How to take a screenshot with Mac or Windows
Mac
On macOS there are a few built‑in keyboard shortcuts for screenshots.
Capture the whole screen
Press: Shift + Command (⌘) + 3
The screenshot is saved to your Desktop by default, and a small preview appears in the corner for quick editing.
Capture a selected area
Press: Shift + Command (⌘) + 4
Your cursor turns into a crosshair. Click and drag to select the area, then release to capture.
Capture a specific window
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 4
- Then tap the Space bar
- Click the window you want
Screenshot options / screen recording
Press: Shift + Command (⌘) + 5
This opens the Screenshot toolbar where you can choose:
- Entire screen, window, or selection
- Screen recording
- Where to save screenshots
- Timer and other options
Copy to clipboard instead of saving
Add Control to any of the above shortcuts. For example:
Control + Shift + Command (⌘) + 3 → copy full-screen screenshot to clipboard (then paste into another app).
Windows
On Windows you have several built‑in ways to capture screenshots, depending on what you need.
Quick full‑screen screenshot (auto-saves)
Press Windows key + Print Screen (PrtScn).
The screen may dim briefly. The image is saved automatically in your Pictures → Screenshots folder.
Copy full screen to clipboard
Press Print Screen (PrtScn) alone.
This copies the whole screen to the clipboard so you can paste it into apps like Paint, Word, or email with Ctrl + V.
Capture the active window
Press Alt + Print Screen.
This copies only the currently active window to the clipboard; paste it with Ctrl + V.
Snip & Sketch / Snipping Tool (select area, window, or delayed)
Press Windows key + Shift + S.
Your screen will dim and a small toolbar appears at the top. Choose:
- Rectangular snip (drag a box)
- Free-form snip
- Window snip
- Full-screen snip
The screenshot is copied to the clipboard and also appears as a notification; click it to edit and save.
You can also open Snipping Tool from the Start menu for more options and delayed screenshots.
Screenshot on a laptop (if PrtScn is on a function key)
If your Print Screen is behind Fn, use Fn + PrtScn, Fn + Windows + PrtScn, or Fn + Alt + PrtScn depending on the laptop. These work the same as the shortcuts above, just with Fn added.