How To Print Screen On Mac May 2026

The most common way to "print screen" on a Mac is through dedicated keyboard shortcuts that save images directly to your as .png files by default.

This is the classic "Print Screen." It instantly captures everything visible across all connected monitors. how to print screen on mac

Your cursor transforms into a crosshair. Click and drag to draw a box around exactly what you need. Releasing the mouse button finishes the capture. The most common way to "print screen" on

The story of capturing your screen on a Mac is one of simple gestures evolving into a powerful creative toolkit. Long ago, in the days of Mac OS 7.6, users had just a few basic shortcuts. Today, macOS provides a suite of intuitive commands that turn your desktop into a canvas. The Foundation: Three Essential Shortcuts Click and drag to draw a box around exactly what you need

Introduced in macOS Mojave, this shortcut opens an that consolidates all capture tools in one place. Take a screenshot on Mac - Apple Support

This "magic" trick turns your cursor into a camera icon. Hover over any open window or menu—it will highlight with a blue tint—and click to capture just that element, often neatly excluding the desktop background and shadows. The Command Center: Command + Shift + 5