Using Free Tools to Share Stuff

I like to share, it’s part of who I am. Whether it’s a great sales stat from Gartner or a chart from a competitor with great info for my sales team and peers, having the ability to snap a screen shot or make a quick recording is handy. This is a quick guide to the hot keys on a Mac, and how you can manage screen shots..

You can take pictures (called screenshots) or recordings of the screen on your Mac using Screenshot or keyboard shortcuts. Screenshot provides a panel of tools that let you easily take screenshots and screen recordings and manage them, with options to control what you capture—for example, you can set a timer delay or include the pointer or clicks.

Take pictures or screen recordings using Screenshot

1. On your Mac, press Shift-Command-5 (or use Launchpad) to open Screenshot and display the tools.
2. Click a tool to use to select what you want to capture or record (or use the Touch Bar).For a portion of the screen, drag the frame to reposition it or drag its edges to adjust the size of the area you want to capture or record.ActionToolCapture the entire screenCapture a windowCapture a portion of the screenRecord the entire screenRecord a portion of the screen
3. Click Options if you want.The available options vary based on whether you’re taking a screenshot or a screen recording. For example, you can choose to set a timed delay or show the mouse pointer or clicks, and specify where to save the file.The Show Floating Thumbnail option helps you work more easily with a completed shot or recording—it floats in the bottom-right corner of the screen for a few seconds so you have time to drag it into a document, mark it up, or share it before it’s saved to the location you specified.
4. Start the screenshot or screen recording:
   • For the entire screen or a portion of it: Click Capture.
   • For a window: Move the pointer to the window, then click the window.
   • For recordings: Click Record. To stop recording, click the Stop Recording button  in the menu bar.When the Show Floating Thumbnail option is set, you can do any of the following while the thumbnail is briefly displayed in the bottom-right corner of the screen:
   • Swipe right to immediately save the file and make it disappear.
   • Drag the thumbnail into a document, an email, a note, or a Finder window.
   • Click the thumbnail to open a window where you can mark up the screenshot or trim the recording, or share it.Depending on where you chose to save the screenshot or recording, an app may open.

Take pictures using keyboard shortcuts

You can use various keyboard shortcuts on your Mac to take pictures of the screen. The files are saved to the desktop.

Tip: To copy a screenshot so you can paste it somewhere—like in an email or to another device—press and hold the Control key while you press the other keys. For example, to copy the whole screen, press Shift-Command-Control-3.

Action	Shortcut
Capture the entire screen	Press Shift-Command-3.
Capture a portion of the screen	Press Shift-Command-4, then move the crosshair pointer to where you want to start the screenshot. Press the mouse or trackpad button, drag over the area you want to capture, then release the mouse or trackpad button.
Capture a window or the menu bar	Press Shift-Command-4, then press the Space bar. Move the camera pointer over the window or the menu bar to highlight it, then click.
Capture a menu and menu items	Open the menu, press Shift-Command-4, then drag the pointer over the menu items you want to capture.
Open Screenshot	Press Shift-Command 5.
Capture the Touch Bar	Press Shift-Command-6.

You can customize these keyboard shortcuts in the Shortcuts pane of Keyboard preferences. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Keyboard , then click Shortcuts.

Screenshots are saved as .png files and screen recordings are saved as .mov files. Filenames begin with “Screen Shot” or “Screen Recording” and include the date and time.

You may not be able to take pictures of windows in some apps, such as DVD Player.