Press Shift-Command-3 to capture the entire MacBook screen, Shift-Command-4 to drag around part of it, or press Shift-Command-4 and then Space to capture a window or menu. Press Shift-Command-5 for the Screenshot control panel. Captures normally save to the desktop; hold Control with a shortcut when you want the image copied to the Clipboard instead.
Choose the shortcut that matches what you need
| Goal | Keys | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Entire screen | Shift-Command-3 | The complete display is captured and saved to the current Screenshot destination. |
| Rectangular area | Shift-Command-4 | The pointer becomes a crosshair so you can drag over the exact region. |
| Window or menu | Shift-Command-4, then Space | The pointer becomes a camera; click the window or open menu you want. |
| Capture controls, timer and options | Shift-Command-5 | Opens Screenshot, where you choose full-screen, window or selected-area capture. |
Apple documents these shortcuts in Take a screenshot on Mac. They work independently of whether the MacBook has a built-in or external keyboard, as long as the Command, Shift and number keys are available.
Capture the entire display
- Press and release Shift-Command-3 together.
- Wait for the floating thumbnail, if it is enabled, or leave the screen alone while macOS saves the file.
- Open the configured destination, which is the desktop by default.
This is the quickest choice when you need everything visible, including the menu bar and Dock.
Screenshot only part of the screen
- Press and release Shift-Command-4.
- Drag the crosshair from one corner of the required area to the opposite corner.
- Release the mouse or trackpad button to capture it.
Press Esc before releasing to cancel. While dragging, hold Space to move the selection without changing its size. This is useful when the rectangle is correctly sized but starts in the wrong place.
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Capture a window or menu
- Open the window or menu so it is visible.
- Press Shift-Command-4, then press and release Space.
- When the pointer changes to a camera, click the target.
Hold Option while clicking if you want to omit the window shadow. For a menu, open it first and then use the same shortcut sequence; clicking the highlighted menu captures the menu itself rather than the rest of the desktop.
Use the Screenshot control panel
Press Shift-Command-5 to open Screenshot. Apple documents this app for macOS Mojave 10.14 and later. Choose the full-screen, window or selected-area icon, then select Capture. The panel is the best route when you need settings that are awkward to remember as shortcuts.
Options you can set before capturing
- Save to: choose the desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages or another available destination.
- Timer: add a delay when you need time to open a menu or arrange a transient state.
- Show floating thumbnail: keep or hide the preview that appears after capture.
- Show mouse pointer: include or exclude the pointer in supported capture modes.
The same panel also contains screen-recording controls, but the capture icons are the ones to use for still screenshots.
Where MacBook screenshots are saved and how to copy them
Default desktop location
Unless you have changed it, macOS saves screenshots on the desktop. The destination is controlled from Screenshot’s Options menu, so a missing desktop file often means the save location was changed earlier.
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Copy directly to the Clipboard
Add Control to any capture shortcut when you want to paste immediately instead of creating a desktop file. For example, Control-Shift-Command-3 copies a full-screen capture. Use Control-Shift-Command-4 for a selection, or add Control to the window-capture sequence. Paste with Command-V in an email, document or image editor.
If the floating thumbnail is visible, Control-click it and choose Save to Clipboard. You can also drag the thumbnail to a folder or document, or click it to open Apple’s editing tools before saving.
Edit, annotate and share a capture
Click the floating thumbnail before it disappears to open the markup view. From there you can make basic annotations, crop and share the result, then save the edited image. If you do nothing, the thumbnail fades and the original capture is saved automatically to the selected destination.
For a fast handoff, drag the thumbnail directly into a Finder folder, an email composition window or another document. This avoids hunting for the file on the desktop.
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File formats and newer macOS options
Apple’s Mac user guide describes the normal screenshot workflow as producing PNG files. On supported Mac models running macOS Tahoe 26 or later, Screenshot may offer SDR (Most Compatible) using PNG and HDR using HEIF. The model and macOS version qualification matters: do not assume every MacBook displays both choices. See Apple’s Mac user guide for screenshots and screen recordings for the documented behavior.
When a shortcut appears not to work
No screenshot appears anywhere
Check the desktop and the destination shown in Screenshot’s Options menu. If you held Control, look in the Clipboard by pasting into an app instead of searching for a file. If a floating thumbnail is enabled, wait briefly for it to appear.
A keyboard shortcut was changed or disabled
Open System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Screenshots. Apple lists this location for viewing, re-enabling or changing screenshot shortcuts. Restore the default combination or assign a conflict-free one, then test it again. Apple’s Mac keyboard shortcuts reference provides the related shortcut guidance.
The selected rectangle is wrong
Press Esc and start again. During the drag, hold Space to reposition the rectangle without resizing it. Release only when all four edges surround the content you need.
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The window has an unwanted shadow
Use the window workflow—Shift-Command-4, then Space—and hold Option while clicking the window. That omits the shadow for that capture.
An app refuses to be captured
Some applications restrict screenshots. Apple specifically notes that protected apps such as Apple TV may block window captures, and its Mac guide gives DVD Player as another example. If other windows capture normally, treat this as an application restriction rather than a shortcut failure.
You need a menu to remain open long enough
Open Screenshot with Shift-Command-5, choose Options > Timer, select the delay, and then start the capture. The timer gives you time to open the menu or expose a hover state.
A practical choice for common MacBook tasks
- Documentation or a bug report: use Shift-Command-4 and select only the relevant control or error.
- Showing an entire workflow: use Shift-Command-3, or use a timed capture from Screenshot when menus must be opened first.
- Presenting one app cleanly: use the window capture and hold Option if the shadow would distract from the content.
- Pasting into chat or email: add Control to the shortcut so no temporary desktop file is created.
- Repeated or carefully timed captures: use Shift-Command-5 so the timer, pointer and destination are visible before you begin.
Or skip the browser setup
The built-in MacBook tools above capture your local screen. If what you need is a screenshot of a website for documentation, testing or an automated workflow, ScreenshotNeo provides a website screenshot API and MCP server instead of requiring a browser window. It accepts one GET request and can return PNG, JPEG, WebP or PDF.
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Its clean-shot workflow accepts consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups and chat widgets before capture; each step can be disabled. Bot checks and CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the result with X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. The MCP server exposes take_screenshot, get_page_info and capture_pdf for Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients.
For a complete list of parameters and authentication details, see the ScreenshotNeo documentation. These examples capture https://stripe.com; replace that URL with the page you need and keep your API key private.
cURL
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpPython
import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)Node.js
const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);ScreenshotNeo also supports full-page captures with lazy images loaded, CSS-selector element captures, dark mode, device presets and custom viewports, retina scale, PDF paper and page-range controls, custom CSS and JavaScript, clicks before capture, hidden selectors, selector or network-idle waits, ad/tracker/request blocking, custom headers, cookies, user agents and Authorization, timezone and geolocation, transparent backgrounds, resizing, chosen cache TTLs, signed links, asynchronous jobs with signed webhooks, bulk capture for up to 100 URLs per call, a usage API and an OpenAPI specification. Parameter names used by other screenshot APIs are accepted to make migration easier.
The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card. Paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots, and every feature is available on every plan. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account to start.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What filename does macOS give a screenshot?
The default filename follows the pattern “Screen Shot [date] at [time].” You can rename it after saving or while moving the floating thumbnail.
Can I move the preview without opening the editor?
Yes. Drag the floating thumbnail to a Finder folder or directly into a document or message.
Which macOS release introduced the Screenshot control panel?
Apple documents the Shift-Command-5 Screenshot app for macOS Mojave 10.14 and later.
Quick Recap
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