How to Take a Screenshot on Mac And Record Your Screen Too

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - If you just got a Mac, one of the first things you might want to learn is how to take a screenshot on Mac. It is very useful when you want to save something you see on your screen, share it with someone, or keep it for later. Screenshots are a simple but important skill for any computer user.

Mac and Windows computers are different in many ways. On Windows, you might use the Print Screen key or the Snipping Tool to capture your screen. On Mac, the process is a little different. The good news is that once you learn it, it becomes very easy and fast. Mac also gives you more options, such as capturing just a part of the screen or recording a video of what is happening on your screen.

In this article, we will show you everything you need to know about how to take a screenshot on Mac. It will also show you how to record your screen. We made this guide on Tuesday (19/5/2026). Let's get started.

Mac gives you several ways to capture your screen. You can capture the whole screen, just one part, or a specific window. Below are all the methods you can use.

How to Take a Screenshot of the Entire Screen

This is the fastest and simplest way to capture everything on your screen at once.

1. Press and hold the Shift key, the Command key, and the 3 key at the same time.

2. Release all three keys together.

3. You will see a small thumbnail image appear in the bottom corner of your screen.

4. Click the thumbnail if you want to edit the screenshot right away. If you do nothing, the screenshot will save automatically to your desktop.

That is all you need to do. The shortcut Shift + Command + 3 will capture everything that is visible on your screen at that moment.

How to Take a Screenshot of a Portion of the Screen

Sometimes you do not want to capture the whole screen. Maybe you only need a small part of it. This method lets you choose which area to capture.

1. Press and hold the Shift key, the Command key, and the 4 key at the same time.

2. Release all three keys. Your mouse pointer will change into a crosshair shape.

3. Click and hold your mouse button, then drag the crosshair over the area you want to capture.

4. Release the mouse button to take the screenshot.

5. If you want to cancel, press the Escape key before releasing the mouse.

6. If you want to move the selected area without changing its size, press and hold the Space bar while you are still dragging.

7. Wait for the thumbnail to appear in the corner, or let it save to your desktop automatically.

This method gives you full control over what gets captured. It is very helpful when you only need one part of a web page or document.

How to Take a Screenshot of a Window or a Menu

If you want to capture only one open window or a menu on your screen, there is a specific method for that too.

1. Open the window or menu that you want to capture.

2. Press and hold the Shift key, the Command key, and the 4 key at the same time, then release all three keys.

3. Next, press and release the Space bar. Your mouse pointer will change into a small camera icon.

4. Move the camera icon over the window or menu you want to capture. It will be highlighted in blue.

5. Click the window or menu to take the screenshot.

6. If you want to remove the shadow around the window in the screenshot, press and hold the Option key while you click.

7. Press the Escape key at any time before clicking if you want to cancel.

This method is great when you want a clean capture of just one app window without anything else in the background.

How to Take a Screenshot With the Screenshot App

If you prefer a visual tool with buttons instead of keyboard shortcuts, the Screenshot app is a good option. This app is available on macOS Mojave 10.14 and newer versions.

1. Press Shift + Command + 5 at the same time to open the Screenshot app. You can also find it in the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder.

2. A small toolbar will appear at the bottom of your screen with several options.

3. Choose the type of screenshot you want to take from the toolbar icons.

4. Before taking the screenshot, click Options in the toolbar to adjust your settings. From there, you can set a timer, choose where to save the file, decide whether to show the mouse pointer in the screenshot, and on supported Mac models running macOS Tahoe 26 or later, choose the image format.

5. Click the capture button to take your screenshot.

The Screenshot app brings all the capture options into one place, which makes it very convenient.

How to Find the Result

After you take a screenshot using any of the methods above, here is how to find it.

1. By default, your screenshot is saved to your desktop with a name like "Screen Shot" followed by the date and time.

2. If you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, you can click it to open and edit the screenshot before it saves.

3. You can also drag the thumbnail and drop it directly into a folder, a document, or an email to save it there instead.

4. If you want to save it to your Clipboard instead of the desktop, hold the Control key in addition to the other keys when taking the screenshot. For example, use Control + Shift + Command + 3 instead of Shift + Command + 3. Then you can paste it anywhere using Command + V.

5. To change the default save location, open the Screenshot app with Shift + Command + 5, click Options, and choose a new folder under the Save to section.

Screen recording lets you make a video of what is happening on your screen. This is useful for tutorials, presentations, or saving a video call. Mac gives you two tools to do this.

How to Record Your Screen With the Screenshot App

This method is the easiest and works on macOS Mojave 10.14 or later.

1. Press Shift + Command + 5 to open the Screenshot app toolbar.

2. In the toolbar, you will see recording options. Choose Record Entire Screen to record everything, or Record Selected Portion to record only a part of the screen. On macOS Tahoe 26 or later, you can also choose Record Selected Window to record just one app window.

3. If you choose Record Selected Portion, drag the borders of the selection box to adjust the area you want to record.

4. Click Options to change the recording settings before you start. You can choose a microphone to record your voice, turn on Show Mouse Clicks to highlight your clicks in the video, set a countdown timer, choose where to save the recording, and on supported Mac models running macOS Tahoe 26 or later, choose between SDR format using H.264 video or HDR format using HEVC video.

5. When you are ready, click the Record button. If you are recording a selected window, click the window you want to record.

6. To stop recording, click the Stop button in the menu bar at the top of your screen. You can also press Command + Control + Escape to stop.

7. A thumbnail of the recording will appear in the corner of your screen. Click it to edit the video, or wait for it to save to your desktop automatically.

How to Record Your Screen With the QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is another built-in Mac app that can record your screen. This is a good option if the Screenshot app is not available on your Mac.

1. Open QuickTime Player from your Applications folder.

2. Click on the File menu in the top menu bar and choose New Screen Recording. You can also press Control + Command + N as a shortcut.

3. A screen recording window will appear. Before you start, click the small arrow next to the Record button to open the recording settings.

4. To record audio, choose a microphone from the list. You can also adjust the volume level to check that your audio is working. If you hear feedback or echo, try lowering the volume or using headphones with a built-in microphone.

5. To highlight your mouse clicks during the recording, choose Show Mouse Clicks in Recording.

6. When you are ready to start, click the Record button.

7. Click anywhere on the screen to begin recording the entire screen. If you want to record only a part of the screen, drag to select that area, then click Start Recording inside the selection.

8. To stop the recording, click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Command + Control + Escape.

9. QuickTime Player will automatically open the finished recording. From there, you can watch it, edit it, or share it.

Your recording will be saved with a name like "Screen Recording" followed by the date and time, and it will be in the MOV file format. You can open it later with QuickTime Player, iMovie, or other video apps on your Mac.