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Here are some of the best apps to take scrolling screenshots on macOS. Last updated on 18 Oct, 2019 The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. CleanShot X is the best screenshot and screen recording app for Mac with a built-in annotation tool, Cloud uploading, scrolling capture, and a lot more. Mac OS X makes it easy to take screenshots—images of your screen or objects on it. But even veteran Mac users are often unaware of the many options available for getting the perfect screenshot. A peculiar thing about this app is the ability to screen capture to Clipboard, in other words, without saving an image to a hard drive, pasting it into a photo editor or Skype directly. Go to Preferences to configure: open screens in Preview (default macOS viewer), output format, sounds.
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Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about Greenshot. Download Greenshot for macOS 10.12 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. Greenshot is a light-weight screenshot software tool with the following key features: - Quickly create screenshots of a selected region, window or fullscreen.
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This is a brief guide in response to numerous user requests. Screenshots can be made both by OS built-in functions (each OS has different methods) and special software by third-party developers. This is a life-simplifying option that helps to transfer information vividly, as it is often to show than to explain. There are several methods of making screenshots in macOS, each useful in its own way.
1. Hotkeys
You can take screenshots on macOS with “global” hotkeys – active for all programs, games, videos, etc. This is the fastest and the easiest way, probably, and there are a few key combinations for it.
- Shift⇧ + CMD⌘ + 3 – full screen.
- Shift⇧ + CMD⌘ + 4 – selected area.
Macos Screenshot Settings
- Shift⇧ + CMD⌘ + 4 + Space – window, folder, etc.
All screenshots are automatically saved to Desktop. The interesting part to notice about window-only screenshots is the transparency and border shadows.
2. Preview
Preview is a multifunctional Apple application. We’ve mentioned it previously in our top free photo editors for macOS. Screen capturing is one of its features. To open Preview search it in Spotlight – clickCtrl⌃ + Space or CMD⌘ + Space (depends on settings) > type Preview > click Enter.
Then click File > Take Screenshot > pick one of three options: From Selection, From Window, From Entire Screen. Some more details to keep in mind:
- a mouse pointer will be visible on screens;
- when capturing full screen, 10 seconds timer is on;
- image formats: heif, jpeg, jpeg-2000, openEXR, pdf, png, tiff;
- snapshot immediately opens in Preview edit mode.
3. Grab
Grab is another macOS utility for screenshots. To open Grab search it in Spotlight – clickCtrl⌃ + Space or CMD⌘ + Space (depends on settings) > type Grab > click Enter. Control Grab with hotkeys:
- CMD⌘ + 4 – selection
- CMD⌘ + 5 – window
- CMD⌘ + 3 – full screen
- Alt⌥ + CMD⌘ + 3 – timed screen (10 seconds)
or you can navigate to Menubar > Capture > select one of four options. After you take a screenshot, save it in png, jpeg, tiff. Note: there is no shadow on window-only screenshots.
4. Screenshot apps
If you seek an even easier way of how to screenshot on Mac, use third-party screen capturing apps. Find more info about 5 such tools below. We’ve also added a usability column to the comparison table, according to general experience, speed, response, image quality.
Area selection | Window capture | Full screen | Timed screenshot | Screenshot format | Hotkeys | Usability | App Store link | |
Lightshot Screenshot | + | – | + | – | png | ⇧⌘9 or custom | 8/10 | Link |
ScreenShot PSD | – | – | + | + | psd | ⇧⌘5 | 8/10 | Link |
Apowersoft Screenshot | + | – | + | – | png, bmp, tiff, jpg, gif | ⌘1/⌘2 or custom | 8/10 | Link |
ScreenshotMenu | + | + | + | – | png | – | 7/10 | Link |
Light Capture | – | – | + | – | png, jpg, tiff, gif | custom | 7/10 | Link |
Lightshot Screenshot
Top Macos Apps
Download: App Store | Version: 2.22
macOS: 10.7 or later | Size: 1.5 MB
macOS: 10.7 or later | Size: 1.5 MB
A simple app with tools to make screenshots more informative: arrows, pointers, circles, squares, text. Add to that social sharing options and cloud upload with instant link.
ScreenShot PSD
Download: App Store | Version: 1.1
macOS: 10.6 or later | Size: 1.2 MB
macOS: 10.6 or later | Size: 1.2 MB
Captures and saves all screenshots in PSD format, as a layered project. Thus every single item is editable, which could be useful for graphic designers. Quite outstanding.
Apowersoft Screenshot
Download: App Store | Version: 1.2.4
macOS: 10.8 or later | Size: 9.1 MB
macOS: 10.8 or later | Size: 9.1 MB
Similar to Lightshot, area selection comes quite handy, along with additional items such as lines, arrows, circles, text. Upload and sharing options are in place too. In Settings, you can change hotkeys for selection, full screen, and image format (png, bmp, tiff, jpg, gif).
Screenshot Menu https://eversail887.weebly.com/an-error-occurred-while-updating-steam-app-running-mac.html.
Download: App Store | Version: 1.2.1
macOS: 10.6 or later | Size: 329 KB
macOS: 10.6 or later | Size: 329 KB
A tiny utility to capture screenshots, copy images to the clipboard. Activate auto-launch and you won’t even notice it in the background. No settings, no interface, only straight controls.
LightCapture
Download: App Store | Version: 1.0.7
macOS: 10.11 or later | Size: 12.2 MB https://eversail887.weebly.com/blog/dropped-mac-apps-stopping.
macOS: 10.11 or later | Size: 12.2 MB https://eversail887.weebly.com/blog/dropped-mac-apps-stopping.
A peculiar thing about this app is the ability to screen capture to Clipboard, in other words, without saving an image to a hard drive, pasting it into a photo editor or Skype directly. Go to Preferences to configure: open screens in Preview (default macOS viewer), output format, sounds.
Read next: Free screen recording software.
Latest
Macos Best Screenshot Apps
In category
How to take a screenshot on your Mac
- To take a screenshot, press and hold these three keys together: Shift, Command, and 3.
- If you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot. Or wait for the screenshot to save to your desktop.
How to capture a portion of the screen
- Press and hold these three keys together: Shift, Command, and 4.
- Drag the crosshair to select the area of the screen to capture. To move the selection, press and hold Space bar while dragging. To cancel taking the screenshot, press the Esc (Escape) key.
- To take the screenshot, release your mouse or trackpad button.
- If you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot. Or wait for the screenshot to save to your desktop.
![Screenshot Screenshot](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133943816/469985711.jpg)
How to capture a window or menu
Lightshot
- Open the window or menu that you want to capture.
- Press and hold these keys together: Shift, Command, 4, and Space bar. The pointer changes to a camera icon . To cancel taking the screenshot, press the Esc (Escape) key.
- Click the window or menu to capture it. To exclude the window's shadow from the screenshot, press and hold the Option key while you click.
- If you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot. Or wait for the screenshot to save to your desktop.
Where to find screenshots
By default, screenshots save to your desktop with the name ”Screen Shot [date] at [time].png.”
In macOS Mojave or later, you can change the default location of saved screenshots from the Options menu in the Screenshot app. You can also drag the thumbnail to a folder or document.
Learn more
Macos Best Screenshot App Shortcut
- In macOS Mojave or later, you can also set a timer and choose where screenshots are saved with the Screenshot app. To open the app, press and hold these three keys together: Shift, Command, and 5. Learn more about the Screenshot app.
- Some apps, such as the Apple TV app, might not let you take screenshots of their windows.
- To copy a screenshot to the Clipboard, press and hold the Control key while you take the screenshot. You can then paste the screenshot somewhere else. Or use Universal Clipboard to paste it on another Apple device.