if you've on your system.
- Mac systems are also susceptible to bugs and viruses, which can corrupt your system. As a result, you can face a screenshot, not a working issue. Thus, use anti-virus to protect your system from bugs.
The problem 'screenshot on Mac not working' can be easily resolved if you know the right solutions for this. Luckily, here we have listed all probable methods that can help you to fix the issue with ease. Plus, if you ever end up losing your important screenshots on Mac, then we have also provided the solution to this problem too. It is Recoverit data recovery for Mac. With the help of this tool, you can easily rescue your lost screenshots.