Macs switched to portable document format (PDF) starting in the 10.2 release of OS X, and to portable network graphics (PNG) files by 10.6. Mac OS X traditionally saved keyboard-generated screenshots as tagged image file format (TIFF) files. To see the files you're saving, you'll have to either open your Finder or minimize your windows to find the images saved on the desktop. Instead, the system just plays a chime that sounds like a film camera snapping a photo.
When you're capturing images this way, you won't see any system or app notifications to verify success. If you don't use the Control key, your Mac saves these keystroke captures to your desktop by default. That allows you to copy and paste what you see on the screen into an application, such as image editing software. Your cursor immediately returns to normal after that selection.Ĭontrol added to the start of either of these sequences saves the image to the clipboard temporarily instead of to a permanent file. Click and drag the tool to make your selection. Command+Shift+3 captures the entire screen and saves it to a file on your desktop.Ĭommand+Shift+4 temporarily replaces your mouse cursor with a tool to select any rectangular portion of the screen.
