Tip
Screenshots on a Mac
Quick reference for every Mac screenshot method:
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘⇧3 | Capture entire screen |
| ⌘⇧4 | Cross-hair → drag to capture area |
| ⌘⇧4 then Space | Camera icon → click a window to capture |
| ⌘⇧5 | Open Screenshot.app toolbar (includes video recording) |
Tips
- Control + any shortcut copies straight to clipboard instead of saving a file.
- Hold Option while clicking a window to capture it without its shadow.
- Launch Screenshot.app (Applications → Utilities) for a toolbar with video recording options, timer, and save location settings.
- Put Screenshot.app in the Dock for non-power users.
Disable window shadows permanently
Window screenshots include a drop shadow by default. To turn it off for good, run this in Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
killall SystemUIServer
To re-enable shadows:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool false
killall SystemUIServer
For the full breakdown, see Apple's guide to screenshots on Mac.