Built-In Screen Capture Key Combo in OSX

If I had a penny, cent, dinar or any other division of currency for every time I was asked the key combination for screen capture in Mac OSX, I would most likely be a millionaire by now.

Screen Grab Key Combination

The key combination to do an entire screen grab in one shot, and to place the resulting PNG file to your desktop is as follows:

Apple Key (Command) + Shift + 3

Partial Screen Shot Key Combination

The key combination to do a partial screen grab with resulting cross hairs, and to place the PNG file on your desktop is as follows:

Apple Key (Command) + Shift + 4, then
click & drag cross hairs to
select region with your mouse.

Other Screen Capture Alternatives

As reviewed in “Screenshots and Video Capture Made Easy in OSX” you can buy and install Snapz Pro X from Ambrosia Software which will allow you to do more than simply capture screenshots in PNG. Other options, if you are looking to grab screen shots and share them with the wider world online include, Subrosasoft’s FREE ScreenBoard, For something a little more pricey and upmarket, you can always try Screen Flow, which will allow you to record from multiple sources at the same time.

For a complete list for Mac OSX, 9.x and earlier, check out the screen capture page on Pure Mac.