Posts Tagged ‘Screen Shots’

There are sometimes you really want to take a picture of your screen on the computer.  OS X has a couple of quick short cuts built in to help you do this quickly and easily.

Shift+Command+3 will take a picture of the entire viewable screen in one step.  This is great if I’m viewing something in Full Screen mode or if I have my window maximized.   If I want to just take a picture of a small section of the screen, though, there is a better shortcut to use.

Shift+Command+4 will change your cursor into a little crosshair marker.  Put the crosshairs at the top, left corner of what you want to take a picture of and drag it to the bottom, right corner (you’ll see a marquee outlining what you’re selecting.)  If you miss it on the first try, just try again.

In both techniques, an image is placed on your desktop called “Picture 1” (or “Picture 2” or “Picture 3” depending on how many you’ve taken.)  This image is a jpeg and can be renamed by clicking directly on the icon’s text.  You can then add it to iPhoto, attach it to an email or keep it for later.

I find this is an especially helpful tool if you’re having some problems but can’t get the computer to act up when you’re visiting the Genius Bar or in your OnetoOne.  Just take a picture of the error message or problem when you’re at home and you’ll have it documented so the people at the Apple store will know what’s going on.