You can keep track of all your screenshots by signing in at prntscr.com. Create a Lightshot account to see your screenshots in your own gallery. Here you can add captions and remove images you don’t need from the web. See our about gallery page for additional information. 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.
Top 3 ways to screenshot on Mac easily and quickly; Part 2. 7 useful screenshot tools for Mac; Part 1. Top 3 ways to screenshot on Mac easily and quickly. Because Mac’s Print Screen key is not as straightforward as that of PCs, you might need some guidance to take a screenshot on Mac. I tried out the free Mac app and iPhone app. Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET. The free account gives you 200MB of storage with a file size limit of 20MB. There is a paid Pro subscription, which. Screenshot a specific Mac App window: To take a screenshot of a specific app window on your Mac first open the windows of the App that you want to screenshot and then Press the Command + Shift + 4.
'Recently, I bought a MacBook Pro and it was working perfectly. But, I surprised to see that the screenshot on Mac not working and they are not saving to my desktop. So, can you tell me how I can fix the 'Mac OS Sierra screenshot not working and saving' problem?'
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.
Part 1. What Is a Screenshot?
Mac Screenshot Tool
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
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. App store fidelity account. 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
Save the screenshots but deleted them accidentally? Come to recover deleted photos 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. Cue card app mac. 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.
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.
What's Wrong with Mac
Recover Your Mac
Fix Your Mac
Delete Your Mac
Learn Mac Hacks
Last Updated on August 8, 2020 by Adam Enfroy
Whether you need to take a screenshot for graphic design, photo-editing, or just to share images with friends and coworkers, Mac makes it easy.
Here are some of the best ways to easily take a screenshot on a Mac:
A. Screenshot on Pre-Mojave Mac.
The advent of the Mojave update changed a lot of things for Mac users. It truly changed the way we take screenshots on Mac.
However, if you could not upgrade your Mac to Mojave due to lack of space in the SSD or any other issue, you can use a few old Mac shortcuts to take screenshots.
Here’s how you can take screenshots on your pre-Mojave Mac easily:
1. Screenshot of an Entire Screen (⌘+ Shift + 3).
Simply press ‘Command + Shift + 3’ to take a screenshot of the entire screen. The good thing is that it will take screenshots of all the screens at once. For instance, if you’re using more than one screen, it will take the screenshot of every screen one by one.
2. Take Screenshot of a Selected Area (⌘+ Shift + 4).
Press ‘Command + Shift + 4’ to take the screenshot of a selected portion.
Your Mac will ask you to select the area on the screen that you want to capture. Next, press the Spacebar after Command + Shift + 4.
You’ll see a small camera icon appear on the screen. It will allow you to select the window you want to take a screenshot of. Next, select the area you want to capture.
Here, I selected the left window on the screen. This is the screenshot I received:
3. Take Screenshot of a Selected Portion Using The Crosshair (⌘ + Shift + 4).
Mac lets you take a screenshot of not just the selected area, but also of a selected portion.
You’d see the difference in just a minute.
After pressing ‘Command +Shift + 4,’ your Mac’s cursor will convert into a crosshair.
Here is how the crosshair will look after you press the key combination:
It will allow you to drag and select the part of the screen that you want to capture. After you release the mouse, the trackpad will automatically take the screenshot.
It also provides plenty of other options to make more precise selections.
Here are some of them:
Press and Hold Spacebar – Press and hold the spacebar just after selecting the highlighted area. It locks the shape and size of the area on the screen. However, you can still reposition it on your Mac’s screen. It’s a handy feature to adjust the selection in case you miss some elements.
Press and Release Spacebar – When you press and release the spacebar, the crosshair on the screen converts into a miniature cam icon. You can swiftly move this icon over any window on the screen to take a screenshot. Screenshots taken through this method contain a white border around the window along with a drop shadow.
Hold Shift Key – After selecting the highlighting area, hold the ‘Shift’ key to lock down all the sides of the selection area. Now you can move the bottom edge up or down to adjust the selection. You can also reposition the edges of the right side by pressing the Shift key twice without releasing the mouse button.
Shift + Option – Press ‘Shift + Option’ after selecting the area for screenshot. It will help you lock both horizontal and vertical constraints. What’s more, it can also reshape the selection easily.
Source: macworld.com
These commands will enable you to take a screenshot easily. However, these screen-grab features do not come integrated closely with the machine. What’s more, these features were not easily accessible until Apple decided to make them more user-friendly and accessible.
4. Command + Control + Shift + 4.
Simply press ‘Command + Control + Shift + 4’ at once to save the screenshot to the clipboard.
Once you use Command + Control + Shift + 4, you’ll see the crosshair on the screen. Drag the crosshair to highlight the area you want to capture and release the cursor.
Now go to the application where you want to insert the screenshot, such as email, Keynote, or pages.
For instance, you want to paste it in Apple Pages. Once you open the application, place the cursor at the point where you want to paste the screenshot. Now press ‘Command + V’ at the same time, and your screenshot will appear automatically.
B. Screenshot on Post-Mojave Mac.
With macOS 10.14 Mojave update, Apple introduced a host of new screenshot features, including a screen recorder.
Its brand new screenshot panel lets you take multiple types of screenshots without any hassle. Another unique feature is that you can now edit them before the final file gets saved in your machine.
Here is how you can take different types of screenshots in multiple ways on your post-Mojave Mac.
1. Command + Shift + 5.
After you press Command +Shift + 5, a small panel will pop out at the bottom of your Mac’s screen with all the screenshot options.
It has three screenshot buttons to perform the following functions:
Capture a window
Selection of the screen
Select the entire window easily
Here is how the screenshot panel would look like.
Here are the details of the buttons on the screenshot panel:
Source: MacRumors.com
It also offers 2 video recording buttons to record the entire screen or a part of it.
There is an X button on the left side of the panel to close the screenshot panel. You can also exit the panel by pressing the Escape key on the keyboard.
There is also an ‘Options’ button on the right side of the panel to help you choose the “save” destination of screenshots taken.
You can save your screenshots in documents, desktop, mail, messages, or preview. It also allows you to set a delay of 5 or 10 seconds to line up items that might disappear while engaging the screenshot tool.
2. Command + Shift + 6.
This command lets you take the screenshot of the second display of the MacBook Pro – The Touch Bar. You can take a screenshot on a 16-inch MacBook Pro or any other model with a Touch Bar.
Simply press ‘Command + Shift + 6’ to take the screenshot of the Touch Bar screen.
Other than this, if you want the screenshot copied to your clipboard, then you need to press ‘Control + Command + Shift + 6.’
Best Screenshot Tool Mac
Source: HowToGeek.com
Next, save the screenshot in any image editor you want.
3. Screenshot Thumbnails.
Ever since Mac released macOS 10.14 Mojave, taking a screenshot is easier, more flexible, and fun.
After you take the screenshot (using any type of method), a thumbnail appears in the bottom right corner of the screen for a few moments.
The purpose of the thumbnail’s appearance is to help you edit a screenshot before it gets saved as a .png file in the destination folder.
Here is how the thumbnail would appear after you take the screenshot:
Just click on the thumbnail, and the screenshot will open in the image editor application of your Mac. From there, you can easily rotate, annotate, crop, or share the screenshot. You can also open the screenshot in any photo editing app you want. Simply drag and drop the thumbnail in the app of your choice, and it will open automatically.
4. Annotating The Screenshots.
After you click on the thumbnail, the screenshot will open in the preview by default.
Here, you can annotate your screenshot in several ways. It enables you to instantly annotate the screenshot before sending it to your friends or colleagues.
They include:
You can draw symbols
Add text to your image
Include speech bubbles
Crop the image
Add your signature
Rotate the images
And much more
C. Screenshots With Third-party macOS Screenshot Apps.
Even after ⌘ + Shift + 5 Mac screen capturing menu, the native screenshot app of Mac offers pretty basic features. And if you are left wanting for more, there is no need to worry. You can always use a nice third-party app with more advanced features.
A third-party can help you capture:
Your entire screen
Window, area
Scrolling content
Record screen
Capture videos
And more
You can also clear the clutter from the desktop by hiding unwanted files and disable notification through a single click. Once you manage to get the perfect screenshot, you can edit it by adding annotations, blurring the essential parts, or drawing on it for greater customization.
You can also leverage built-in organizers to keep track of all screenshots. It’s a handy feature if you need to take a lot of screenshots regularly.
Here are a few key capabilities that you should look into a third-party Mac screenshot app.
User Interface – Taking a screenshot is a simple process. But an app with a cluttered user interface (UI) might make it complicated. Thus, look for an application that offers a minimal complexity. At the same time, it must offer essential features to take screenshots within a matter of seconds.
Third-Party Integrations – If you need to take a lot of screenshots, solid integration with cloud and other apps like Evernote will come in handy. These third-party apps help you stay organized easily. You can easily save and share your screenshots over the cloud and keep it organized in Evernote or any other organizer application. What’s more, integrations with tools like GitHub, Trello, Slack, and Jira would help you with troubleshooting and bug identification.
Editing Capability – There are times when you need to explain something through a screenshot using text, images, drawings, text bubbles, links, etc. You might also want to blur or remove a few things from the screenshot. Here, an app with efficient editing features can save your day. Thus, look for a screenshot app that allows you to directly edit the screenshot before saving or sharing it with others.
Secure – Data security is essential for everyone. It becomes even more important when you allow an app to see everything on your computer screen. Ensure the third-party screenshot application offers powerful data security features to help you save and share screenshots securely.
Self-Timer – A third-party app would also offer features like screenshot pinning, self-timer, and internal cloud. A self-timer lets you take screenshots at perfect moments and pin it to the desktop for greater visibility. Some apps also offer cloud storage. This lets you save the screenshot on the cloud and share it using a simple link.
Here are some of the best Screenshot Apps for macOS:
Monosnap.
1. Take a Screenshot With Monosnap.
To help you understand the functioning of third-party screenshot apps, I demonstrated the step-by-step process using the Monosnap app.
How to Start?
After you launch the app, you can find the Monosnap icon in the status bar. Once you click on the icon, it will open the basic menu.
Сapture Area will allow you to capture the selected screen area or a separate window. You just need to drag over the area you need to capture. You can also enable the timer, move the selected area by holding spacebar, use ⌘+С to copy color, and so forth.
With Capture Fullscreen, you can capture the entire screen with just a click. If you are using multiple monitors, Capture Fullscreen will take the screenshots of all monitor screens.
On the other hand, Сapture Previous Area can recapture the same area again.
Such apps help you move faster by automating redundant tasks while giving you the same screen area uniformly. What’s more, Monosnap comes with other features, including hotkeys, image editors, and cloud storage.
2. Take a Screenshot With Apple’s Grab.
You can also leverage a native utility program in Mac called ‘Grab.’
It supports capturing:
A specific marquee selection
An entire window
Entire screen
Timed screenshots
And more
Here is how you can easily use it to take screen-grab:
Search for the keyword “Grab” in the search bar located at the top right corner. Now, select “Application” on the left sidebar to narrow down the search.
Open the Grab icon. Here’s what will appear on your screen:
You can drag the marquee to capture the part you want. Next, select “Capture” from the navigation menu.
You can also select the type of screenshot you want to take, including the timed screen or window in the dropdown menu.
Here are some of the options you can choose:
The “Selection” option will capture the selected part of the screen.
The “Screen” option will capture the complete screen.
The “Window” option will take a screenshot of a specific part of the screen.
The “Timed” screenshot will give a 10-seconds window before taking the final screenshot.
Why Do You Need a Screenshot?
In today’s connected world, businesses have gone digital. From sharing any detail on your corporate website to a revolutionary idea, nothing beats the screenshot’s efficiency. It helps you share the information in the precise format as you want.
Hence, the chances are that you need to take multiple screenshots regularly for a multitude of reasons.
Where Do You Find Saved Screenshots on a Mac?
If you’re new to Mac, you might wonder, where screenshots go by default. Usually, screenshots get saved as PNG files on the desktop. Their default name format is – current date and time stamp. Hence, the name of a screenshot would like “Screenshot 2020-07-15 at 12.25.36.png.”
Here is how it would appear:
However, if you change the save destination in the setting to the clipboard, you can paste the screenshot directly to the document without saving on your Mac.
What Do You Do If Screen Capture on a Mac is Not Working?
Screenshot shortcut might now work sometime due to multiple reasons. Or it might be simply disabled.
Use these steps to fix this issue easily:
First, heads to the Apple menu and open ‘System Preferences.’
Next, click on the ‘Keyboard’ option.
A new window will pop-up. Here, click on the ‘Shortcuts’ option.
Go to the ‘Screen Shots’ option in the left menu.
Check out whether all the shortcuts are active or not with the same combinations.
Click on the ‘Restore Defaults’ option in the bottom right to activate all screenshot options.
You can also change the shortcut and have new keys combinations.
You might also face an issue where your screenshot shortcut is working, but you cannot save the screenshot. In this case, it might be occurring due to copyright issues of the third-party app. You can solve this issue by using a third-party screenshot application for Mac.
Wrapping-Up.
I covered just about everything when it comes to taking a screenshot on your Mac. The Mojave update makes the process of taking screenshots even more intuitive and engaging.
You can now customize your screenshots, select screen area, and even edit after taking the screenshot. The feature list is sufficient for a normal user.
If you are looking for more advanced features, you might want to use a third-party screenshot application. Such apps provide better control over your screenshot with extra editing functions, cloud storage, and more options to share with other users.
So, which third-party app are you planning to use? Or your Mac’s screenshot functions are enough for you? Let me know in the comments section below.